Vinicius, the ‘influencer’ of Madrid

The key word in Vinicius’ effervescence this season is confidence. The Brazilian has 12 games in a row as a starter. Ancelotti has given them to him, something that neither Lopetegui, nor Solari nor Zidane did. “The coach gives us the confidence that we need,” said the man himself. Friends after his double to Elche.

But trust is a street that goes both ways. And Vinicius has responded giving confidence, from the grass to Carletto. He has done it by pulverizing his scoring records (nine) at this point, but doing it from a collective perspective and pairing it with better defensive work, a sin that weighed on him in previous seasons.

Friends He has earned the respect of his teammates (Modric was outlined to look for him quickly in the 0-2 at Elche because they had talked about it before the game) and the public support of his coach because has become the great influence football of this Real Madrid 2021-22. In addition to being the team’s second scorer, with nine goals (Mbappé has six, by the way), he is the one who has done the most dribbling (48), passes successfully to create scoring chances (12) and he has also applied something that Zidane asked him insistently and now he claims Carletto. It is the most effective in high blood pressure. He is the best madridista recuperator in the last quarter of the pitch, with eight this season. More, it is the fourth with the most defensive duels won (26). This Vinicius curra, and a lot.

But it is when he has the ball that things happen and his teammates know it. Against Elche, at halftime Madrid had channeled the exact half of its internships (50%) through Vinicius’s band, 38% on the opposite side and 12% through the central lane.

A piece of information from that match at Martínez Valero confirms it. Kroos, the player who decides where to turn Madrid’s game, gave more passes to Vinicius (14) than to his midfield partner Modric (10). The German sent Mariano, the striker, only five. Almost three times less than the Brazilian. Friends He has become an obvious reference for his colleagues to look at much more regularly. “Friends fears defenses “, said Courtois after the Classic. Madrid and Ancelotti know it.

The brightness of the Madrid attacker makes Brazil continue to mumble about his next absence with the Selection, to the point that there are media that link Tite’s decision to an alleged phobia towards Flamengo (the club in which Vinicius emerged) of the coach, the madridista is at the head of the ‘European’ Brazilians in terms of successful dribbles . The 20 madridista is in the frequency with which his compatriot and sacred cow of the canarinha Neymar, at PSG. Vinicius faces and dribbles successfully every 9’31 ”, while ney does it every 9’33 ” of game. He pulls this resource with success more than Mbappé (the Frenchman dribbles every 10’27 ”) and Raphinha (Leeds), one of those who preferred Tite instead. This winger dribbles every 12’52 ”. In LaLiga he is also the best in terms of total production. Vinicius accumulates 33 dribbles, for 31 of the following, Carrasco (Atlético) …

Its renewal begins to heat up …

But going back to what Real Madrid is interested in, the temperature begins to rise around the future of Friends. With a contract until 2024, there is already talk of its possible renewal. And in an interview for Tatiana Mantovani in TNT Sports Brasil, Vinicius himself was very forceful about what he thinks about it. “They have not told me anything, but I am very calm because there is still a lot of time,” he said. It transmits total tranquility. “Of course I want to renew, of course I want to stay here for a long time, but I am very calm about that, all at the right time. The contract I still have is the one from when I was 16 years old. It does not matter when I am going to renew, how much I am going to charge or how much I charge, what matters is the satisfaction of being in the best team in the world ”.

Madrid is not in a hurry either, the predisposition is to keep Friends in ascending progression and content. This happy Vinicius has become a major influence …