Vinicius and His Struggles in Vallecas: A Clash with the Crowd

Real Madrid faced another away match, and once again, Vinicius demonstrated his involvement both on and off the field. The Brazilian winger encountered a heated atmosphere as he engaged with the crowd and several players from Rayo Vallecano, moments that were captured by ‘El Día Después’ cameras.

Vinicius struggled to feel at ease on the pitch at Vallecas, urging his teammates to avoid long balls in favor of more grounded play. He expressed his frustration to Huijsen, stating, “We keep playing long; who even wants that?”

His first confrontation with the crowd occurred near the goal line, where the Rayo ultras shouted, “You’re terrible!” Vinicius responded with a smile, retorting on multiple occasions during the match, “Not terrible, you know that.”

As Vinicius continued to engage with the Bukaneros supporters, Rayo’s Unai López suggested, “Leave the crowd alone, Vini, don’t say anything to them.” Vinicius, maintaining his smile, replied, “No, no, we’re just having fun.”

Vinicius was no stranger to the taunts of “beach ball, Vinicius beach ball” echoed by a significant portion of the Vallecas stadium. While he smiled at the crowd’s chants, his expression changed when Ratiu leaned in closely to mock him, saying, “You don’t even know where I am,” followed by, “They’ll either change you or put you up front because you can’t play defense.”

This was not the last confrontation Vinicius would have; at halftime, he approached Álvaro, attempting to place an arm around him, but the Rayo player rebuffed him, calling him “the beach ball”—a clear reference to the mockery Vinicius regularly endures. The Real Madrid winger did not hold back, responding, “You’re terrible.”

As the match progressed, neither Vinicius nor Real Madrid found their rhythm. After a run down the wing that ended with the ball going out of play, the crowd pressured him again, prompting him to remark, “They pay to see me for a year,” directed at that section of fans.

It was not a favorable day for Xabi Alonso’s squad, who dropped two points against Rayo. Just before the final whistle, Vinicius added another memorable quote to his collection: “It seems like we don’t want to win, goodness!”