Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior is the Ballon d’Or favorite for the 2023/24 season after leading the Merengues to the Champions League title with several marquee performances in the knockout stages.
Although teammates Jude Bellingham and, now, Kylian Mbappe have a strong case, Vinicius Jr. is widely viewed as the best player in the world following his decisive displays against the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Starting next Monday when Brazil take on Costa Rica in their first Copa America 2024 fixture, Vinicius Jr. has the opportunity to add to his resume and build an even stronger case for being the world’s best player.
With Neymar out of Copa America due to injury, this Brazil team unquestionably belongs to Vinicius Jr., who leads a front line that includes two more Real Madrid stars in Rodrygo Goes and new addition Endrick.
Although those two young forwards will be plenty important to Brazil, Vinicius Jr. is the man of the hour – and thus the one facing all the pressure.
Anyone anointed the top star for Brazil is going to be subject to a kind of pressure that isn’t familiar to the vast majority of footballers, except for a player anointed as a top star for Real Madrid.
Vinicius Jr. has felt the pressure since pretty much Day 1. Because after impressing in the 2018/19 season as a debutant, Vinicius Jr. was handed the keys to the left wing job with Eden Hazard hobbled in his first season.
Hazard never got healthy, and thus the pressure was on for Vini Jr. to be the weekly starting left winger for Real Madrid – a position previously held by the most successful player in the club’s history, Cristiano Ronaldo.
So in a way, filling Neymar’s shoes at Brazil is a bit easier comparatively for the Real Madrid No. 7, who has already been a vital player in two Champions Leauge triumphs for the Merengues.
Vinicius Jr. is tasked with leading Brazil back to Copa America glory, as they were stymied by a rough-and-tumble Argentina side that ended up being more about taking Neymar and the Brazil attack out of the game physically in the Final than they were about playing through Lionel Messi.
Of course, Messi and Argentina played much more glorious football in the last World Cup, taking home the honors ahead of Vini Jr.’s new teammate Kylian Mbappe.
Vinicius Jr. is going to have to do what Mbappe did in the Final and that is take all comers, leading by example. It’s a good thing that is exactly what he does for Real Madrid, averaging over 5 combined dribbles completed per game and fouls drawn per game with 10 goal contributions in 10 Champions League fixtures this past season.
Setting statistical expectations in Copa America is rarely valuable because of the variability in competition, and, at the end of the day, only one thing matters to Vinicius Jr. and Brazil. Just win.
So for Vinicius Jr., doing all the things he does for Real Madrid – both big and “small”, like tracking back – will be essential. His goal is to be a part of a team effort to bring Copa America back to Brazil, especially if that means getting revenge on Barcelona legend Messi’s Argentina in the Final.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.