How Zinedine Zidane reportedly feels about Vinicius Junior in season’s final stretch

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has felt the heat a number of times in the 2020-2021 season, which has been a difficult campaign for nearly every club in Europe. Injuries and burnout are common issues, and Zidane has had to navigate these problems, a hounding media, and an inept attack. Yet he still has Los Blancos in contention to win La Liga and even the Champions League.

Zizou has seen which players have stepped up in the big moments and matches this season, and he has shown he will reward them accordingly. That is why we have seen long-time club servants like Lucas Vazquez and Nacho Fernandez play increasingly bigger roles.

And now before the 2020-2021 campaign comes to a close, we can add Vinicius Junior to that list of players Zidane shows confidence in.

According to a report from Tomas Gonzalez-Martin of ABC Deportes, Zinedine Zidane now counts on Vinicius Junior as a regular starter in his XI. He has convinced Zizou of his quality and place in the team, and the manager recognizes the different element he brings to the table with his talent on the ball. Furthermore, Gonzalez-Martin writes that Vinicius will be “very important” to Los Merengues in the final stage of the campaign.

Vinicius Junior has shown he is indeed the best man for the job at Real Madrid

Although this is just one report, it is always great to hear positive news about Vinicius and his standing with the team, especially when the report is about how the manager himself sees the young winger. We know Vini is going to do whatever it takes to succeed. He has made it abundantly clear that he loves this club, and his passion and work ethic on the field make that even more apparent.

With Eden Hazard potentially done for the season, Vinicius is the best man for the left wing position. Rodrygo Goes can play there, too, but he is better off on the right. Marco Asensio is an option with his crossing, but recent performances suggest the super-sub role may be his best bet right now.

Vinicius, meanwhile, has turned up his performances to a higher level in the past couple of months. Even when he is not scoring, he is making a difference with his chance-creation, as we saw with his electrifying dribbles in a dominant 3-1 Champions League second leg victory over Atalanta at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

We will see Vini play an important role again in the title race. Last year at around this time, he was decisive against Barcelona. Perhaps lightning will strike twice this April.