Vinicius Junior’s outburst after being substituted against Barcelona was also the focus of media attention ahead of Real Madrid’s clash with Valencia. Xabi Alonso handled the situation with aplomb.
“I’ve already answered three or four questions about Vini. I think I’ve said enough,” Real’s coach summed up during Friday’s press conference. However, he had not yet addressed all the concerns of the media representatives present at that point.
Xabi Alonso was ultimately asked a total of six times about the situation involving the Brazilian striker, who, after being substituted in the 72nd minute of the Clasico (2-1), stormed off to the dressing room in a rage, ranting and gesticulating wildly, without even glancing at his coach.
Xabi Alonso “satisfied” with Vinicius Junior’s statement
Vinicius Junior had already addressed the public on Wednesday: “Today I would like to apologize to all Madridistas for my reaction to being substituted in the Clasico. As I already did personally during today’s training session, I would like to apologize again to my teammates, the club, and the president.“ And to the head coach, whose name was missing from the list?
”It was very positive and valuable, I’m satisfied. We’re all in the same boat and rowing in the same direction,“ replied Xabi Alonso, who assured that ”everything has been cleared up“ since Wednesday’s discussion. ”We’re focusing on what lies ahead, everyone wants to be on the pitch, and that’s good. Everyone is pulling in the same direction. We want to take it step by step, but everyone is working towards the same goal,“ said the Real coach.
Will Valencia surprise again at the Bernabeu?
There will be no ”retaliatory measures,” however, so Xabi Alonso will likely rely on Vinicius Junior’s qualities again in the upcoming home game against Valencia CF: “I see him as very focused and eager. He played a great game the other day.”
From the perspective of Los Blancos, a similarly strong performance from the Brazilian would be desirable on Saturday, as the Bats already proved in their last meeting in April (2-1) that they are a force to be reckoned with at the Bernabeu.
“They have quality and good players. We will be highly focused in this game because after a big win, you tend to become a little careless, and I definitely want to prevent that,” explained the focused Xabi Alonso, whose team will continue their Champions League campaign on Tuesday at Liverpool FC (9 p.m.).