Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior is one of the most prolific players in world football. He has won two LaLiga titles and been central to two Champions League winning sides, even placing a close second in the Ballon d'Or last season while winning FIFA's "The Best" award.
Yet even Vinicius Jr., who is just 24 years old, still has plenty of room to grow and improve. If anything, his uneven 2024/25 campaign has only highlighted how far he still has to go in his development, as Real Madrid have struggled more than expected offensively with Vinicius Jr. struggling to consistently play at a high level alongside new Real Madrid star forward Kylian Mbappe.
At his best, Vinicius Jr. is a supplementary goal-scorer and primary playmaker who carries the ball into the opposition third, takes opponents on, and creates scoring opportunities for his teammates. It's not an easy job, but it is arguably the most valuable in world football and was central to Real Madrid winning two Champions League titles, especially when he formed a tandem with striker Karim Benzema in his breakout 2021/22 campaign.
Vinicius Jr. is leaving assists on the table
But Vinicius Jr. still needs to embrace what it means to be the Robin to a striker's Batman, and with a less experienced and less well-rounded striker in Mbappe (as compared to 2021/22 Benzema), some of Vini's growth areas are being exposed more in the 2024/25 season.
One of the most important ones is directly reflected in the lower than expected scorelines, and that is the sheer number of assists Vinicius Jr. is leaving on the table. He is as good as ever at leading counterattacks and getting into dangerous situations, but he's not converting threatening positions in the box for both himself and Real Madrid into goals. More specifically, he isn't generating enough assists compared to how often he gets a share of the team's possession in good areas.
This season in LaLiga, Vinicius Jr. has just 5 assists, and he only had 2 assists in 12 Champions League appearances. Vini is leading the team in key passes with two per game, so some of that is down to lousy finishing from Rodrygo Goes and even from the leading scorer, Mbappe. But that's where the eye test comes in. Some of those chances are wasted or not as optimal for the shooter because Vinicius Jr. is making a mistake with the pass.
Vinicius Jr takes too much time
When I watch Vinicius, the biggest problem that I see is that he is taking too long to release the pass. It sounds like a simple fix, and that's because it's a pretty common issue that a player with Vini Jr.'s experience can - and should, with the help of the right coaching - resolve.
In football, you always need to make the pass a half-second before you think you do, especially when you are playing a pass into the penalty area. That split-second difference is the difference between a goal or nothing. It is the difference between your low cross getting deflected or intercepted, and it is also the difference between a secondary defender covering the recipient of the pass and blocking their shot vs. a successful finish. Remember, the recipient of the pass in the box only has one or even no touches to control before they shoot.
Essentially, the longer you take, even just a second too long, is the difference between a goal or nothing. It is the difference between victory and defeat. This difference is why managers praise players like Kevin de Bruyne who are able to think quickly on the counter and make these passes in an instant; Mesut Ozil was the same at Real Madrid, which is why he racked up 81 assists in three seasons.
Real Madrid must train this as a team, too
Obviously, Vinicius Jr. plays a more difficult position to get assists as a wide player vs. a central playmaker, and he isn't going to suddenly become a playmaker like De Bruyne and Ozil. But he also has an advantage over those two. He is so much faster and a better athlete than those guys, as proven by how often he gets into these threatening positions.
So he just has to get a little bit better at this. He needs to not take that extra touch or two off the dribble to allow other defenders to close the passing and shooting lanes. Vinicius Jr. needs to practice scanning and picking out where he's going to make the cross, and he needs to do these drills with his attacking teammates so they are all on the same page of when the ball will be released and where, especially since different forwards have different shooting angles and body positions they like to take up.
But a lot falls on Vinicius to simply make the pass faster instead of wasting his time with an extra touch. If he can do that, the difference will be palpable in the scoreline. It is these minor changes and attention to detail that make a huge impact at the end of the season when the points are tallied, and these are the things the best players and best teams need to do in order to win at the highest level.