The situation
Sweeping like a hurricane. Without looking at what he leaves or who he leaves behind. Vinicius knows that he is in his momentum , on the crest of the wave, in the best moment of his career . And at the same time, he conveys a feeling of not having touched – far from it – a ceiling. So many years of criticism and ridicule, far from sinking him, have strengthened him, as he himself already acknowledged at a press conference: “Criticism doesn’t hurt, I don’t care. Because I listen to the people who love me, who are with me every day. They matter; because there are others who will always talk about me, be it bad or good”. Deaf ears and screaming performance. Goal, goal, goal and goal. Four, he has four in four games, in a row. This is a new record in his career, something he had never done, not even with the Brazilian team. In Glasgow he broke a new ceramic wall with a definition of delicatessen at first touch. In fact, a reissue – capricious of fate – of the Paris goal. Valverde served a ball and he pushed it first in Saint-Denis, but the phrase would be worth, intact, to define Madrid’s first goal in this Champions League. With a nuance: this was preceded by 22 touches, a new record for Madrid, which had not scored a goal with that combination, away from home, for 20 years. Was adéjá vù of those who remind you that in Madrid, nothing has changed.
more leader
And at the same time, yes. Because Vini is another . Every day that passes he presents himself with more hierarchy, less nerves. Self-confidence is already a mastered task and when that table leg is not limping, everything is easier. “I still have to improve in many things. I keep evolving and I want to do it until the last day of my life. Look at Karim, for example, at 34 years old he continues to learn. Having examples like this gives me a plus”, he told the media. And he threw down the gauntlet. His challenge, at the moment, is to improve on last season’s numbers: 22 goals (one every 194′) and 20 assists (one every 213′). Many of those numbers led him to be chosen as the best young player of the last Champions League. At the moment, in the present, he already has four goals (one every 127′) and two assists (one every 255′). He is soaring in scoring stuff. And he is no longer afraid to take on stripes. At Celtic Park, when Benzema had to retire with a sore right knee, he quickly stepped forward and accepted that it was his turn to lead the attack. He had the first one in a heads up with Hart and didn’t spare the second. What a few years ago was a promise, is now a stark reality. Vinicius is an idol at Chamartín. And although he still does not dare to say if he considers himself a world top-5, he knows that he is not going in the opposite direction. Not much less.