Vinicius: “I came to Madrid for nights like tomorrow”

On the shores of the most important night of the season, Vinicius Júnior (Brazil, 21 years old) has granted an interview to MadridistaReal in which he is more confident than ever. In it, in addition to appeal to the spirit of the Bernabéu and to convey that the comeback is possible, he recalled how his first steps in white were, in which the role of Marcelo and Casemiro was key. He also wanted to shake egos: “Stars are Marcelo, Casemiro, Modric, Nacho, Kroos, Benzema… I’m not a star by his side”.

Q: The Bernabéu, which will be a boiler…

A: The support of our people is going to be one of the keys, as if it were one more part of the tactic or one more player. PSG is a fantastic team and if we want to come back I’ll have to be double, Karim double, Luka double… It’s not going to help us to just play a good game. We’re going to have to be more than good.

Did you sign up for nights like tomorrow?

That’s it. I have already experienced many Champions League nights with Madrid but if we look closely at my history, this is going to be the most important. There were very nice nights for me, but some were at the Di Stéfano without an audience. I’m looking forward to tomorrow because it can be magical.

Carlos Abrantes ‘Cacau’, who discovered you when you were only 6 years old, told us that he supported you, even letting you not pay for the academy when your family couldn’t. What can you tell us?

Everything was very difficult in those days, but despite that I remember it with great happiness. I was very young and for me it was a dream to enter an academy with the other children. Many nights I couldn’t sleep and only thought about leaving school to go to training. We were very humble, but it is the best proof that the love of parents with their children is the greatest thing there is. They sacrificed a lot for me, and I owe them who I am.

You are a street player, something that is being lost nowadays. Do you think that children today should play more in the street and not so much in perfect fields?

Well I do not know. The street gives you some things and the fields, others. There are great players who have not grown up on the streets, who have learned football on fields, even on good fields from a very young age. The street teaches you things, but the field also.

With very few games at Flamengo and still being a minor, the greats fought for you. What did they see in you?

It was very fast and I liked to face without fear. My way of playing was cheerful and direct; and people liked that a lot.

What reasons led you to choose Real Madrid to the detriment of, for example, Barcelona?

There wasn’t much to do to convince me. It was always very clear to me that Real Madrid was my destiny.

At 18 years old you arrive at a Real Madrid without Cristiano or Zidane. In this apparently unfavorable climate for your adaptation, you are one of those who throws the team on his back. What were the keys for you to show that personality?

I did what I knew how to do, play what I knew, with my strengths and weaknesses. Nerves? Of course, of course, but all my colleagues helped me a lot. I always felt the trust of the club and the dressing room.

How important were Marcelo and Casemiro in that adaptation?

Very, very much. They have an impressive human quality and they did not stop giving me advice at any time. In fact, they keep giving me advice and that’s why I feel like a privileged boy. I thank God for having found me such good people. I was very young and everything was new and gigantic for me. Only those who have been through the same as me know what I’m talking about.

That first year Lopetegui preferred to be cautious with you, and let you gain experience at Castilla. Solari arrives and he gives you all his confidence. What did the Argentine mean to you?

I learned a lot from both of them. I am very grateful to them because everything they did was to take care of me and to help me grow. When you are so young, you are like a sponge and everything is learning and everything is lessons.

You’ve been here for three and a half seasons. What assessment can you make and what have you learned?

It seems like yesterday when I arrived. Time passes very quickly and in Madrid, much more. There is no time for anything other than competing or preparing to compete. I don’t want to set myself notes or goals.

At 21 you are already one of the stars of the team. How do you imagine your future? Do you see yourself capable of leading the team in a few years?

I don’t consider myself a star. This locker room is full of Champions and all possible titles. Stars are Marce, Case, Luka, Nacho, Toni, Karim… Next to him I’m not a star. I am a player who learns what he can from them.

It seems clear that Ancelotti has helped you progress in recent months. What advice has he given you?

The coach has already explained it very well every time they ask him about me. He gives me a lot of advice. I didn’t think it was possible to combine my speed and play to the limit with calm, but the coach is teaching me that it is possible. He has complete control over football and details. He is all encompassing and training under him is a daily lesson, or many.

Your main supporter at Real Madrid is Florentino Pérez. How important has his support been to you?

The taken He has always given me his love. In the good and in the not so good. I will be eternally grateful to him. But I don’t just feel lucky. He cares a lot about the players and likes to reach out to us to give us his support and encouragement.

What does it mean to play with Benzema?

It is the best in the world. He has an incredible command of the game. He always knows what to do and chooses the best for the play to end well, regardless of whether he or a teammate has to finish it. I get along very well with Karim and I think we are doing good things together.

Also with Kroos…

Tony is a phenomenon. He has a long pass and a very special vision of football. Everything that he has to go through on the field is because he knows it. In training we make very good connections, we have gotten to know each other very well and then you can see that in the games.

You young people are showing great character. Are you the future?

We are forming a good line of reinforcements, and that is giving good results. The combination of experience and youth in the team is something that is working very well. I don’t know how far we will go, but I have the feeling that we are on the right track.

The new Bernabeu. What expectations do you have for the costumes of the new temple?

It’s going to be amazing. The club has made us aware of the project and it is impressive. Hopefully when it’s finished all the madridistas can see us win many games there. I love it and I dream of being able to play in a field that will be much more than a field.

If you maintain this level, you will be undisputed in the World Cup. What options do you see for Brazil?

The competition is very great and nothing can guarantee you a position. Brazil has many of the best in the world. I think things are being done very well and that we can form a great team.

What would winning a Champions League mean to you?

It would be a wonderful thing. This club has 13 and I really don’t understand how they have been able to achieve it, because this competition is very difficult. What Madrid has achieved in its history… There are no words to describe it.

What advice would you give to children who want to be a Vinicius one day?

That everything they do, do it with respect and humility; listening to the advice of those who know.

With which player do you have more feeling inside the field? And out?

Logically, at the beginning my compatriots were the ones who were closest, more than anything because of the language, but now I have a magnificent relationship with everyone. Every day that I come to Valdebebas I feel as if it were another part of my house and my people were there. They are my family.

Dribbling is your greatest virtue. Does it come naturally to you or have you needed to train it a lot?

I’ve been working a lot with specialists on the endurance part, on the more detailed physical preparation for my style of play. All this is very important. I have studied a lot about rest and food. This is training too. In the technical part, the definition is one of my tasks, and on which I have also worked a lot this past summer.

You were the subject of many memes and jokes, some in bad taste. Now there are not so many, what do you think are the keys to your extraordinary moment of form?

Work, self-confidence, being open to advice from the best, self-love… All these things are the ideal recipe.

Define in a few words:

Neymar: A magician

Zidane: A great coach

Rodrygo: A great footballer who is going to achieve everything he sets his mind to.

Ronaldo Nazario: An unrepeatable genius

Modric: Another magician with whom I feel privileged

Cristiano: goals, goals, goals. He had his posters on my wall when I was little. An idol.

What does Vinicius spend his free time doing?

I love being with my family, playing everything with them and feeling that they are close to me.

And finally, would you like to send him a message?

A very big greeting to all the madridistas, and to tell them that we are going to do everything possible so that they continue to be proud of their players and, together, make the legend of the club greater.