Vinicius: “Playing with Benzema is good for me”

Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior talked in an interview with El Pais and explained how he felt when he suffered a big injury against Ajax two years ago and also shared his thoughts about playing with Karim Benzema.

“Karim is unbelievable, I’m a big fan since I was playing in Brazil and watching his games. Playing with him is easy, he’s the world’s best striker right now, playing with him is good for me because it means having an idol by my side. He always tells me what to do and he likes playing with me as well. I always listen to him because I’m sure he does it so that I can improve and deliver more assists to him and also so that I can score off his assists,” said Vinicius.

The young attacker suffered a big muscle injury when Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League against Ajax two years ago. Vinicius reveals that it wasn’t easy to overcome that injury.

“I was frustrated because I couldn’t help. After all the work I did to play this game, it’s tough to leave the match after just 40 minutes and I knew it was an important moment for me and the club. I was doing the right things and my teammates were giving me the ball so that I could do something different. It was tough,” he said.

It took a while before Vinicius could regain his confidence.

“It took me six or seven months. I spent two or three months without playing and then six months always questioning the moves I could and couldn’t do. When it was cold I was in pain. I was putting my boots on and I had pain,” he explains.

Vinicius concluded the interview by explaining that he feels it’s harder to score than it is to dribble past opponents.

“I like to dribble, but I think it’s easier to do than scoring goals. I’m more under control and I know I’m quite effective on one-on-one situations because defenders tend to guess and think a lot against me,” he said.

Vinicius will be expected to start when Madrid face Atalanta this Tuesday in the crucial return leg of the Champions League’s Round of 16.