MADRID — Real Madrid coach
“On Wednesday, after the two days of rest, we had a meeting with everyone. Vini was impeccable, he spoke from the heart, and I was satisfied. Everything is settled,” Alonso said in a press conference prior to Saturday’s duel with Valencia in the Spanish La Liga.
Earlier in the week, Vinícius had apologized for the outburst towards Alonso, explaining that the reaction was to his “passion” and “competitive character.”
The attacker was visibly upset when he found out that Alonso decided to replace him with his compatriot Rodrygo in the 72nd minute of Madrid’s 2-1 victory against Barça last Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Vinícius opened his arms and continued talking to himself as he left the field. He headed straight to the locker room before rejoining his teammates about five minutes later.
The coach seemed not to care that the apology message did not mention his name, calling the statement “very valuable, very positive.”
“Vini showed honesty. He spoke from the heart, what the club means and what it wants to give and for me the most important thing is what he said to his teammates, to the fans, to the club,” said Alonso, who is completing his first season in charge of Madrid after taking over from Carlo Ancelotti.
Vinicius has been substituted more frequently than he used to be under previous Madrid managers. He also didn’t start a couple of games.
He also had an exchange of words with Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona star, during the classic, and was involved in an altercation between players after the game.
“I was very satisfied, and since Wednesday the issue was closed, we are already thinking about what is coming. Tomorrow we have the game, which is the most important thing. No retaliation. It was very well closed, we spoke very positively and the focus is on the field,” said Alonso.
