Football is only football until it’s not. Sometimes it can be much more. Even a friendly match like the one between Spain and Brazil tonight at the renovated Santiago Bernabéu. Framed as standard in the fight against racism, with its own motto included – ‘same skin’ –, the duel acquired a higher dimension in the preview when the greatest of its protagonists took a step further in his share of prominence.
Fallen apart. Collapsed. Broken, after all. This is how Vinícius showed himself, a world star who, at 23 years old and with his heart in his hand, burst into tears in the middle of a press conference held in Valdebebas, his home. “I have been studying racism for a long time and I have less and less will to play, but I must continue fighting for all the people who need it,” the Brazilian blurted out in the preview before becoming emotional and unleashing a river of tears. “I just want to play football, for my club and my family,” he added after a few moments of pause, trying to compose himself.
One of his teammates at Real Madrid, who this Tuesday will be a rival and surely his marker, Dani Carvajal, had assured shortly before that “Spain is not a racist country, we have a very high level of integration. I myself grew up in a very humble neighborhood in Leganés and grew up with kids of all nationalities. I have friends from that time, there was never any problem.” Vinícius does not quite share his vision: “There is verbal violence against black people, it happens a lot in Spain and in the rest of the world. It makes me very sad, it happened to my father too because they chose white people to work with. “I have fought a lot, but no one is supporting me.”
This explosion of sincerity from Vinícius, who has been at the center of the fight against racism since last May when he denounced the Valencia fans for insulting him, left in the background the sporting aspect of a match in which the Brazilian striker himself already monopolized much of the attention.
“Vinícius is one of the best players in the world, I don’t know if he is one, two or whoever, but Brazil has a spectacular roster of footballers and they all concern us, not just one,” Luis de la Fuente had emphasized from Las Rozas. “You don’t have to leave him space, don’t fall for his threats and wait for help,” Carvajal said about the magic formula that “doesn’t exist” to stop the Brazilian star.
These two world champions meet for the tenth time in their history and Spain’s only victory in an official match dates back to the 1934 World Cup. “It could perfectly be a World Cup final,” De la Fuente reinforced to give more importance to the match. game.
It will be the last match in which the Spanish coach leads his men before revealing the final list of the 23 chosen to compete in next summer’s Euro Cup. And, after the failed test against Colombia, the Riojan will recover his most trusted eleven to face the Canarinha, including Rodri, the watchword of this team, who has been without training for a few days due to family problems but who will be in the eleven.
De la Fuente is quite clear about it, whose biggest doubt lies in the possible ownership of Pau Cubarsí, who at 17 years old has landed on his feet in the Spanish team. “He is a very young boy and from the training sessions that I have seen him and the few minutes that he played the other day it is clear that he does not clash at all. He is something that is also seen with Barça and he is a candidate for the Euro Cup list,” confirmed Carvajal, one of the veterans in the locker room.
Some without Brahim and the others with Vinícius, but the ball is taking a while to start rolling.