It took him a few months but Vinicius Junior was finally able to make his debut with Real Madrid’s first squad, it was in the Derby against Atletico.
Even if it was for just a couple of minutes, Vinicius Junior can finally say that he has played an official match for Real Madrid. At the age of 18, there aren’t many players who can say that they’ve accomplished such an impressive feat as professional footballers. Vinicius Junior has been part of the squad list for the last two La Liga matches with Los Blancos, even one game before that he was close to making the final squad but Julen Lopetegui decided to drop him out of it in the last minute.
During the midweek fiasco against Sevilla FC, giving Vinicius his first minutes as a Real Madrid player would’ve been a disaster because the kid could’ve been targeted in a match where all the players gave a bad performance and he wasn’t going to save the squad from a very painful defeat.
Even this Saturday’s match was going to be a difficult one for him to make his debut, but Julen Lopetegui looked like he already wanted to give Vinicius his chance due to his great performances with Castilla and all the pressure he was getting from the fans and the press. With the match tied with no goals, Julen thought this was a good chance for the player to maybe get a shot at scoring the winning goal in the final minutes.
🇧🇷 A first-team debut for @vini11Oficial tonight! 👏 pic.twitter.com/NAoFqyQxk2
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 29, 2018
When the match was on its 88th minute, the big moment came when Lopetegui called Vinicius to the sideline and gave him the instructions to get on the field and try to impress. But the time he was given wasn’t enough for the young star to show his skills, he barely could touch the ball a couple times and only made a few sprints.
But regardless of how little he played, Vinicius did make his debut and finally was able to know what it feels like to play in front of one of the toughest crowds in European football. The Real Madrid supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu were waiting for this moment, they cheered Vinicius when they realized he was coming in and applauded the few touches of the ball he completed.
After the match, many of the fans even expressed that they would’ve liked Vinicius to play a few more minutes but they know that his time to get more playing time will come. This debut was also historic for ‘Vinny’ because he became the very first senior Real Madrid professional who was born in the new century to play an official match for Los Blancos, this is a day that he will never forget and he made sure to express it anywhere he could.
A primeira página de um novo livro. Muito feliz de estreia no derby! seguimos trabalhando! Obrigado a todos pelas mensagens. ¡HALAMADRID!
La primera página de un nuevo libro. Muy feliz de debutar en derby! ¡seguimos trabajando! gracias a todos por las mensajes. ¡HALAMADRID! pic.twitter.com/FmXjroPqN3
— Vinicius Jr ⚡️ (@viniciusjr) September 29, 2018
The first reaction from Vinicius came through his Twitter account where he sent a message to all his fans and thanked all the people who have supported him until this very special moment of his career.
“This is the first page of a new book. I’m very happy to make my debut in a Derby! We will keep working hard. Thanks to everyone for their nice messages,” wrote the Brazilian on his Twitter account.
The Brazilian also spoke to the communication department from Real Madrid after the match:”I am very happy to play my first match at the Bernabeu with the Real Madrid jersey in a Derby against Atletico. This is a very special moment for me. I would like to thank every one of my teammates who has helped improve in practice and professor Lopetegui as well.”
“Right from a young age, I dreamed of playing for Real Madrid, the best team in the world. We deserved the win but unfortunately, we didn’t manage to convert our chances. We dominated the play but we now have to switch our attention to the Champions League”.
“This is a day that will stay in my memory forever. I just made history with Real Madrid. My family is all here to help me adapt as quick as possible. I will keep working hard so I can bring happiness to all the Real Madrid supporters,” added the Brazilian player to Real Madrid TV.
💬🇧🇷 Las palabras de @vini11Oficial tras su debut con el primer equipo en partido oficial. #RMDerbi pic.twitter.com/muaXDn4H6J
— Real Madrid C.F.⚽ (@realmadrid) September 29, 2018
When do you think Julen Lopetegui will give Vinicius a bigger chance to prove himself in a competitive match for Real Madrid? Please share your opinion in the comment section down below.