Spike He was one of the most popular gladiators of ancient Rome and the emperor’s favorite. Nerowhich showered him with privileges for his victories in the arena, although not yet in the Colosseum, which was built later. The controversial Nero was no stranger to the fighter’s popularity among the citizens of Rome, who cried out to the emperor about the fate of his victims. Thumbs down or up, it was your decision. Vinicius is a gladiator of modern times in a coliseum that also has an emperor, because the figure of Florentino Perez transcends that of a president. The difference is that Vini is not a slave, but a star who the emperor has made feel that way, like Nero, although without being the master of his destiny. The star, defiant, claims his over his general, Xabi Alonsoand in front of an emperor who, for the moment, takes the thumbs up, although it is worth not forgetting that Rome would not have been what it was without its generals.
Vinicius’ apologies to everyone except his coach, something very explicit by omission, is the gesture of a footballer who has internalized a feeling of impunity towards the authority of the bench, because the real authority observes it elsewhere. It is not something new in Madrid, a team supported by the power-talent axis, the power of the club and its president, and the talent of its players, and where the coach has always been the weakest link. Adjust to that habitat, to that role that Valdano classified as “low profile”, although it was exercised by proper names with Forest, Ancelotti o Zidaneit’s an art. Madrid has done wonderfully with that model, but there are moments when the situation requires a turn, a change, applying the ‘law of the pendulum’. That brought Xabi Alonso, a young coach, with a great past as a footballer and a great future, but an interventionist coach. The dilemma comes when the intervention affects the star.
The decision to change Vinicius in the classic admits of debate, of course, like all those made by a coach. What cannot be admitted is the principle of authority. Madrid decided not to apply any type of corrective action to the Brazilian due to his angry attitude at the time of the change. It wasn’t just a bad face, it was a ‘show’ and a lack of respect for his coach and the rest of the players. At the Bernabéu they don’t like those numbers. Two days later, the footballer apologizes for his attitude to Real Madrid fans, the club, his teammates and the president. If Xabi Alonso sees himself in any of those groups, the matter is settled. If not, there is a case.
Vini’s attitude in the classic shows that the player has internalized an untouchable condition that the coach does not share. The club has helped him believe it in the past, with decisions such as not attending the Ballon d’Or gala in which Rodri was awarded, considering that it was an injustice. If my president says it, why doesn’t my coach do it? Vini may ask, who also observes, at his side, the growth of Mbappégoal after goal with your mouth closed. If Madrid does not redirect its attitude, it is difficult for it to do so without its surroundings, because the stars, in general, lack critical mass around them. On the contrary. It is the evil of the rich, and footballers are it. Nobody tells them what they don’t want to hear for fear of losing their position. Something similar happens with Lamine Yamal in Barcelona.
Xabi Alonso knows about egos, after a career living with most of the best, Cristiano among them. Also as coaches, a lot, after coexisting with the greats of his generation. “I have learned many things to do and what not to do,” he often says. Not everything is fine and you are not willing to negotiate everything. It is a type of character, which ended up facing Rafa Benitezhad no problems distancing himself from teammates in Madrid and the national team because he understood that Jose Mourinho He had positive things, and he was the only one in his sector who challenged the Tax Agency to the end. Vinicius, really, is less scary than the Treasury. Let the Madridistas not forget it. Neither did Vini, more exposed than ever now in the coliseum, and neither did the emperor.