Injured and out of action against Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, Vinicius Jr is still the talk of Real Madrid in Spain. Former La Roja coach Javier Clemente Lazaro has opened up about Real Madrid’s number 7.
For three seasons now, Vinicius Jr has been in top form. The Auriverde international has been consistently cited as one of the best players on the planet, if not the best, for some months now. Just when he thought he had ticked all the boxes to win the 2024 Golden Ball, Vinicius Jr saw Rodri lift the coveted trophy to everyone’s surprise.
The former Flamengo star was not happy about this, and has promised to do the double in the near future. And he’s keeping his word. Even if he still fails to impress with the Seleção, Vini is breaking all records with Real Madrid, as evidenced by his recent hat-trick against Osasuna in La Liga.
Today, he will be sorely missed by Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who travel to Anfield to take on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool, rumoured to be heading to Madrid at the end of the season. But before this clash, Vinicius Jr received some heavy criticism from Madrid.
Javier Clemente pulls Vinicius Jr’s ear
Constantly criticized in Spain for his behavior on and off the pitch, Vinicius Jr is taking another beating just hours before the clash with Liverpool, when Real Madrid will miss him through injury. Interviewed by Radio Marca, Javier Clemente, former Spain coach and emblematic figure of local soccer, lashed out at Vinicius Jr despite his belief that the Auriverde is currently the best player on the planet.
“I’d like him not to get angry on the pitch. If he gets a kick, let him take it and stick to it. In soccer, there are bad tackles or wrong refereeing decisions, but if you can’t stand them, it’s no good,” he began.
The Basque coach curtly reframed Vinicius Jr, who had been shouting that Spain was a racist country. For him, the Brazilian needs to review his behavior on Spanish pitches. “I think that if this boy were to make a reflection, he would be a person loved by all. It’s not a problem of color. We’re not a racist country, that’s very clear. What happened was that he approached the question in this way because he was interested in it, and I don’t think that’s good for him,” he said bluntly.
“He’s a great player, but what happens to him is that he argues with the opponent, he argues with the referee, he argues with the public, he even argues with his sister and that’s no way to be, it’s very bad,” he added.
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