On the evening of this Thursday, January 18, Real Madrid suffered a large and unexpected defeat against its biggest local rival, Atlético de Madrid. This, in an important event corresponding to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and the meringues, who had just eliminated Atleti themselves and beat Barça in the Spanish Super Cup, failed to measure up in the cup match.
Responsible? Many, including the merengue coach Carlo Ancelotti and some of the top stars of the white team such as Rodrygo Goes, Rudiger and even Vinicius. The latter, who also received racist insults during and before the game, is being battered by the Spanish press for his attitudes, comments and his performance in last night’s game.
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El Diario Sport points against Vini: “The Brazilian does not learn, he unsettles his fans and is a negative protagonist”
The Catalan media Sport was especially critical of the Brazilian’s figure, classifying his performance as grey, individualistic and childish:
“The Brazilian does not learn, he unsettles his fans by waging war on his own to dilute his football and be a negative protagonist again.”
🤦♂️Vinicius, la desesperación del madridismo
👎Hizo un derbi gris, sin energía, desenganchado del equipo, siempre individualista y no se privó de su acostumbrada refriega con el árbitro y el rivalhttps://t.co/Xo2h39ikuw
— Diario SPORT (@sport) January 19, 2024
The journalist Alejandro Alcázar is the one who stars in the fierce criticism of the Brazilian star, who considers that Vini was one of the great highlights of the game, having one of his worst nights with the Real Madrid shirt:
“The Brazilian had just scored a hat-trick in the Spanish Super Cup final and earned praise for his success. He lost that good image in the derby with one of his worst games in the Madrid shirt in which he returned to his old ways due to his negative attitude.
😬 El partido MÁS TENSO de VINICIUS.
🙌 Hasta sus compañeros intentaron calmarlo#JUGONES pic.twitter.com/wGkIynCk6B
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 19, 2024
“He played a gray game. He was a machine of losing balls (guilty of the 3-2), of taking too many risks and of exasperating his teammates and, above all, the Real Madrid fans, tired of seeing him involved in meaningless skirmishes. A childlike character that they put up with because he is a dribbling juggler, who makes everyone enjoy when he is focused on football.”
During the event, Vinicius had several clashes with the refereeing body and with his rivals, mocking Rodrigo de Paul, responding to Cholo Simeone and making various gestures to the stands that, again, did not go unpunished by public opinion.
😡 PIQUE de VINICIUS y SIMEONE.
💥 LA TENSIÓN es brutal.#JUGONES pic.twitter.com/QVRklSUYK6
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 19, 2024
“He also did not deprive himself of his usual scuffle with the referee and his rivals. These confrontations exasperate the Madrid fans. He loses that empathy that he transmits while running with the ball tied to his ankle when he gets into neighborhood fights. Real Madrid fans don’t like this Vini, a differential player who loses focus and focuses the reproaches of his own fans.”
This opinion has been shared by hundreds of thousands of football fans, some from Madrid, some from Atlético, who criticize Vinicius for his need to be the protagonist of a match with negative gestures when things do not go well for him on the field.
His coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has defended him from criticism and has taken blame for his poor performance. However, his fans are beginning to ask for a little more maturity from the one he aims to be his big star and idol in the next five years. Especially in appointments of this level.
