Before Kylian Mbappe's arrival threw everyone into a tail spin, the superstar of Real Madrid and the club's crown jewel - the one they were all willing to win the Ballon d'Or in 2024 - was Vinicius Junior. And for many Madridistas, it still is Vinicius Jr., no matter how much the mainstream still wants to hold onto Mbappe as the darling with all of his goals.
But though Vinicius Jr. is one of the most successful Champions League players of the modern era and has won the competition twice, he was not an overnight sensation. It took years of Vinicius Jr. starting games, struggling, and even having players and his own teammates doubt him before he broke through in 2021/22 as the world's best left winger (alongside Sadio Mane's last gasp of superstardom).
Sergio Ramos fell to his knees when he missed a sitter against Atalanta. Karim Benzema told Ferland Mendy not to pass it to him. And there were fans who wanted him benched first for Eden Hazard and then for Rodrygo Goes. Yet by the time Karim Benzema declined and left, Vinicius Jr. proved in 2023/24 that he was more than ready to be the guy.
Santiago Solari believed in Vinicius Jr.
It all goes back to 2018/19 when Real Madrid icon Santiago Solari first took charge and started believing in Vinicius Junior, starting him against all the criticisms and questions. And he delivered this quote at a press conference, which Madrid Sports reminded us of, to respond to those doubts about the Brazilian phenom from Flamengo, "Time and play. He's 18 years old and of course the craft and experience make the footballer. I play because to have that experience he has to play. He will play to gain experience and with that he will be a better player. We all see his talent."
And few quotes have aged as well as this one from Solari on Vini. The problem is that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has not applied this same logic to the other gems at the club, whether they are those he believes in or those he did not know of.
Franco Mastantuono is not a flop becaue he is struggling to adjust in his first La Liga season. Neither was Endrick for last year's exploits. Nor are Thiago Pitarch, Miguel Angel, Joan Martinez, Gonzalo Garcia, and all the other highly promising academy prospects going to get better if Perez does not let Alvaro Arbeloa or any other future Real Madrid manager let them play.
Perez and Real Madrid have forgotten the necessary pains of a youth movement, and though Real Madrid are under pressure to win now, it is not like the players of Aurelien Tchouameni's or Kylian Mbappe's ilk are winning them games now. So Flo, in wanting to build another dynasty, must refer to what hurt but what worked in the past.
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