Written By: Fahad Farooq
Edited By: Matt Conciatori
It is no secret that Vinicius Jr. has exploded in terms of his performances at Real Madrid during the current season. In comparison to his previous seasons at Real Madrid, this drastic rise in his impact and productivity has been spectacular. It wouldn’t be unfair to say he has played a huge part in keeping Real Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table and qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage.
During this current season, Vinicius Jr. already has netted 19 G/A (Goals/Assists) in 25 appearances compared to 30 G/A in 117 appearances throughout his previous three seasons at Real Madrid. As shown by the statistics, it wasn’t always this pretty for him during his first three seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Before the 18/19 season, Real Madrid signed Vinicius Jr. from Flamengo, a club in the Brazilian league, for a transfer fee of 50m (USD), making him the most expensive signing from Brazil after Neymar Jr. One can only imagine the burden on an 18-year old to not only play for Real Madrid, but to play in the position in which Cristiano Ronaldo used to play, arguably our best player of all time. Although, hardly anyone will be able to fill the shoes of Ronaldo’s stint at Real Madrid. Safe to say, Vinicius didn’t disappoint. At first glance, he was reminiscent and had the same aura of a young Neymar Jr. Watching an 18-year old take on multiple defenders at will with his blistering pace and elite dribbling skills was a sight to behold. In a difficult season, he provided hope to Madridistas for a more promising future. However, as much as Vinicius made football enjoyable to watch with his creativity and flair on the flanks, his lack of finishing on the ball was frustrating for people witnessing.
In the next two seasons, Vinicius’ end product was improving though there were inconsistencies. On one end, fans would get to see memorable performances from him, such as the famous two goals in a victory against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2020/21 season. While on the other end, we watched him miss a sitter from point-blank range vs Sevilla last season, which could have won Madrid the league title. The consensus regarding Vinicius was that he is a player who can take on any defender in the world though lacked the decision-making aspect in the final third. Many believed that the lack of an end product was stopping him from taking that final step to become one of the best youngsters in the world alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Fast forward to this current season, Vinicius left many Madrid fans shocked when he scored two crucial clinical goals against Levante (Matchweek 2), which helped Madrid come back from a losing position to draw the game. By the second game of LaLiga, Vinicius had 3 goals which has already matched his goal tally of three from last season. Many fans were questioning whether Vinicius would continue to perform at this level throughout the season. Moving forward a couple of months, Vinicius put those doubts to sleep in a must-win match against Sevilla during Matchweek 15, in the 87th minute, where he scored an absolute rocket from outside the box to win Madrid the game. It’s almost as if he has redeemed himself from the miss against Sevilla last season. As the season unfolds, it will become clearer how crucial this win vs second-place Sevilla will be for Madrid’s title charge. Surely, something has changed? Did Vinicius make adjustments to his finishing technique? Was it related to the mental aspect of finishing? Or a combination of both?
A quote by Real Madrid’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, gives us an insight into the advice he had for Vinicius to improve his finishing this season.
He said: “I’ve told Vinicius that it’s rare to score after taking five or six touches. To score,
you need one touch or maybe two maximum. You have to be in the area [box].”
This might as well be the most important advice Vinicius may have ever received throughout his football career. Vinicius would be guilty of taking extra unnecessary touches throughout his previous seasons, even when the opportunity to score would be a simple shot or a tap-in past the goalkeeper. However, it seems like he has implemented Ancelotti’s advice to perfection this season. In 21/22 season, eleven out of twelve goals by Vinicius have been scored from inside the box, and ten with two touches or less.
The second part of Carlo’s advice was for Vinicius to get into positions with better opportunities inside the box. At first, it may seem like a very simplistic suggestion, but it has great truth behind it. The closer a player is to the goal, the higher the chance of scoring, simple as that. Below are Vinicius’ shot maps throughout his Real Madrid career.
Data taken from Understat.com
Vinicius’s shot volume from inside the box or near the penalty area has progressively increased throughout the years. Comparing his first two seasons to his previous two seasons, Vinicius has had a lot of shots closer to the goal. As a result, Vinicius is getting more shots on target despite his shot volume increasing from the previous season. Considering his shots on target percentage this season, Vinicius is at a career-high 48.4% (+17.3% from last season) while averaging 2.82 shots per 90 (+0.8 from last season). This makes perfect sense since getting closer to the goal would allow players to hit most of their shots on target. In 20/21, despite taking a higher number of shots closer to the goal, Vinicius missed a lot of clear-cut goal scoring chances, as indicated by the red circles. On the contrary, he is converting similar goal scoring opportunities at a greater rate this season. It seems more apparent that implementing Ancelotti’s advice to reduce the number of touches and consistent positioning himself in the box has significantly increased his conversion rate. Despite all the on-pitch adjustments, it would be unfair to disregard the work Vinicius has put in off the pitch as well.
Photo by Wesley Menezes
Adjusting tactics or techniques can only take one so far; things like training, nutrition, confidence are equally important in improving one’s finishing. Vinicius understood this perfectly. Vinicius knew to get to that ‘level’ which Real Madrid expects from him, he has to make sacrifices and put in a lot of hard work. In 2019, there were reports of him staying back with Zidane and doing extra work on his finishing after every training session. He was so dedicated that he even consulted a sports psychologist to help him with his confidence, composure and the overall mental aspect of playing professional football. While reflecting on the changes in his game, he said:
All in all, Vinicius deserves great credit for never giving up throughout the tough times, he remained determined and is now receiving the rewards of his hard work. Finishing isn’t the only aspect which Vinicius has improved, but also ball progression, which is an important trait for a winger.
Ball progression has always been one of Vinicius’ strong suits, assisted by his ridiculous explosive pace and dribbling ability. However, this season, he has taken his ability to progress the ball to another level. In Europe’s top-5 leagues, Vinicius Jr. is first in progressive carries, second for carries into the final third, and first for carries into the penalty box. An interesting statistic to note is that Vinicius is averaging 3.33 carries into the penalty box per 90, an improvement of 1.5 from the previous season. It seems that not only is Vinicius carrying the ball for the sake of it, rather he is carrying the ball to get into better positions near the goal. Hence, taking full benefit of his ball progression ability and also reinforcing Carlo Ancelotti’s advice that ‘you have to be in the box’ to improve your chances of scoring a goal.
Ball carries aren’t the only way a player can progress the ball. The ball can also be progressed by passing it. As statistics show, Vinicius’ progressive passing has also improved. He is averaging four progressive passes per 90, an improvement of 1.75 from the previous season. Vinicius has also linked up more effectively with the players in the final third, especially Karim Benzema, to create goal scoring opportunities for him and other players. He is second in chances created for Real Madrid after Benzema. This is part of the decision-making process Vinicius has worked so hard on for the past couple of years, the fruits of which he is bearing now.
Vinicius Jr. has sent out a clear message to the board of Real Madrid with his run of performances this season. All that was required from Vinicius was patience and time, which the board and staff provided, and it eventually paid off. Combining his elite skillset with an improved end product, no obstacles remain for Vinicius to become one of the best players in the world of football. All things stand, there is no doubt that Vinicius Jr. will be running the show alongside a lethal attack of Karim Benzema and the much-expected Kylian Mbappé to mark the start of a new era at the Santiago Bernabéu.
[All data was taken from FBREF.com until the game vs Athletic Club.]
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