Vinicius Jr. has won two La Liga titles and the 2022 Champions League after relocating to the Bernabeu in 2018.
Being acclaimed as the greatest player in the world by his childhood hero and scoring in the Champions League final was not a bad way for Vinicius Jr. to end the 2021–22 campaign.
The Real Madrid attacker won his second La Liga championship and his first European trophy in the second half of the Champions League final in Paris against Liverpool.
He was selected the league’s young player of the season in addition to being included in the teams of the season for the Champions League and La Liga.
Even though he put a lot of work into his accomplishment this year, it would be unjust to call it a breakout year given his previous seasons. When Real Madrid paid £38.7 million to sign him, they smashed the record for a player under 19. His genius had been seen by many even as a young child.
However, since he was a little child growing up in Rio de Janeiro’s Sao Goncalo neighbourhood, he hasn’t had it easy in Spain or anyplace else.
A shy, reserved young man who is incredibly fast in the field. Carlos Eduardo Abrantes says, “On the pitch, he was free,” without mentioning how little he said.
Vinicius honed his football and intellectual skills at the Escolinha de Flamengo, directed by “Cacau” Abrantes, in the Mutua neighbourhood of Brazil. The elite club owns several schools across the nation, including this one.
In an interview with AS:external-link, Cacau himself said, “There is a lot of poverty,” supporting the widespread belief that he discovered Vinicius. Sadly, this city does not receive nearly enough public funding despite its desperate need.
He came to our school when he was six years old. When he trained with men considerably older than himself in his first training sessions, people started to take note. When he was just seven years old, he was already playing fairly well against nine-year-olds.
His folks showered him with gifts. They are essential to his career existence.
Born to Fernanda and Vinicius Sr., Vinicius Jr.’s life has been anything but typical. When he was nine years old, “Vini” had big hopes to play futsal, but Flamengo told him to try again the following year after his trial had failed.
That year, he made Flamengo’s young team after trying out since he preferred football to futsal.
Vinicius Sr. would need to work in Sao Paulo to provide for his family. Meanwhile, Fernanda would travel with Vinicius the seventy km from their neighbourhood to Ninho do Urubu, also known as the Wolf’s Nest, Flamengo’s training ground.
Vinicius moved closer to the training facility with a cousin, and he made his Flamengo debut against Atletico Mineiro.
After watching the game, expert on South American football Tim Vickery said, “He still had the look of a ball boy who had wandered on to the field in those 10 minutes in the Maracana.”
But after Brazil’s incredible Under-17 South American Championship victory, in which he was awarded the tournament’s best player and top scorer, Real Madrid had had enough and signed Vinicius.
When the deal was finalised, he was sixteen years old and had only played seventeen minutes of senior football—a full year before his July 2018 unveiling.
More pressure to sign with Los Blancos was applied when Vinicius was revealed as Real Madrid’s first summer addition, four days after the team won La Liga for the first time in five years. In addition, he was the team’s first acquisition following the lifting of the transfer ban.
When Cristiano Ronaldo finally departed the Bernabeu for Juventus after nine years, it was obviously a seismic event, but Vinicius had already taken Ronaldo’s place by the time he joined Real Madrid’s lineup a year later.
During the moment of transition that followed manager Zinedine Zidane’s original resignation, Vinicius was a revealing figure.
“He has brought to the side an electricity, a sharpness and bravery they did not have,” BBC Radio 5 Live host Guillem Balague said in 2018, referring to Spanish football expert.
“He seems to have some traits from both Ronaldos,”
Neymar (center-right), Vinicius of Real Madrid, and his Brazilian teammate, crowned him the best striker in the world last season.
His first season did not, however, come without difficulties. His four goals, eight assists, and thirty-one appearances helped Barcelona win the league.
Vinicius overcame this obstacle to make 38 appearances in all competitions, helping Madrid win La Liga the following year.
Brazilian football player Dani Alves told Business Insider that he made an outside reference. He is unquestionably one of those athletes with natural ability. I had the privilege of watching him play up close as a member of the Brazilian national squad. I’m sure that in the near future, we’ll find out a lot more about him.
However, Vinicius has not been without difficulties throughout his time in Madrid. Video footage of Madrid’s Champions League group stage encounter against Borussia Monchengladbach in October 2020 shows striker Karim Benzema screaming at teammate Ferland Mendy, saying, “he is playing against us,” and refusing to pass the ball to Vinicius, despite the fact that Madrid was behind 1-0 at the half.
Nevertheless, Vinicius remained undeterred by the incident and continued to perform well for the team under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, winning the Champions League to avenge Madrid’s loss in the semi-final the previous year as well as the league championship for the second consecutive year.
Vinicius contributed to an amazing season for Real Madrid last year, particularly in Europe, with 22 goals and 16 assists in 52 games played.
Vinicius sealed the deal in the 59th minute of the Champions League final in May against Liverpool.
Many folks were delighted for the winner.
Despite having won the Champions League once and La Liga twice as a 22-year-old, Vini has demonstrated his maturity off the pitch.
“They are far more bothered by the happiness of a black Brazilian champion in Europe.”
Vinicius spoke these and other strongly worded things the evening before his team’s game against his hometown rival, Atletico Madrid.