“God willing, I can play as long as he has” - Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr shares admiration for NBA superstar
Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior wishes to have the longevity of NBA legend LeBron James. The 39-year-old James is coming off a third Olympic gold with Team USA at the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics.
One of four players to win NBA titles with three different teams, four-time champion 'King James' is the league's all-time record scorer in the regular season, with 40,374 points, and play-offs (8162 points). The LA Lakers player is on the cusp of tying Vince Carter's record of most NBA seasons (22).
Meanwhile, Vinicius - who arrived at Los Blancos - in the summer of 2018 - didn't watch basketball much while growing up but is a huge fan of LeBron James fan. The 24-year-old said via Whatsapp (as per The Athletic via Lake Show Life):
"James was a bit of a superhero for me. ... God willing, I can play as long as he has."
One of the most exciting young attackers in the game, Vinicius has achieved success with Los Blancos. The Brazilian has won three La Liga and two UEFA Champions League titles, among other domestic and continental honours, with Carlo Ancelotti's side.
"The draw is correct" - Real Madrid boss after Vinicius Jr and Co. draw La Liga opener with Mallorca
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that the draw at Mallorca in their La Liga opener at the weekend is a fair result. Los Blancos opened the scoring through Rodrygo Goes in the 13th minute.
However, Mallorca hit back through Vedat Muriqi early in the second half before Los Blancos saw defender Ferland Mendy getting dismissed deep in stoppage time as a draw ensued.
Reflecting on the stalemate, the Real Madrid boss said (as per Madrid Universal) that the shape of the team wasn't ideal and also the transitions:
“The problem is that the team was too open. We have to concentrate more, as we usually do. It’s not a physical or mental problem. When we win the ball back, we all have to think about it together. You can think that it is a problem for the forwards, but it could be a problem for the defence or for the midfielders.
"It is not a problem for one, two or three. It is a problem for a team that in this match did not understand that it was a key aspect. Mallorca played a great game defensively. The draw is correct.”
Vinicius and Co. next take on Real Valladolid at home on Sunday (August 25) sa the holders seek their first league win of the season.