Is Vinicius Junior ready for Real Madrid yet? How is the world’s most expensive teen is doing at Flamengo?
Real Madrid’s future Brazilian youngster Vinicius Junior made headlines last week, celebrating a goal for Flamengo which upset rivals Botafogo, and prompted compatriot Neymar to come out in his defence.
He has been the star man and top scorer at the U17 South American Youth Championships in Chile, scoring seven goals. That was enough to persuade Real Madrid to part with a record fee for a teenager, a move which was possibly spurred on by their experience of missing out on Neymar to rivals Barcelona in 2013.
The 16-year-old seemingly tried every trick and flick in his repertoire after coming off the bench to a hero’s welcome with minutes to go. But none of them came off, and the match petered out to a draw. The crowd displayed their disapproval on the final whistle, by booing Vinicius and his team-mates off the park.
As dealing with expectation goes, Flamengo could prove the perfect environment for Vinicius to prepare himself for a move to Real Madrid. Although the Brazilian club rarely meet their objectives, the pressure to perform is always immense.
However, by end of the year the talented youngster was starting to influence matches from the bench too, helping his side to vital triumphs. An improvement in his decision making will surely come with experience and quality coaching, for he possesses plenty of raw talent.
It is still too soon to confidently predict which way Vinicius’ career is heading, however, if he is given more time on the pitch this year, his courage on the ball could be of great benefit to Flamengo, and eventually to Real Madrid.
