A leading member of the defensive ranks at Atlético Madrid has moved to launch a stern, and somewhat surprising defence of Real Madrid standout Vinícius Jr.
Wide-man Vinícius, of course, took his place front and centre in the headlines once more this past weekend.
As much came during the first Madrid Derby of the campaign.
En route to a hard-fought 1-1 stalemate between the capital rivals, the Brazilian international was involved in more than one heated exchange with his Atlético counterparts.
One, in particular, is understood to have seen Vinícius take aim at Koke, to the tune of:
“I have two Champions Leagues. You have nothing!”
Throughout the 90 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano, the Real Madrid star was, in turn, singled out for heavy abuse on the part of the home crowd, much of which, once more, was taken too far.
Speaking to the media with the dust having settled on proceedings in the Spanish capital, Atléti star José María Giménez was, in turn, asked for his take on Vinícius’ on-pitch antics.
And, as cited by Mundo Deportivo, the Uruguayan made use of the opportunity to launch a heartfelt defence of the 24-year-old:
“These are situations that are not shared with attitudes, but in the end I don’t think they are done with malice. He is not a bad guy. He is not a guy who wants to do evil. That’s how he is, he feels comfortable like that.”
“From the moment he started making these gestures, we asked him to stop, so that he wouldn’t continue to stir up the atmosphere outside. He responded well… You can say that he’s a guy who listens, who is humble and in the end he has those things that I think make him feel comfortable in the games and make him play better.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
