RCD Mallorca’s Spanish-Argentine defender, Pablo Maffeo, tries to stop Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward, Vini Jr, during the first LaLiga match (EFE/CATI CLADERA)
No, time doesn’t heal everything. Or, at least, not always. Vinicius Jr is persona non grata at Son Moix and they proved it during this weekend’s match. Mallorca and Real Madrid opened the domestic competition in a match marked by old wars, but not forgotten. Every time the ball passed through the boots of the Brazilian striker, a deafening booing took over Son Moix. The reason? An old dispute with Pablo Maffeo that continued during the start of LaLiga. Kicks, hard tackles, struggles… And then peace came. The vermilion defender decided to settle the controversy during a hydration break.
It was a year ago. Real Madrid and Mallorca faced each other in a LaLiga match. On the left wing, Pablo Maffeo defended the goal for the bermellón and Vinicius led the attack on the same side. The struggles began to be a constant on that side of the field, as well as the tackles. The match took a backseat for them, who began their own private war. Every time the ball fell on that side, the fight was guaranteed. The problem is that as the minutes passed, the tension between the two began to increase.
The tackles were getting tougher and so were the reproaches. The Brazilian striker did not stop complaining to the referee about every tackle by the Mallorca defender, while the red-and-white player did not stop trying to prevent Vinicius from getting the ball up the wing. Such were the protests of the Real Madrid player that Maffeo even made the gesture of a “crybaby” to the Brazilian. This provoked the anger of Vinicius and the entire Real Madrid fans. For their part, the Mallorca fans also did not forgive the Brazilian for showing the Real Madrid crest to the Balearic fans after the end of the first half. A gesture that only served to inflame the atmosphere.
Now, a year later, neither the Son Moix crowd nor the players themselves had forgotten. Maffeo gave Vinicius a nasty tackle during the first half that earned him a yellow card. It was a stamp on the calf area that he himself admitted was a card. However, it was he who decided that it was time to put an end to the dispute with the Brazilian and took action on the matter.
Real Madrid player Vinicius on the ground after being tackled (REUTERS/Nacho Doce)
According to the Mallorca defender on the Jijantes FC programme, he approached the Real Madrid player during the water break to settle the dispute. “During the water break I told him ‘let’s stop messing around’,” Maffeo began. He added: “What happened, happened. We were ‘cool’. I don’t have any problem with him. I think, because of the mutual friends we have, that he’s a good guy off the pitch. And I believe that.”
And he concludes: “It doesn’t make sense to continue like this, with these things. In the end it’s a bad image and I don’t like it. I stepped on him and I apologized, he’s got a yellow card, but it was without force. I don’t see any malice in Vinicius, like in others. He will fail in things like everyone else, but if he polishes them it will be better.” In this way, the footballers have put an end to a dispute that began a year ago.
