Vinicius 'thrashed' Hazard

Vinicius ‘thrashed’ Hazard. That is clear from the results of a survey on AS.com, in which he asked “If you were Zidane, who would you start?”, and in which the Brazilian player widely surpassed his teammate in the Madrid squad. Of almost 30,000 Internet users who voted (29,494 in total), 23,186 (78.62%) were betting on the fine South American player, while the rest (6,308, 21.38%) opted for the Belgian.

Hazard's first campaign has not turned out as profitable as originally anticipated. His landing in Valdebebas, past kilos as he himself acknowledged in an interview, and the injury he suffered in December against PSG (his compatriot Meunier hit him in the ankle) together with his subsequent fear of suffering pain in that area, decreased his benefits . It was his best moment of the season. Set aside so that he was ready for the decisive Champions League match against Manchester City, his performance against the citizen team left a lot to be desired. Now, his call with Belgium, but that he has not played even a single minute, have set off the alarms in Valdebebas.

Meanwhile, Vinicius, one of his rivals to play in that demarcation, has changed the chip. He knows that with work, perseverance, effort and listening to his 'advisers' Marcelo and Casemiro, he can meet the challenge of gaining a place within Zidane's group. It all started in November 2019. Madrid received Galatasaray on the fourth day of the Champions League. Vinicius watched from the players' box the scoring feast of his friend and teammate Rodrygo. That night he signed a hat-trick before the Turks. Vini had not been summoned. The reason was his weak (almost nil) defensive task carried out against Betis (he played 25 minutes) four days before. A performance that bothered Zidane: he had been warning him that he had to improve that facet.

Since then, Vinicius set out to improve in everything. His highest point came in the Classical when he scored the first goal. But right at its best came the stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he was not discouraged: he worked hard with a physical trainer at his home. And the result came in the final stretch of the campaign: he participated in 10 of the 11 final matches (he only had no minutes in the match against Granada, 1-2, matchday 36).

To face this new campaign, Vinicius has been crushed in Ibiza and Sardinia, where he has rested. The return of Asensio, the presence of Hazard, the novelty of Odegaard and the smell of Rodrygo force him to reinvent yourself, but as he says: “At my age, only Casillas and Raúl had played more games than I had in Madrid.” But next year brings prizes and jackpots: the Copa América and the JJ OO (if they can be celebrated). And Vinicius wants to be on both dates. Ten days ago he explained his feelings: “I hope to play again for the Seleção. I want to be able to bring happiness to our people ”.