Vinicius Jr wants Real Madrid job previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos & Karim Benzema
Vinicius Jr is reportedly looking to following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema as Real Madrid’s penalty taker.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Brazil international has forged his own reputation as a global superstar while at Santiago Bernabeu, with 45 goals recorded across the last two seasons – including a winning effort in the 2022 Champions League final.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Vinicius has rarely been given a sniff of spot-kick duty while at Real, but that situation may be about to change. Free-scoring French striker Benzema has left for Al-Ittihad, meaning that somebody else is required to take over from 12 yards in 2023-24.
AND WHAT'S MORE: Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo used to take on that responsibility, and he scored 80 of the 94 penalties that he took for Real (a conversion rate of 85.1%). Legendary former skipper Ramos then took over — with the iconic defender once scoring 25 spot-kicks in a row, while ending his spell in Madrid with 30 of 35 efforts converted (87.5%). Benzema hit the net with 29 of his 35 penalties (82.85%), with Vinicius having never taken a competitive spot-kick for club or country.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Marca has, however, reported on Vinicius spending 10 minutes after training in Los Angeles — during Real’s pre-season tour of America – taking penalties with technical assistant Francesco Mauri and youth team goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez. The 23-year-old is said to be keen on inheriting that role in the upcoming campaign, which should help him to improve what is already an impressive strike rate.
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