Ronaldo Nazario: “Vinicius has gone from water to wine in two years”

Ronaldo Nazario, the former Real Madrid and Brazil star, has given an exclusive interview to the Mano a Mano podcast. In the conversation, he spoke about various topics, such as racism in football, foreign coaches in Brazil, and Vinicius Jr’s development in Real Madrid.

Ronaldo commented on the situation of the Brazil national team, which failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup semi-finals in Qatar after losing to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals. He said that he is happy to see Carlo Ancelotti, a foreign coach, take charge of the Selecao, as he believes that Brazilian coaches are too conservative and outdated. “There are only 10 foreign coaches in the league. They are better prepared than Brazilians. I know I will get flak because I’m being ‘unpatriotic’ and I prefer foreigners. That is not it. We have to hire the best.” Ronaldo said.

Finally, Ronaldo praised Vinicius Jr’s performance at Real Madrid, where he has become one of the best players in the world under Carlo Ancelotti.

“They didn’t prepare Vinicius or improve his technique fundamentally well enough in Brazil,” Ronaldo said. “He couldn’t control the ball with his left foot at all when he first arrived at Madrid! Now he’s one of the best.

“He arrived without tuning, everyone thought in Madrid he would be sent back to Brazil after some time with the B team.”

“He has gone from water to wine in 2 years. They didn’t train him properly in Flamengo.”

The full interview with Ronaldo Nazario can be listened to on Spotify or YouTube on the Mano a Mano podcast channel.