"Genius" - Iker Casillas hails Real Madrid superstar for his comments after Barcelona thrashing
Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas has hailed Vinicius Junior for his comments after thrashing Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final.
Vinicius scored a dazzling hat-trick (7', 10', 39') as Los Blancos registered a commanding 4-1 win in the Spanish Supercup final. While Robert Lewandowski scored a spectacular volley (33'), Rodrygo also found the back of the net for Carlo Anclotti's side in the 64th minute.
After his starring performance, Vinicius said that he aimed to become a better person. He said reflectively (via Madrid Zone on X):
“I want to be a better person. Everyone wants to fight me. I try my best to stay focused. I am not a saint, sometimes I talk too much, sometimes I do dribbles that I don’t have to do and I want to learn. I'm here for that, to learn.”
Casillas lauded the 23-year-old for his statement, saying:
“Today I liked it a lot to watch Vini Jr. on the field but I liked him much more off it, with those statements. Genius!”
Vinicius Junior has often been tangled up in controversies off the pitch. Last season, the Brazilian was racially abused by Valencia fans at the Mestalla, which took Spanish football by storm.
His on-field performances for Real Madrid, however, have remained on a constantly impressive level. This season, Vinicius has bagged nine goals and four assists in 16 appearances across competitions.
Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior speaks about copying Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration against Barcelona
Vinicius Junior was a nightmare for Barcelona to deal with in the Supercopa de Espana final. He scored a fantastic hat-trick and to rub salt on Barca's wounds, he pulled off Cristiano Ronaldo's famous celebration.
Speaking about Real Madrid's all-time top scorer's 'siuuu' celebration, Vinicius said it was a tribute to the Portuguese legend. He said (via Los Blancos' website):
"The celebration was for Cristiano, who is my idol and is playing here now. The people of Arabia have shown a lot of love for me and I'm very happy about that. I'm very excited about the match with the team and what we did today. It's not easy to play against Barcelona and to win 4-1 is very difficult. We put in an almost perfect performance, we just needed to not concede that goal from Lewandowski."
The match between the two Spanish heavyweights was played in Riyadh, the city where Cristiano Ronaldo plays his club football with Al-Nassr. Hence, Real Madrid ace Vinicius' celebration was one of great significance.