Real Madrid News
Neymar backs Vinicius Jr amid criticism over celebrations: “Dribble, dance & be you”
Over the past few days, a lot has been made about Vinicius Jr and his style of play and his way of celebrating goals.
The 22-year-old was at the receiving end of some harsh fouls and challenges last weekend against RCD Mallorca, who seemingly felt provoked by the speedster’s dribbling and dancing celebrations when he scored.
It has sparked up a massive debate in Spanish footballing circles, with players, pundits and fans all weighing in on the matter. While some consider it to be provocative behaviour, there are some who believe that Vinicius is well within his right to celebrate as he deems fit, as long as he is not being disrespectful.
On Thursday, Atletico Madrid captain Koke issued a warning to Vinicius that his celebration might not be well-received at the Civitas Metropolitano when the two teams face off later this weekend.
Soon after, another Atletico player, Alvaro Morata, also had his say on the matter, insisting that there was nothing wrong with the Real Madrid superstar celebrating the way he wishes to as long as he does not cross a line.
Now, Vinicius’ Brazil teammate and PSG superstar has come to the backing of the 22-year-old with posts on his social media accounts.
The former Barcelona forward, who himself has attracted criticism in the past for similar reasons, first sent out a tweet that translated to: “Dance Vini Jr”.
Soon after, Neymar put up a story on Instagram with Vinicius’ picture and a caption that reads: “Dribble, dance & be you! Happy just the way you are. Go for it my boy, next goal we dance”.
Following in Neymar’s footsteps, a whole of host Brazilian players like Richarlison, Lucas Paqueta and even Barcelona star Raphinha have shown their support to Vinicius with posts on social media.
There are said to be growing concerns in the Real Madrid dressing room about opponents targeting Vinicius Jr and trying to get into his head. And it will be up to the Brazilian to ignore all the noise and keep doing what he has been doing over the past year.
Arda Guler’s Real Madrid stint has not gotten off to the start he would have hoped to have given the expectation that preceded the transfer.
Having joined in the summer after Real Madrid outbid their competition to win him over from Fenerbahce for a 20-million-euro fee, buzz was high as the winger was expected to slot into the team quite seamlessly, albeit on a rotational basis.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he has been constantly marred by injuries since completing the move.
Reports have stated that after Guler picked up his third injury since his move, Real Madrid have been concerned and want to take things slow with the player to ensure he is fit as soon as possible after an injury to his quadriceps this time.
The Turk is yet to make his competitive debut for the club, and Real Madrid even sacked their medical chief in November, in light of their injury crises since the beginning of the season.
No loan deal for Guler
However, according to Fabrizio Romano in a recent YouTube video, he states that Madrid maintain full trust and patience in the youngster.
Despite his bad luck with injuries, the latest of which he is scheduled to return from after Christmas, the Galacticos have no intention of loaning out Guler to Turkish clubs despite lots of speculation of them doing so of late.
Romano states that Madrid remain firm on not shaking things up too much with the squad, and they want to keep their roster stable, including Arda Guler.
They want to extend their full support and protection to the player as he aims to return to full fitness and finally make his bow for Madrid either by the end of this month or in 2024.
Adolphus Lake
September 16, 2022 at 9:00 am
This is a simple mind game to get him distracted and lose his edge on what he does best. This is football and infact the world most entertaining sports and goal celebrations whatever they are just makes it beautiful.
Vino Jr. Do the double D, it’s worth it
Sojaboy
September 16, 2022 at 1:05 pm
Do the double D Vini Jr. Dribble and Dance. That’s called been yourself. They can’t be like you and it hurts them!
WC Dave
September 16, 2022 at 1:29 pm
I’m a neutral, not a Real Madrid fan, but it’s easy for anyone to see that a lot of the criticism of Vini Jr. stems from barely-hidden racist attitudes on the part of some players and others around the game. We’ve seen just this kind of controversy in American football in years past, with white owners and coaches attacking black players like Terrell Owens for creative celebrations. Fortunately, American football seems to have gotten past these backward ideas, and I hope the worldwide sport of football will do so as well.
Tesfaye
September 17, 2022 at 7:28 pm
Dribble them and score a goal
Then celebrate with your Dance!!!