Real Madrid completed a worthy comeback attempt in Germany against one of the most in-form teams in the world this season. Prior to the quarter-final tie and particularly the second leg in Bavaria, the consensus sentiment from football observers and a not so insignificant contingent of the Madridismo fanbase was that the Spanish team was heavy underdogs. There now appears to be strong revisionism that is looking to minimize the quality and magnitude of Real Madrid’s heroic efforts last week.
Winning
will always be the ultimate maxim for Los Merengues, and a principle by which the club has dutifully and fruitfully abided by. But as much as results matter and as much as reaching the destination is always the goal, we need to sometimes step back and admire the beauty of the journey. The history books may simply show a 4-3 loss (6-4 on aggregate) for the quarter-final showdown between two of Europe’s most legendary clubs, but the truth is the team provided us with a special performance and inspiring fight. Eduardo Camavinga’s red card was the killer blow and one can argue that there were better ways to manage being a man down but it’s undeniable that it was a major turning point which would always be a huge ask for the team to overcome.
“It wasn’t enough but we went out on our shield.” – Jude Bellingham
A loss is a failure and that must be acknowledged in order to get better but not all losses are the same. The courage and tactical savvy Alvaro Arbeloa showed in fielding such a complementary line-up should be admired. The inventiveness, swagger and man-of-the-match display of Arda Güler has to be heralded. The backbreaking performances of players like Bellingham, Militão and Mendy who recently returned from injury spells cannot be erased – that is the epitome of what leaving everything on the pitch means. More than perhaps any win on paper, their showings on Wednesday upheld the values of the club and the responsibility (and beyond) of the Los Blancos shirt.
And that now brings us to Vinícius Júnior…
There is a form of mass hysteria that has been surrounding commentary on the Brazilian for some time now where the extreme polarization of opinion and narrative is reaching a boiling point. What is now becoming an incredibly politicized conversation, perhaps unfairly, means that every single thing regarding arguably the Champions League’s best performer in knockout stages in recent years is overblown. More than this questionable magnifying glass the Brazilian seems to be singularly placed under by some, it’s now bleeding into outright distorting the reality around what he is doing.
There are certainly valid criticisms one can have about the Real Madrid talisman but that is true for any player and looking at those without consideration for his overall output, performance and ability is a very skewed view. Vinicius had an astounding first half against Bayern Munich last week (along with the rest of the team – the loss hurts but there is much to be celebrated about that performance). In just 45 minutes of football, he: pressured Neuer in the lead-up to Arda’s golazo, provided Mbappe with a point blank one on one opportunity, played the pass preceding the foul on Brahim Diaz leading to Arda’s second goal, brilliantly created a shot off the crossbar and was the one who played the assist to Mbappe. Most players are not nearly this involved in their team’s key actions over a full 90 minutes – let alone only a single half against one of the best teams in the world.
His second half wasn’t as sharp but that was the case for the team overall and several players as the energy exerted and intensity started taking its toll. Nonetheless he continued to make runs and made several key interceptions defensively including winning the ball back from Laimer when filling in as a left midfielder after the team went down to ten. More than that though, the below is Vinicius’ resume with the team in his eight years with the club.
While we can’t live in the past, we also can’t forget it. Vinicius is not a prospect looking to prove himself – he has already delivered more to Real Madrid than most players that have donned the jersey and reached the pinnacle of individual football recognition almost winning the Ballon d’Or. And just this season alone – just this calendar year alone — he showed up time and again when the season was on the line. Two goals against Benfica, two goals and an assist against Manchester City, two goals against Atlético Madrid…
Sports and football are innately tribalistic endeavours which lends itself to this kind of extreme discourse but it is very curious that one of Real Madrid’s best and longest serving players, and someone that was a shining light on Tuesday faces the level of vitriolic commentary he does.
