Vinícius was, once again, the great protagonist of the Copa del Rey final. For better and for worse. Sportingly, he decided the final in favor of Real Madrid as soon as the first minute of play was over with his assist on Rodrygo Goes's goal. And in minute 71 he unbalanced the final again with a run that ended in a bad clearance by David García who hit Kroos to drop the ball back to Rodrygo, who did not forgive and got his double. Beyond the ball, the Brazilian sowed his usual dose of controversy. He only received a yellow.
The aperitif was dedicated to the referees. To begin with, the Brazilian did not complete the usual aisle in the greeting between the two teams and only shook hands with the Osasuna players, avoiding greeting the referee trio led by Sánchez Martínez. As soon as all the rivals passed, the Brazilian chose to take off his jacket and left it on the bench. Said rudeness coincides with the Madridista's complaints seconded by other footballers such as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of not being protected in the Spanish competition compared to the European one.
The controversy was in crescendo. The clearest chances for Real Madrid came from Vinícius from the left wing until on the brink of half-time the Brazilian dropped into the Osasuna area in a lost run with David García, who had already received a card from the referee Sánchez Martínez. Vinícius claimed the free kick with all his impetus and David García went to the Brazilian and caressed his head for a few seconds.
The gesture was met with an angry response from Vinícius yelling and gesturing. Finally he ended up being reprimanded by the referee. The whistles from the Osasuna fans, who occupied half the stands at La Cartuja, were answered by the Brazilian Real Madrid player who then showed them the shield on his world champion shirt and later with his hands made it 1-0 of the marker. For this reason, he received the complaint from Rubén Peña. Vinícius answered him in his ear while his teammates had to go to advise the striker to calm down so that the situation did not escalate.
At halftime, several rivals went to speak with Vinícius. One of them was Chimy Ávila, coming down the stairs, he wanted to talk closely with the Brazilian and Lucas Vázquez got in the way. It ended up setting up a discussion outside the locker room doors, in which substitutes from both teams intervened. “He is a very good player, he is protected and he seems very good to me, but we are also people and that is always the most important thing to be a good human being. Because you can be a good player, but if you have a black heart it is impossible for it to be like that” Chimy assured in the mixed zone.
Lucas Vázquez and Ceballos took Vinícius to the locker room. "What Vinícius said made me very angry. Nacho and Lucas Vázquez agreed with me," added Chimy Ávila. "His teammates and the coach will correct him," he said.
After the break, Carlo Ancelotti left the locker room after the talk, with his hand on his player's shoulder, with whom he spoke and asked him to calm down so that he would not lose focus in the second half of the game. "Vinícius is unstoppable", said the coach who added that "there was also a bit of nerves and they were not calm when they entered the dressing room", which has "calmed them down a bit because this team has to do only one thing: play football, that we do this very well, and the other not", such as "losing control and concentration".
Already in the second part, Vinicius lowered the revolutions. Until he assisted Rodrygo in the second goal. The Brazilian chose to make fun of the Osasuna players before going to celebrate with his teammates while the stands of the Pamplona team erupted against him with chants and insults.
Sportingly, Vinícius has participated in a total of 41 goals, which makes him the Real Madrid player who most directly participates in goal plays, ahead of Karim Benzema, the Brazilian has participated in 35 goals. "With a player like Vinícius you have to try to take advantage of his speed. He has played spectacular", declared Kroos.
"It's still a task that he has to correct, avoid provocations and dedicate himself to playing because when he does he's the best," Dani Carvajal commented on La 1 de Televisión Española. "It's a plane. He does not stop sprinting and facing the 90 minutes; I hope I don't suffer him too much", he added. “With a player like Vinícius you have to try to take advantage of his speed. He has played spectacular", he declared. "In his position he is the best in the world, it is difficult to stop him and those who defend him commit many fouls. You have to defend the players who give a lot of spectacle and make football more beautiful", sentenced the president Florentino Pérez.
