Vinicius Highlights
Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid has yet to take shape, but it has reflected new points, where intensity and distance are the two main factors in operation.
There, the miracle Vinicius Junior is still missing, who was somewhat lackluster in the first two matches at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Against Salzburg, he returned.
First came the dazzling dribble at high speed that ended in a goal, then the backheel assist for Federico Valverde.
Vinicius – the man who marked the Carlo Ancelotti era in Brazil, with a ticket to the 2026 World Cup – scored again for Real Madrid after 2 months.
He has been quiet in matches with “Los Blancos” since nearly scoring against Arsenal on the sad night of being eliminated from the Champions League at home at the Bernabeu.
Vinicius brought a spark of genius to a performance that saw the team control the game thanks to tight structure and impressive ball movement.
From there began a victory over a Salzburg side that took several minutes to get into the rhythm. This result sent Real Madrid through to the round of 16 against Juventus.
Alonso's change
It wasn't until the third game of the Club World Cup that Vinicius really made his appearance, with a three-man centre-back formation, although Tchouameni wasn't keen on the position.
Tchouameni prefers to play as a holding midfielder, but has long insisted on always responding to the tactical demands of his coach. Ancelotti did so, and now Xabi Alonso .
The Frenchman featured between Dean Huijsen and Antonio Rudiger, who started in the absence of Raul Asencio due to suspension.
The two wing corridors belong to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia; while in the center, Valverde plays as a pivot, Bellingham on the right and Arda on the left.
Up front, Vinicius paired up with young talent Gonzalo Garcia, while Rodrygo once again sat on the bench.
With the new scheme – the favourite plan of “Professor” Xabi at Bayer Leverkusen – Real Madrid are moving the ball more smoothly.
Salzburg could only run from one wing to the other, while Madrid continuously exploited the flanks from Trent to Fran, then suddenly passed into the middle, where Valverde, Arda and Bellingham weaved the ball in very tight spaces.
The first danger came that way. Bellingham played the ball to Vinicius who cut into the box, but the number 7's shot was saved by Zawieschitzky with his feet.
“Los Blancos” stirred up the opponent with continuous attacks, leaving the feeling that a goal was just a matter of time.
Boom
Every time Salzburg tried to attack from the back, Real Madrid pressed high in a very organized manner: Vinicius and Gonzalo observed, counted the opponent's troops to choose the direction to attack.
Gonzalo is particularly excellent at pressing, reading situations quickly, being sharp in appearing in the right place to support, passing with his heel, or eliminating opponents with a dribble.
The young man played as if he had always belonged there. While the strikers and midfielders pressed up front, Xabi kept urging the centre-backs to push a few more metres into the opposition half.
Despite a few occasions where Salzburg got the ball in behind, Real Madrid were largely unbroken. Once the pressure was off, the 15-time Champions League winner looked to exploit the space with Vinicius' pace.
The explosion came late in the first half. Bellingham played a low pass about 30 meters for Vinicius to run up the middle of the field. He dribbled at speed, turned the ball and fired a left-footed shot into the near corner.
Real Madrid took the initiative in open space, with a high defense. With such pressing, in the first half's extra time, Vinicius sprinted into the penalty area, hitting the ball with his right heel for Valverde to score.
Commentators shouted comparisons to Guti's backheel for Benzema to score against Deportivo at the Riazor a decade and a half ago. Alonso was on the pitch that day, and is now in the manager's chair.
“I was on the pitch so I understand, Guti's backheel was more impressive,” Alonso tried to keep Vinicius on the ground.
“That day, I just said 'what happened?'. Vini was really good though, the backheel was very close, very close to Guti.”
The match ended with Gonzalo Garcia's mark: he won the ball in the middle of the field when a long pass from home was intercepted, sprinted into the penalty area and lobbed the ball home.
If Vini reminds me of Guti, Gonzalo scores goals the way Raul Gonzalez, his former coach at the B team (now retired), used to do. The new Real Madrid are flying high with Xabi Alonso.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-3-0-salzburg-xabi-alonso-hoa-nhip-samba-voi-vinicius-2415745.html
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