Vinicius ‘Christianizes’

Vinicius Junior (21 years old) is going through the best moment since he arrived at Madrid in the summer of 2018. Against Sevilla de Lopetegui (the coach who sent Castilla as soon as he arrived at the Madrid team and who made him debut in a derby against Atlético) he became the savior of the whites by scoring a bit stratospheric: he controlled the ball in the band, got rid of Ocampos, before facing the sevillista behind and unleashing a right hand that, despite the fact that Bono came to touch, entered like a shell in the goal of the Seville team.

In this way he gave victory to the whites. Three points that allow Ancelotti’s men to escape at the top of the leaderboard. An advantage that you can extend on Wednesday if you defeat Athletic in a match postponed since last October. Everything seems to be going smoothly for the young Brazilian who every day looks more like a player who left history at Real Madrid: Cristiano. The goal he scored against Sevilla is traced to one that the Portuguese scored against Osasuna, curiously, with Ancelotti on the white bench. What’s more, Real Madrid has written a tweet in which it directly compares them. In Kiev, for example, on the fourth day of the Champions League, clove similar to one that Cristiano did against Galatasaray in Istanbul.

It is true that both players never met in the white team. The Portuguese headed for the ranks of Juventus just the same year that the young Brazilian landed. The two share demarcation on the field of play: attackers who enter through the left profile. But apart from that, the young Vini has been absorbing him better from Cristiano since he arrived in Madrid until he became the player he is today. His first games were played with Castilla to gradually adapt to a different football than the one he played in Brazil with Flamengo. It was Solari who gave him the chance to gain a foothold in the first squad and he threw the team on his back in an ill-fated campaign for the Whites. He showed with his personality and game that he could be a perfect replacement for the Portuguese. He even briefly became the ‘Third Musketeer’: he replaced Cristiano in the traditional photo that the Portuguese took with Marcelo and Casemiro in the fingers boarding of the planes heading to any European country prior to a Champions League match. Everything was broken with the injury that kept him standing for about two months … but about six to seven mentally in which he doubted his game, his explosiveness, his verticality, as he recalled at one point in his documentary series ‘Vini for real‘that he issued through his social networks.

But From that injury a new Vinicius emerged: mentally stronger, more aggressive towards the rival goal, stronger physically … All due to a plan that follows to the letter … and similar to the one that Cristiano has been developing throughout his career. He works with his physical trainer, Thiago Lobo, to strengthen his legs and lower body (The stoppage due to the Coronavirus pandemic was great for him to continue sculpting his body), reduce the percentage of fat and gain muscle mass. In addition, he has a chef who regulates a meal plan always with the approval of the club’s medical services. After adapting to the circumstances upon arrival, his path of effort and perseverance have led him to earn the nickname of ‘galactic’ with his game.

His only ‘but’ was made in August 2020, when upon learning that he was not going to start against Manchester City, he began to play with a mobile phone while Zidane gave the technical talk. That brought him down several steps. Now, by the hand of Ancelotti and following Cristiano’s parameters (a photo was taken with him after a Clásico at the Bernabéu with the slogan: “The best in the world”), he is becoming one of the best players of the moment. If not the best … And it still has a way to go to grow even more.