The metamorphosis of the lethal Vinicius

The transformation experienced by Vinicius, coinciding with the landing of Carlo Ancelotti to the Real Madrid bench, has made him the star of the moment and the best possible partner for an excellent Karim Benzema, who is hardly news for another hat trick ‘and his umpteenth display of class and leadership. The first one who has surprised the geometric progression of the young Brazilian winger is the French striker himself, who considered him a lost cause, a run over attacker who almost always chose wrongly, defined even worse and even caused hilarity from a part of the criticism that has had to give in to the thrust of the carioca.

«Vini is a phenomenon. I am delighted to play alongside him. I talk a lot with him and he has shown that he can always play for this team, ”Benzema highlighted after the white team’s offensive display against Celta. Nothing to do with the confidences to his compatriot Mendy that made the news last year because they left Vinicius in a terrible place. There is no doubt that the risky system of Chacho Caudet benefits the explicit players because it gives away many meters between the defense and the goalkeeper, but the leader was exhibited on the attack front. In just four games, Vinicius has already scored four goals, the same as the realist Mikel Oyarzabal and only one less than the top scorer Benzema. He already improves his records of the entire past season in the League, closed with three goals and three assists.

Ancelotti is delighted with the Brazilian, a ‘rare bird’ in today’s football with an easy pass and few players with speed, verticality and overflow. «He is playing very well, with a lot of quality and effectiveness. Vinicius is a player who is at a very high level and has an impressive quality. In this part of the season he is doing very well; he is confident and very calm and cold in front of the goal. It has to continue like this and nothing else, “remarked the Italian coach after the five goals of the meringues against Celta.

For a long time, the Carioca has undergone specific training to improve his definition, refine his virtues, polish his defects and gain muscle without suffering loss of speed. However, he seems more applied with Ancelotti than with Zinedine Zidane, who was present on Sunday with his wife in a private box in the renovated Santiago Bernabéu, a coliseum that still has a year of work to do. Carletto’s advice, who recommended that he give fewer touches and be faster in execution, seems to be bearing fruit and boosting the exponential growth of the Brazilian.

The colleagues and the critics agree that Vinicius maintains his well-known virtues, to which he has added that pause that every figure needs and a huge dose of self-confidence and self-esteem. Understand that you don’t always have to run vertically. that sometimes it is better to stop and raise your head. Above all, he does not rush when making the last pass or overcoming the goalkeeper’s exit. He showed great cold blood by overcoming Dituro’s resistance in Real Madrid’s third goal, key in the comeback against Celta. He was marvelously unmarked, he did not fall offside, he drove superbly, he stopped before the shy departure of the Argentine goalkeeper, he tempered and put it next to the furthest pole.

Esteem

He is only 21 years old and has turned the tables to the point that his president already considers him a future Ballon d’Or, but Vinicius still has to gain in experience and poise. He still makes youthful mistakes like going to celebrate the goal with the spectators in the middle of a pandemic. Risk to his physical integrity, since he needed the help of security agents to escape from so much embrace, and for his health. Serious breach of the Covid protocol that will not lead to more sanction than the yellow card that the Murcian referee Sánchez Martínez showed him for celebrating a goal with the public. Competition understands that the play is already judged by the referee and will not enter ex officio because the disease has not changed the regulations.

Ancelotti respected the hierarchies and started the course with Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale as Benzema’s teammates at 4-3-3. But Vinicius’s performances, accompanied by another Bale muscle injury, have blown up the initial plan. Today, the Madrid forward is Benzema, Vini and another one, whoever wins it. The Belgian improves every day and, although he is still far from his best version at Chelsea, at least he has already lost the fear of facing, dribbling, digging and shooting.

But Vinicius is something else. To his four goals in 186 minutes he adds a forced penalty, a prelude to Benzema’s third goal in the hand to the Vigo players, and he participated in the elaboration of Carvajal’s goal against Betis a couple of weeks ago by rescuing a gallon that was lost by the bottom line. It is striking that he has scored four targets in just seven shots between the three suits, which represents an effectiveness of over 57%. Vini, scourge of the enemy defenses, has dazzled the always demanding merengue fans