The Vinicius thread: Goals, Stats, Videos, News and more

ASHOOR

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We have had a thread dedicated to Neymar for over 5 years now.

I think it is time we had one for Vinicius Jr too, seeing how he is finally living up to his reputation and having and amazing breakout season at RM.

Today he scored both of Real Madrid’s goals, taking his total for the season to 9! To put that into prospective, he scored a total of 15 goals for RM in his first 3 seasons combined! So another 6 goals and he matches the number of goals he scored in the previous 3 seasons!
 
So I am puzzled by Vinicius Jr.



First off, as you guys have been reading, I have been one of his biggest believers, even at the worst of times when he was the laughing stock of Real Madrid, including that incident where that snake Banzema told his French teammate not to pass to him.



When Vinicius emerged on the scene back in Brazil, he was doing enough things to be labeled the next Neymar and rightly so. He was a prodigy at an early age, just like Neymar was, which is why he attracted the attention of Flamengo and later Real Madrid.



But when he came to Madrid, and while he had flashes here and there, seems like something was missing. Sure, it could be the difference between playing in Brazil and playing in a more tough European league, but it is not like other Brazilians haven’t done this and adopted (save for the few like Gabigol)



Then things start to turn around late last year.



Then this year happens, where he is not only scoring goals, he is making things look so easy and his confidence is through the roof. For example, his second goal today is something that even Neymar wouldn’t have chipped with such ease. Yet Vinicius made it seem like he is Messi and having done similar goals so often.



So really, my question is or what I am wondering about, how could such an early potential go missing for years, and now suddenly he discovered? I know he is only 21 (for comparison’s sake, Neymar was almost 22 when he moved to Barcelona) and has been playing in Europe for almost 4 years. Is it the coach that is unlocking his true potential, but it is not like Zidane is a terrible coach or wasn’t giving him enough playing time.





This begs another question: what if Vinicius didn’t move to RM at age 18, and made the move at age 20 instead , where last year would have been his first full season with the club? How much would that have helped him adapt easier?



Which brings me to another player who is easily the best young talent to come out of Brazil: Kayke! He has barely played half a season in Brazil, and he has already moved to Manchester City! Compare that to VJ who had played almost 2 full seasons or Neymar who played 4 seasons with Santos. Shouldn’t they have let the kid play at least 1-2 full seasons before making the move? First, you are not letting him develop properly and when he goes there , he could flop and they will say he wasn’t good. Second, you need to let him develop that Brazilian flair, which he can’t really do if he only plays a fraction of a season. Sure, he would have learnt some of the samba fundamentals at an earlier age, or even playing in the streets, but that is not nearly enough. Otherwise what is the point, they may as well skip Brazilian clubs and just fly them to Europe when they are teenagers and rob them that Brazilian element to play beautiful football.
 
At just 21, Vinicius wins his 4th title with RM!

Of course, he is missing the big one in a CL and hopefully that comes this year?

La Liga: 2019–20
Supercopa de España: 2019–20, 2021–22
FIFA Club World Cup: 2018
 
Not that this was much of a race anymore, but after Barca lost today, Real Madrid needs just one point to win the league, with 5 games to go. This is the best position to be in, when you are trying to put all your focus on winning the CL SF , and make it to the final.

Very happy for VJ and Rodrygo. They both won a title back in 19/20, but Vinicius deserves this the most given the amazing effort and stats he put this year. As for CL, while both have done a lot to get Madrid to this stage, I just looked at their respective stats and Rodrygo has scored more goals in fewer games: 3 in 8, while Vinicius has managed 2 in 10. And while Vinicius has provided a lot of crucial assists, the thing about Rodrygo is that his goals were more crucial to Real winning or tying a game
 
Can’t wait for the Champions League game tomorrow. Hoping VJ and Rodrygo lift their first title at such a young age.
 
He has done it! Vinicius scored the winning goal against Liverpool and Real won their record 14th CL title. What an ending to an amazing season for Vinicius and Real.

At just 21, and assuming he stays healthy and doesn’t go down the distractions that Neymar engages in his career, sky is the limit for Vinicius!

Let us hope we see hi win the WC for Brazil in 5 months :)
 

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So one of common themes last few days since Brazil beat England has been the production of Vinicius for the national team, having only scored 3 goals and 4 assists across 27 games, certainly low for his profile. But I just thought this was a bit misleading or doesn’t tell the full picture. For one thing I know, he only started playing regularly starting at Copa America 2021 and we all know Tite just didn’t give him enough time overall.

Well, stats don’t lie! He has actually played a total of 1526 mins and if you do the math, that is a total of about 17 games. That is 10 games less than the official number being floated which is simply the number of times he played, even if it was those garbage minutes at the end.

Now the question becomes : is 3 goals and 4 assists across 17 games good for Vinicius. While it is not terrible , it certainly needs to go up and I know it will. It doesn’t help that he missed two easy ones last game.

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