Author: Amrit Santlani
Ronaldo Nazario, the legendary Brazilian striker nicknamed ‘The Phenomenon’ in his home country, feels that the Brazilian system needs to change in order to make its players better equipped for the transition to a complete player. Citing the example of Vinicius Junior, Ronaldo criticized Flamengo, saying that they couldn’t develop the player technically to his full potential.
According to Ronaldo, who took part in the “Mano a Mano” podcast, Brazilian players need to be better prepared to make the leap to Europe. The legendary striker, who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, said that many young players leave the South American continent when they are still ‘raw’.
Vinícius was another of those players who joined Real Madrid when he was just 18, and then played for Los Blancos’ reserve team before breaking into the first team at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“A very clear case is that of Vinicius Junior. He was sold to Real Madrid at the age of 18, spending his first year in the B team. You could see he wasn’t a refined athlete and everyone thought he’d be loaned outI don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that,” said Ronaldo, who led Brazil to glory at the 2002 World Cup.
The Brazilian veteran added that Vinicius only improved after training under the watchful eye of the Real Madrid coaches, and today he has become one of the ‘most decisive players’ in the world, Ronaldo said.
“It has improved a lot with training programs, professional methodology, with the help of great professionals. He went from water to wine in two years. Today he is the most decisive player in world soccer” said the 46-year-old.
Vinicius was at the center of a major controversy at the end of the season after being subjected to chants of “monkey” by Valencia and Atlético Madrid fans. The youngster should be rewarded for his excellent displays with a new contract.
The 22-year-old is set to inherit the iconic number 7 shirt next season following the departure of Eden Hazard, becoming the latest player to honor the legendary number, following in the footsteps of Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo.