Compared to Barca’s bustling summer transfer season, Real is unusually quiet. After Kylian Mbappe’s “turnaround” in early summer, the Spanish Royal team only bought midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, took midfielder Antonio Rudiger for free and made no other moves on the transfer floor. But that doesn’t mean Real should be overlooked as they begin their journey to defend their championships in La Liga and the Champions League from today. Besides Karim Benzema – the number one candidate for the 2022 Golden Ball, the strength and prestige of the champion at Real also comes from the fact that they own Vinicius Junior – the most talented young attacking star in the world.

Vinicius was criticized for his individual playing style, blunt finishing, and was turned away by his senior Benzema in attack. But the young Brazilian striker has continuously improved to become a main player, creating one of the best seasons in the club’s history in the 2021-2022 season with Real.

Wealth does not wait for age

When The Athletic returned to Vinicius’ hometown in Brazil, those who had followed him since he was a boy still vividly remembered the young player who made his peers go crazy. According to Carlos Abrantes – Vinicius’ coach at that time, the opponents’ parents often joked that the only way to catch up with this child star was to ride a motorbike.

Vinicius grew up in Sao Goncalo in large Rio de Janeiro. This is not a rich area, but the boy still had a full and happy childhood. Vinicius started playing football at the local school at the age of six. This is one of 120 scouting branches of top team Flamengo. It was here that he met his first teacher, Abrantes.

“Vinicius immediately stood out from the rest thanks to his dribbling ability and speed. When the team played tournaments, opponents often tried to mark him individually, but never succeeded. Vinicius was too fast, too direct. presence and made no one keep up. He was unstoppable,” Abrantes recalled.

At the age of 10, Vinicius joined Flamengo’s youth training system. What’s interesting is that in the application form, he described himself as a left-back like his idol Renato Abreu at Flamengo: an attacking midfielder but sometimes filled in on the left wing. At Flamengo, he was closely watched by the team leader of the youth team, Carlos Noval. In his eyes, Vinicius is an “unpredictable, fearless and strong-minded” player. Noval recounted: “He was one step above the rest. From the beginning, Vini dared to rush straight at the defender just like the way he plays today. Vini is fearless. He can change direction in an instant.” The switch and the way Vini dribbles the ball at speed is really impressive.” If he had to choose one word to describe Vinicius, Noval would choose the word “joy”, because wherever he went, Vinicius conquered everyone thanks to his smile and positive attitude.

Another teacher of Vinicius was Gilmar Popoca. He coached the U13 and U17 Flamengo teams, but it was not until the U20 team that the two teachers and students became truly close. At that age, Vinicius was considered one of the diamonds of the Flamengo youth team, but few people dared to imagine Vini’s super performance at Copinha – Brazil’s most prestigious youth tournament. The skepticism is well-founded, as Vinicius is three years younger than most of his competitors.

Popoca commented: “You need to know the right time to bring a boy into such a tournament, especially when he has just graduated from the junior level. Many of Vini’s teammates at that time were even preparing was promoted to the first team, so I needed to take care of him carefully. But fortunately, Vini knew how to seize the opportunity.”

At Copinha 2017, Vinicius scored two goals after coming off the bench against Central, assisted two goals against Nacional and scored the decisive goal against Cruzeiro. Although there were many impressive performances, the phrase “deciding the match” is the outstanding aspect remembered by Vinicius’s teachers.

“He solved a lot of difficult matches,” Popoca said. “He is the type of person who is willing to take responsibility in difficult times and wants the team to trust in him. Many people say Vinicius is not good at finishing, but I disagree. He is always the top scorer in most matches. Flamengo’s U team”.

Not long after Copinha, Vinicius left for Chile to play for the Brazilian U17 team at the South American U17 championship. Here, Vinicius’ reputation became even more brilliant thanks to his seven goals, helping Brazil win the championship. This tournament also left a big lesson for Vinicius about supporting defense. The person who directly criticized him was Brazil U17 head coach Carlos Amadeu. He recounted: “Vinicius is the type of player who can sneak behind the opponent’s defense, penetrate and take advantage of space. But before the tournament started, we realized a big weakness: he has little ambition. provide defensive support”.

He decided to compile images of Vinicius in the first match and show them to him. After watching in silence, the striker assured his teacher that he would pay more attention. What happened next made Amadeu completely satisfied: “He played outstandingly, was the top scorer, the best player in the tournament. But the important thing is that he also completed all his tasks on the field.”

The good news about Vinicius quickly spread far and wide, to the point that the Spanish press called him the “new Neymar” and confirmed that Vinicius had a contract breaking fee of up to 30 million USD. Vinicius was on the cover of Marca before even training with the Flamengo first team and when he signed a contract to join Real Madrid at the age of 18, his total number of minutes of professional football was only 17!

This leads to an important and legitimate question: Can this untested teenager survive the harsh environment of the top? It wasn’t until the summer of 2018 that Vinicius turned 18 years old and in 32 matches for Flamengo’s first team, he contributed four goals. However, his artistic playing style caused Brazilian public opinion to be strongly divided in the last six months. Flamengo’s idol Dejan Petkovic believes that Vinicius is the type of player who is “too individualistic and does not contribute enough to the overall gameplay”.

However, when the time to play for Real Madrid neared, Vinicius still managed to become the most important player in Flamengo. His influence was so great that the Noval team leader begged him to stay to help Flamengo win the domestic championship. Although very emotional, Vinicius still decided to leave on time with the Spanish Royal team.

Losing Vinicius midway, Flamengo only finished second that year, but Noval did not hate his former student. He still regularly talks and guides Vinicius on how to choose a position. One of the things Noval often told Vinicius was congratulations on his promotion, and he made no secret of his pride in having contributed to the start of his career.

“Ever since Vinicius was little, I was sure that he would become one of the best players. He was probably the only person who gave me that belief. Watching Vinicius play is a joy.” , because he makes everyone happy,” Noval affirmed.

Overcome difficulties

Many European giants, including Barca, are interested in Vinicius. But Real was determined not to lose another Brazilian gem to its rival, after missing Santos’ Neymar in 2013. To convince Vinicius himself and his family, Real offered a specific plan for the future. hybrid of this player, besides the attractive financial aspects. Real’s player hunting expert Juni Calafat personally came to Brazil to explain to Vinicius and his relatives the roadmap to make him a main player at the Bernabeu.

After Vinicius decided to choose Real and waited another year to turn 18, he met with a Real representative every week to review video tapes of himself and Real’s matches, thereby understanding the type of player. that the Royal team expects from Vinicius. He understands that he is an important part of the recruitment of rough gems around the world that president Florentino Perez entrusts to Calafat. In addition to Vinicius, other “projects” include Martin Odegaard, Fede Valverde, Takefusa Kubo and compatriot Rodrygo. The above mentioned stars all went through the process of playing for Real’s Castilla youth team led by former player Santiago Solari.

Solari recounted: “Vinicius is part of Real’s strategy to find and recruit potential players before they explode. The transfer market has become crazy with sky-high fees. And now You can see the fruit of this very brave strategy that requires a genuine eye for seeing people. The leadership and the academy deserve praise.”

It didn’t take long for the young rookie to make his mark. He scored a personal double in a 2-2 draw with the Atletico Madrid youth team in early September 2018. Immediately after the “mini-derbi” match mentioned above, the local press called on then-first team coach Julen Lopetegui to put him straight into the main squad – which was having a drought of goals after the departure of the superstar in the summer. Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Vinicius only played a total of 12 minutes in two La Liga matches and spent most of his time with his peers at Castilla – Real’s youth team. According to Popoca, bringing Vinicius to the B team is a smart way to handle it, helping him not to be quickly overwhelmed but still feel the weight of the name Real Madrid while also getting used to the Spanish football style.

Not long after the 1-5 defeat at the hands of Barca in El Clasico, Lopetegui received a dismissal order. As interim coach, Solari immediately brought a Brazilian student to team A, even though it was not the most ideal time to bring a young player to play for the team under the greatest pressure to succeed in the world. . But the Argentine coach thinks it is the right time, when fans at the Bernabeu need a breath of fresh air after a stormy start to the season.

Vinicius’ speed, dribbling ability and positive energy quickly created excitement, relieving some of the pressure on President Perez. Solari said: “He quickly connected with the fans because of his direct playing style throughout the match. Vini brought a lot of expectations every time he had the ball, to the point of making the stands stand up. He always brings great joy – something that is in Vini’s blood. Watching him play is also a happiness.”

By January 2019, Vinicius was an official member of Solari’s squad. He scored his first goal in La Liga against Alaves the following month, but the Copa del Rey was the arena where Vinicius flourished. In the first five knockout rounds, he assisted 6 and personally scored two goals, before tiring Gerard Pique in the semi-finals. However, Real still lost 3-0 to Barca at home.

A positive start quickly turned to disaster just a week later, when Real Madrid became champions of the Champions League with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of young Ajax Amsterdam. Vinicius himself left the match against Ajax in tears with a serious ankle injury. This humiliating defeat put an end to Solari’s short reign, paving the way for the legendary Zinedine Zidane to reappear as Real head coach. He quickly gained support from the board of directors by recruiting Eden Hazard – the player Zidane himself proposed to buy – from Chelsea for more than 100 million euros.