Comparisons are hateful, but in football they are inevitable. With Vitor Roque and Endrick it is no exception, facing each other even before putting on the shirts of Barça and Real Madrid, their homes for the next few years. They are barely teenagers, with little experience in professional competitions, and they are already inspiring enthusiasm among their future hobbies. The two Brazilian promises have caused rivers of ink in their country, where in a short time they have become decisive footballers. In Spain, their baby faces have been on the covers of sports newspapers, a sample, still small, of the pressure that awaits them in the two monsters of the king of sport.
Despite living in a totally globalized digital age, in which nothing escapes the eyes of the internet, Blaugranas and Madridistas still live on hope. The two fans have been fed with the insufficient but motivating highlights that have come to them in dribs and drabs from the two pearls. However, the doubts generated by Brazilian football, always looked down on from the old continent, open a question about whether they will end up being reference center forwards, a position they share. Until now, in their still short period in the elite, they have had parallel sporting lives and off the field of play they maintain a good relationship.
Vitor Roque, 18, will officially wear the Barça shirt next January (he could make his debut against Las Palmas on January 4) after having scored 21 goals in 45 games this season. The still Athlético Paranaense player saw his good season halted in recent months by a torn ligament in his left ankle.
While 'Triginho' (a nickname that has been given to him in recent times) was recovering, Endrick took flight with Palmeiras. After spending several games on the bench, a reason that generated a stir in Brazil and some concern in the white environment, he ended up standing out in the final stretch of the season where his goals helped them win the Brasileirao. At 17 years old, he finished the season with 14 goals in 53 games.
Both Endrick and Vitor Roque are expected to score goals, the most sought-after virtue in football. They are also fast and powerful, with the ability to overwhelm while driving and easily arm the shot. So far, the new Madrid player has shown a bit more fantasy than his compatriot in the technical section, with some of those resources that lift the stands. It is just the beginning of a career that seems to be in the background, with many games and competitions ahead in which their objectives will once again intermingle. The debate has only just begun: expert opinions on the success or failure of the two are multiplying as their arrival in Spanish football approaches.
"I grew up watching the idols of Real Madrid. I became interested in the biggest club in Europe. I saw it as a challenge for me to play for Madrid, which was the team I always wanted. That's why I chose it," Endrick recently said about his signing for the whites, which closed in December 2022, when the forward was only 16 years old, after agreeing with Palmeiras to pay more than 70 million between fixed and variable. The young player will not officially arrive at Madrid until the start of next season, but this Saturday he landed in the Spanish capital to meet his next teammates, including his compatriots Vinícius and Rodrygo with whom he could form an attacking line. totally Brazilian. Endrick will be present in the stands at the Santiago Bernabéu this Sunday to watch the match against Villarreal.
In a few weeks it will be the turn of Vitor Roque, who will arrive in Barcelona to be presented as a new Barcelona player and to put himself under the command of Xavi Hernández. The club, which looks at every cent due to its battered economy, did not hesitate to bet on a player hitherto unknown to European football who has cost 61 million in fixed and variable amounts. His arrival seemed set for next June, due to the small margin of financial fair play, but Gavi's absence due to a long-term injury has opened the doors for him this coming January. "I always watch Barça games. I try to work on a mental level to arrive with the greatest humility. I always work, I always want more, and I hope to arrive prepared. I am very happy for everything that is happening in my life. It is time to fulfill my dream," said 'Triginho' after his last game with Athlético Paranaense.
In the absence of realizing their potential on the field, probably in the two most demanding scenarios in world football, both have exhibited ambition and daring to face the major challenge, from all points of view, that they face. While Endrick will have to progressively fill the void left by Karim Benzema, the team's last great scorer, in the case of Vitor Roque he will have to become the generational replacement for a figure who has recently fallen into disrepair like Robert Lewandowski.
