Religión Confidencial Maldini explains the real reason behind Vinicius Jr's slump, speaks clearly: 'Not anymore...'
After the match against Al Hilal, he is clear about what happened to him to experience that slump
A year ago, Vinícius was the clear favorite to win the Ballon d'Or without any debate. He had been the best footballer of the season, the global star in the top trophies. However, this past campaign, his level declined as the months went by.
It's true that he started out as an important player, like against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League with a hat-trick. However, he experienced a significant drop until the Club World Cup. Against Al Hilal, he was one of those singled out and Xabi Alonso substituted him in the second half.
It was a decision that showed that right now Vinícius is far from his best. Maldini wanted to analyze what's happening to the Brazilian and why the Madridist has declined. In fact, in his video he pointed out that his last great match was the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley.
Maldini believes that Vinícius "was greatly harmed by not winning the Ballon d'Or". He thinks that's one of the key points to understand the drop Vinícius has experienced. He adds: "When Mbappé arrived at Madrid, Vinícius realized he was no longer going to be the absolute protagonist".
The challenge Xabi Alonso faces with Vinícius
With the arrival of Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid is entering a new era with several challenges ahead. One of them is to get Vinícius back to performing at his best level as he did a year ago. In addition, finding a way for him to fit with Mbappé in Real Madrid's starting eleven.
It seems clear that, for now, the Basque coach will keep betting on the 4-3-3 tactical formation. That'll allow Vini to play on the left wing, where he likes it most. Meanwhile, Kylian in the center has already managed to win the Golden Boot in his first season at Bernabéu.
So the ingredients are there; all that's left is for Xabi to be able to bring them together well to get the best out of them. There's confidence that he can achieve this as the weeks go by. When he can have a preseason with the team to get to know the squad perfectly.
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