Real Madrid coach José Mourinho said he has seen improved performances from Vinícius Júnior yet believes his best is still to come.
The Brazilian forward was booed by Madrid supporters over his lack of precision after the player left the pitch in the team’s 2-1 Champions League win over Inter Milan without a goal or assist. He has scored only one goal in five appearances this season.
“There’s a Portuguese proverb that you only throw stones at trees that have fruit,” Mourinho said on Friday. “What Vini has done here in recent years, the Champions League he’s won, the many goals he has scored. His achievements speak for themselves.
“He’s a tree bearing plenty of fruit. And people are throwing stones because they want fruit. And the best Vinícius is yet to come.”
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Mourinho recalled Vinícius’ performance last season against Benfica in the Champions League, the team the Portuguese coached at the time.
“The Vini we saw last year, when the Bernabéu was on edge against Benfica and he sealed the tie,” he said. “That Vinícius is yet to come.
“In an age of data and statistics, he’s very close to his top speed. He’s broken his own records for high-intensity runs, for balls won back, and for balls won back in the final third… He’s going to get there.”
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Mourinho stressed the need for the fans to get behind the team in order for it to be stronger.
“It makes me sad when they whistle to any player, but I don’t want to judge or criticise,” he said. “But from my experience — and not just at Real Madrid — when there’s a bond between the team and the stadium, it’s, I don’t want to say unbeatable, but almost unbeatable. When you work as a team with the stadium, you’re unbeatable. Yet every stadium, at some point, has the right to react.”
Mourinho, meanwhile, agreed with Kylian Mbappé, who when criticised over his defensive commitment at Madrid, responded by stating that a player “who scores goals will never be a problem for a team.”
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Mbappé was last season’s top scorer in LaLiga and has scored five goals in five games this term.
“Kylian is right: a player who scores 40 goals every season isn’t a problem for the team,” Mourinho said. “Mbappé is also a tree that has plenty of fruit. I’ve seen Kylian drop back to the 10-yard line to help [Marc] Cucurella while a very demanding manager was shouting at him. I really value that sort of behaviour…We share that spirit and commitment to working for Madrid. We’ll do everything we can to make the fans happy.”
Madrid host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday in LaLiga looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Real Betis, their first loss since Mourinho returned to the club this summer.
