There have been few strikers in the history of football better one-on-one than Ronaldo Nazario. Just take a look online and you will see a multitude of videos of the former Real Madrid and Barcelona player, among others, leaving goalkeepers and defenders sitting back to make easy what for other players is an indecipherable tangle.
One of them was Vinicius Junior, who in his early years at Real Madrid lacked clarity in his finishing.
It was surely more a question of pressure than a lack of ability, although there was no shortage of extremely cruel assessments of the finishing ability of a player who was barely a teenager.
At Balaidos, Vini received a pass into space, outpaced the defender who was trying to close him down, and planted himself in front of Agustin Marchesin.
Once at that stage, he had several options, but he chose the best one: rounding the goalkeeper and calmly finishing with his left foot into an empty net.
The action was reminiscent of Ronaldo, and Vini himself was keen to give credit to a figure who, as well as accompanying him on his presentation as a Real Madrid player, has been a godfather to him since his first difficult days in Spain.
“I always watch videos of Ronaldo and he always tells me, when he talks to me, that when he is facing a goalkeeper it is much easier. And I was calm enough to dribble”, commented the Real Madrid winger.
Credit: marca.com
