Vinicius: “Benzema said if I can score 30 goals, then I have to score 30 goals; don’t be satisfied with 29 goals.”
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Vinicius is only 23 years old, but his life has been like an adventure: from a child prodigy from the slums of Rio de Janeiro, then to a promising young talent in world football, a football icon. In an interview with France Football, the Brazilian player shared his journey.
Balls and dangerous streets
In 2019, during the Golden Ball awards ceremony, we discovered a 19-year-old boy who was still quite shy. Have things changed?
Have. A little bit in life and especially on the field. From Brazil to Madrid is a giant leap. Every child dreams of this. Here, I met good people. I have grown up and become a different player. I used to be a kid who knew nothing about only 70 professional matches. Currently, I have played more than 200 matches, but I am still young, and I certainly must not forget that. I am only 23 years old and still have a strong desire to learn.
The difficult times he went through included racist comments that he was targeted for, especially in the match against Valencia last season.
This has happened many times, and in Valencia, it happened blatantly and seriously. I feel very sad. I’m on the field to make people happy. And a group of people—I know it’s a small group—made me stop thinking about playing football. I learn so much from fighting racism, knowing a little more every day. It’s a complicated topic. In the past, people experienced slavery. I care about this topic and hope those dark chapters don’t happen again. Not only me but all the players, everyone… And especially the children. You are not ready for such situations. Since I was 19 years old, I have been interested in the topic of racism. Now, I know how I should react. I’m glad things are changing. The laws will change, and in stadiums, I believe this will become less and less. We players talked a lot about that. Many people texted me. Varane, Kylian, Hakimi, Lukaku… We must act together so that such incidents will become less and less frequent.
Fear must surely disappear.
Deep down, I don’t want to transmit fear to others. I just want my mind to be at peace so I can play football and know that I won’t be insulted on the field because I’m black anymore. The audience can curse because I score; that’s okay. The audience can curse me or disrespect me. The audience can whistle and boo me throughout the match, and I don’t care. But racism is another story. Whistling and booing are part of football. Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Neymar, etc. have all experienced it. Fans and other teams provoke them; it’s normal. I even like it because it motivates me to score. But racism is not… I don’t believe the world will be free of racism, but it must become a minority. Future generations will no longer think that is normal. Children today, when they see their parents behave like that, say to themselves, «If my parents did that, then it’s normal.» I want a world where fathers pass on the message to their sons that racism is bad. Through the generations, we will liberate ourselves. We will not end racism, but we must make it a minority.
He said, «Racism is normal in La Liga». Why is that?
Because of what happened in Valencia in the round of 35, all the away games we played before were racist. Yet the organizers did nothing. I told La Liga that this had to change. They only listened to me from the moment the whole world started talking about Spain, which forced them to react, not before. I know I won’t change history; I won’t be able to make Spain or the whole world free of racism. But I know I can change something so that the players who come here in the next few years won’t have to go through it so that the kids will be at peace in the future. So I’m going to do the best I can.
So what makes you happy now?
Have a career similar to Real Madrid’s. I had won everything I could, but I wanted more. Then came the World Cup championship with the Brazilian team. It has been a long time since we won that title, and this country needs it, even if the journey has been difficult. The new generation is very talented, but so are Spain, Argentina, France, and England.
What about the Golden Ball?
Hopefully, I will win, but my priority is the team, like Karim. He has assisted many goals for Cristiano, and Cristiano is always the winner of that title. Later, Karim also got it. I always emphasize the importance of teammates. If I score 60 goals a season but we don’t win the title, it’s meaningless. How can I win the Golden Ball if my team doesn’t win anything? I think we all have to go together. And then one day, like Modric or Karim, one of us will win the Ballon d’Or. It was truly a dream.
