Vinicius to the rescue for storied club

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This article was published 12/01/2019 (2776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They needed that. My goodness, did they ever need it.

On Wednesday, in the 77th minute of its Copa del Rey first leg at home to Leganes, slumping Real Madrid received a vital shot in the arm when young Vinicius Junior adjusted his body to receive Alvaro Odriozola’s cross and executed a perfectly placed volley that beat the goalkeeper inside the far post.

He made it look easy.

Casually approaching the line of Pepineros defenders, the 18-year-old broke into a jog when he realized the ball would be floated in his direction, and the excited hop he made as he readied to make connection with his right foot proclaimed the confidence with which he would extend the host’s lead to 3-0.

Only nine minutes earlier, he had calmly played a pass across the face of goal to Lucas Vazquez for Madrid’s second. But this was his moment, and after scoring he celebrated with a lone slide in front of the cheering fans before his teammates arrived to congratulate him.

It was a goal, a moment and, perhaps, the introduction of a new Bernabeu superstar the Los Blancos needed, and needed desperately.

“Vinicius transmits joy,” manager Santiago Solari said in his post-match remarks. “He is brave, he takes players on and he destroys defences in a way that we see less and less these days.”

And they’ve been seeing it with troubling irregularity since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus during the summer.

Fifth in La Liga following Sunday’s loss to Real Sociedad, which came on the heels of a draw with Villarreal to open the new year, Madrid has scored only 26 goals in 18 top-flight matches this season — barely half the total of first-place Barcelona, its archrivals who sit 10 points clear of the reigning European champions.

Without Ronaldo, the biggest club in the world has looked forlorn in both confidence and attack, lacking the swagger and game-changeability its former talisman provided on a regular basis. Given that the Portuguese star was not replaced with another galactico, it was always going to be down to a youngster to fill those illustrious boots in-house. Gareth Bale, so often either injured or inconsistent, was not going to step up. Ditto Karim Benzema, whom Ronaldo consistently made appear better than he actually was.

“Hope is called Vinicius,” Thursday’s front page of Marca gushed. If the teenager can deliver a similar performance on Sunday at Real Betis, it’s a hope that will have quite quickly become irresistibly present.

“His goal was fantastic, because it showcased his technique and ability to flat-foot defenders,” Solari said. “The most striking thing is his confidence and how he enjoys his game. He is not afraid to try different things, and that gives an extra dimension to us.”

Solari, incidentally, is already under considerable pressure in the Spanish capital, barely two months after replacing Julen Lopetegui. Solari has reportedly fallen out with playmaker Isco — captain Sergio Ramos recently referred to their relationship as “complicated”— and there has been talk that José Mourinho could make a return to the club he left in 2013.

There could hardly be a worse scenario for Vinicius — and other young Madrid players such as Odriozola, Dani Ceballos and the just-acquired Brahim Diaz — than a Mourinho appointment, what with the recently-sacked Manchester United manager’s toxic negativity and penchant for criticizing his squad in public. And, at the end of the day, Madrid is just a point back of the Champions League places and five points off second. If Vinicius can help make up those modest gaps, the half-season of struggle will seem a mere blip in hindsight.

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“It is a good moment to reinforce the message of how strong the players we already have are,” club director Emilio Butragueno said in an interview with AS. “There is already a lot of talent here.”

Of course, it would be just like Madrid to panic and bring in the type of reinforcements already being suggested by the overworked rumour mills. Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi and Genoa’s Krzysztof Piatek are two of them. But, wouldn’t it be a shame if Vinicius’s development was delayed, or derailed, as a result?

The Brazilian has already shown he can be just the medicine Real Madrid requires. The remedy is right there in front of it.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter: @JerradPeters