The Brazilian Vinícius Junior will become Mestalla against Valencia, on the day of their reunion in a setting where he experienced one of the hardest chapters of his sporting career, the third youngest footballer, at 23 years and 234 days, to reach 250 matches with the Real Madrid shirt.
With the desire to be in the news for what happens on the field of play and not to repeat situations like those he experienced on his last visit to Mestalla, when he stopped the game and pointed out those who were uttering racist insults against him so that they would be thrown out. of the stadium. With the lesson learned to be “a better person.” Aware of the mistakes when extra-sports things distract him in games.
“I’m not stupid and I know that sometimes I talk too much and do things I don’t have to do, but I’m here to improve, I want to improve and I’m learning,” He confessed in Riyadh on January 14 after winning the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona, his tenth title with Real Madrid.
In Valencia it reaches 250 games. Only Madrid legends like Raúl González, aged 22 years and 177 days, and Iker Casillas, aged 23 years and 152 days, reached that figure before ‘Vini’. He has been the absolute reference for the Madrid attack since Carlo Ancelotti’s return to the bench, when he made the leap in quality and continuous performance. A homeless footballer.
“In recent seasons I have seen a constant and very important progression in him,” Ancelotti highlighted before the visit to Mestalla. «To the quality that he had, he has been able to add continuity, he scores goals, gives assists and is even more important for the team. He has no ceiling because of the humility that he has. He can progress and continue growing because his best quality is that he enjoys football », added the coach who has gotten the most performance out of the Brazilian forward.
His 249 games for Real Madrid, with 191 starts, in which he scored 71 goals and gave 56 assists, are distributed among 167 in the Spanish LaLiga, 50 in the Champions League, 20 in the Copa del Rey, 8 in the Spanish Super Cup , 3 in the Club World Cup and one in the European Super Cup.
Despite his youth, Vinícius is already the fourth Brazilian with the most appearances in the history of Real Madrid, approaching Casemiro’s 336. His goal is to become a legendary player in the White House like Roberto Carlos, who played 527 games, becoming the foreign player who defended the Madrid team the most, until he was surpassed by Marcelo, who returned to Brazil with 546.
Since ‘Vini’ took his first steps at Real Madrid until today, he has become the footballer in Europe with the most dribbles attempted. He even surpassed the Argentine Leo Messi or Kylian Mbappé, with whom he could soon share a team and together seek ‘Champions’ that enhance his figure.
He will be the main protagonist of the duel at Mestalla, aware of the hostile atmosphere that will greet him, feeling his importance against a team for which he has the measure taken. He is the rival who has scored the most, along with Levante. In LaLig, he scored six goals in nine matches.
Only one in Mestalla but with the fresh memory of his last fight, when he scored a double in Madrid’s rout at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium (5-1), last November on the thirteenth league matchday. Statistics that ‘Vini’ wants to gain weight on a special day in which he reaches 250 games with Real Madrid. EFE
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