Vindictive Vinícius
Vinícius Júnior is on everyone’s lips lately followed by the Spanish word “provocador”, meaning he’s someone who likes to provoke others.
It’s becoming the norm to read about Vinícius protesting, gesturing, diving, dancing… all but his achievements on the pitch with the ball. But what’s really worrying in this sense is that he seems to have the crowd against him whenever he’s playing away. Vallecas, José Zorrilla, La Cerámica or more recently San Mamés are just some of the stadiums in which Vinícius was booed and reproved for his actions.
A common trend that’s clearly affecting his performances and even bothering some madridistas who’ve admitted they’re a bit fed up of him being distracted by all the controversy instead of focusing solely on the football.
If we look into his goal scoring numbers this season, we can actually spot a trend which could have to do with the Brazilian’s lack of concentration when playing away from the Bernabéu, in LaLiga.
Vinícius started this 22/23 campaign in great form, scoring in 4 of the first 5 LaLiga matches, including 2 away goals against Espanyol and Celta de Vigo. He even kept up that streak by putting another one past Celtic Glasgow at Celtic Park.
As a consequence of his goals and flashy performances, his dancing celebrations were questioned by many and considered a provocation. This led to the dreadful game against Atlético de Madrid in which some appalling racist chants were pronounced against Vinícius by opposition fans in the stadiums’ surroundings.
It also put the player in the spotlight even more, which hasn’t done him any good at all. As a consequence Vinícius has looked more rattled than ever on the pitch, protesting more insistently and turning the crowds against him.
Since then, he hasn’t scored a single away goal in LaLiga. Only in the Copa del Rey against Villarreal and another in the Champions League where he doesn’t have to confront that excessive hate.
A good example of his disciplinary “breakdowns” during matches is when Real Madrid faced Athletic Club. The referee, José María Sánchez Martínez, approached and spoke to Carlo Ancelotti as if saying that he better help calm Vinícius down unless he wanted Sánchez Martínez to take matter into his own hands. Ancelotti then insisted his player to “talk to me”, not to the ref, as he later revealed in the press conference.
But let’s not be naive, Vinícius isn’t usually the one provoking. Opposition players and fans know that he’s easy to fluster, so they try and make the most of that. And it works. Yes, he’s a player that tends to exaggerate after being tackled, that can be insistent when asking for a favourable call or that likes to celebrate dancing. Yet all of this doesn’t fully justify the extremely negative perception Spanish football fans have of him.
It’s not an easy ask, but Ancelotti needs to find a way to ensure Vinícius stays as cool as possible and doesn’t react to the provocations he’s subject to, with further provocations. His revenge has to be on the pitch, with the ball at his feet.