Risk and reward for Vinicius Junior and Santiago Solari as Real Madrid finally find their good fortune

New order | Santiago Solari and Vinicius Junior
EPA
Ben Hayward3 November 2018

Sometimes, the only thing that matters is to win. Real Madrid’s history has been built upon such a philosophy and despite all their success, it was vitally important for Santiago Solari’s side to claim a victory on Saturday.

Ninth in La Liga, brutally beaten in the Clasico away to Barcelona last weekend at Camp Nou and with their coach Julen Lopetegui sacked after just 14 games in charge, morale and confidence was low. And the Santiago Bernabeu can be a hostile home in such situations.

The “animation stand” is there to help, yet even those supporters turned against their team in the opening minutes as they stayed silent and a banner was raised. “For this badge you have to die in the stands and on the pitch.”

That is the level of expectation at Real Madrid, three-time Champions League winners under Zinedine Zidane but struggling this term. By the second half, those same supporters were calling for “balls”. And in this first press conference earlier in the week, interim boss Santiago Solari had himself demanded “cojones” from his players.

The Argentine definitely has “cojones” to have taken on the role in the first place, even if only as a provisional coach at the moment. But while fans often demand “balls”, that is not really what wins football matches at this level.

Nevertheless, the best coaches are brave. And also lucky. On Saturday, Solari was both. While Lopetegui lamented his “bad fortune” after almost every game, his successor rolled the dice and won.

In Pictures | Real Madrid vs Real Valladolid

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As Madrid sought to step up following a desperate display in the opening 45 minutes, the Argentine rang the changes. Isco replaced Casemiro in midfield in an attacking second-half substitution, with Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Junior also introduced in the closing stages.

Solari could have lost, but he won. It was a risk. Casemiro’s departure left Madrid without defensive balance in midfield and twice Valladolid hit the crossbar after he had gone off. Thibaut Courtois was also called upon to make a super save as the visitors threatened to compound Madrid’s misery.

And then, something happened out of the blue. Vinicius, who had done very little, took up possession on the left and ran into the box between two Valladolid defenders before unleashing a shot which was travelling well wide until it took a huge deflection off Kiko Olivas, wrong-footed goalkeeper Jordi Masip and ended up in the back of the net.

The 18-year-old Brazilian celebrated as if the goal was his, which it was not really, but he had provoked it. He had made his own luck. And so had Solari. Because while Lopetegui had been reluctant to use Vinicius, handing him just 12 minutes in his 14 games, Solari took the risk and reaped the reward.

A few minutes later, Madrid won a penalty and the Bernabeu called for the Brazilian to take it. Clearly, these fans are keen to embrace a new star after Cristiano Ronaldo left to join Juventus in the summer.

Up in the stands, president Florentino Perez will have been pleased to see Vinicius given a chance and the Brazilian should feature more from now on, although it will take time for him to fully adapt to this level.

“I told him to take players on,” Solari said afterwards. “To be brave and take players on, which I don’t need to tell him. And I also told him to defend, which I do need to tell him.”

Perhaps that is why Lopetegui never wanted to take the plunge and pick the talented forward. As Real Madrid went for 481 minutes without a goal, however, something different was needed.

Against Valladolid, Vinicius provided it and Solari has his first win in La Liga.

“I would like to win every game 7-0 with three scissor kicks!” Solari said afterwards. “But football is something else and there are delicate moments.”

Solari came through his first such moment, but Gareth Bale was jeered again after another difficult evening.

“People express themselves in the moment,” Solari said. “Tomorrow he’ll score and everyone will celebrate.”

At least Madrid’s fans did have something to celebrate on Saturday after a depressing few weeks culminating in the 5-1 loss at Barcelona. In Vinicius, Real have a bright young talent to be excited about and in Solari, a coach brave enough to try something different when things are not working out.

Despite the poor performance, the win will bring back emotions which were lacking in recent times – and this may just be a turning point for Los Blancos.

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