Real Madrid icon Toni Kroos has this week opened up on the impact made by former Blancos teammate Vinícius Jr’s questionable on-pitch behaviour.
This comes amid confirmation that, at times, the German felt the need to step in to plead with Vinícius to ‘stop’.
Wide-man ‘Viní’ has of course long seen his behaviour take its place centre stage in the media headlines across Spain.
Allowing his emotions to get the better of him, the 25-year-old is often accused of needlessly harming his own performances and reputation, by way of anger-filled outbursts at players and officials alike.
In Vinícius’ defence, he is often the target of harsh treatment, on the part of opposing players and fans alike.
But by this point in his career, the attacker should in the eyes of most have learned to better deal with his emotions in high-pressure situations.
And one individual who appears to share such an opinion is the aforementioned Toni Kroos.
Speaking during an appearance in front of the media this week (as cited by Mundo Deportivo), ex-midfielder Kroos was characteristically honest in explaining:
“In those moments, I told him many times that enough was enough, because you get the feeling that, due to the way he behaves, the team ends up suffering.
“It’s understandable that this can irritate people — whether it’s an opponent, a referee, or the crowd. As a team, you get the impression that everything turns against the group because of what happens around him.
“I tried many times to calm him down on the pitch, mainly so he wouldn’t drift out of his own rhythm, because sometimes it happened. I always told him: ‘You’re so good that you don’t need any of that’.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
