Vinicius seizes control of his narrative in breakthrough season

Once the subject of cruel jokes and mocking memes, the 21-year-old winger has captured the imagination of Real Madrid fans — and the footballing world at large — with both style and substance

Something very significant occurred when Getafe beat league leader Real Madrid 1-0 on the second day of the new year. Madridistas realised just how different the team looked without Vinicius Jr., once the target of unflattering jokes. The Brazilian winger had been ruled out because of a positive COVID-19 test, and Real, faced with a Getafe side that sat back after taking the lead, lacked both inspiration and incision.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men needed a line-breaking dribbler. None of the Real side that played that day seemed prepared to take a chance against the low block — something Vinicius excels at. This season, the wonder kid has routinely topped the charts for carrying the ball, whether it’s progressive carries, carries into the final-third, or carries into the penalty area, as per LaLiga statistics. He is among the league’s top dribblers, successfully completing almost three dribbles per game.

Real also sorely missed Vinicius’ end product: the 21-year-old is in the middle of a breakthrough season, racking up the sort of goals and assists numbers that turn heads. His 10 goals and four assists in 19 LaLiga appearances are second only to Karim Benzema (15 goals, seven assists) among Real players; indeed, he is the first footballer born in 2000 (or later) to notch up 10 goals in a Liga season. Moreover, Vinicius has decided big games this season. Against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, his prodigious talent made a difference.