Vinicius Junior pays back Zidane’s faith

“He's 19 and we have to be patient with him. He must be ambitious. We have 25 players and when some of them are not in the squad it's because there are a lot of important players. All of those players should be playing more”:  Now this is what Zinedine Zidane said on Saturday, before omitting Vinicius for the match against Valladolid.

The Brazilian youngster arrived in Santiago Bernabeu with a lot of expectations. Whenever he had been given the opportunity, Vinicius impressed with his pace, agility and dribbling abilities, but in clubs like Real Madrid such things are not enough, but scoring goals and help in win matches matter more. But the Real Madrid coach Zidane is someone, who does not come to a conclusion so easily but wishes to invest more faith in his boys.

The next mission of Los Blancos was against Real Zaragoza in the Round of 16 of Copa del Ray. Zidane decided to give Vinicius another opportunity so that he could prove his worth.  In his first season in Spain, in three Copa games Vinicius managed two goals and four assists, but since then has only started in four out of 29 games played.

In Zidane’s rotation policy, Vinicius featured in last weekend's league game against Unionistas where he played full 90 minutes. The match against Zaragoza would be a stifling test for the young Brazilian. He needed a sparkling display to cement his place in the main XI.

Real Madrid won the match and advanced to the next round. Toni Kroos ran the show from the word go and the next player who impressed Zidane and Real Madrid officials alongside Raphael Varane and Lucas Vazquez was none but Vinicius Junior. He worked tirelessly throughout the match and apart from his usual pace and skill; his defensive prowess caught the attention of everyone. He completed 4 tackles and proved to be a continuous nuisance for Zaragoza full-back Delma. Now that shows, how determined the boy is to prove his worth.

Then he scored the third goal.

In the 71st minute, the 19-year old charged at Zaragoza’s defence before playing a tidy one-two with James Rodriguez, the Brazilian picked the ball back up in the box and effortlessly lobbed it over the keeper. It was a delicate finish and the one, which Vinicius needed to boost his confidence and payback Zidane’s faith.

Zidane was impressed and Vinicius has kept the hopes alive to receive another opportunity.   

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 30/01/2020 Vinicius Junior pays back Zidane’s faith

Thank You

Faisal Caesar