Vinicius Junior had expressed his strong anger at coach Xabi Alonso’s decision to substitute him in the 71st minute of the match that was held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which ended with a 2-1 victory for the royal team in the tenth round of the Spanish League.
Three days after the incident, the Brazilian star published an apology statement through his official accounts on social media, addressing his message to the club’s management, its president Florentino Pérez, and the fans, but he did not mention his coach Xabi Alonso.
The Spanish coach responded in a press conference today, Friday, in preparation for facing Valencia on Saturday evening in the Spanish League: “We held a meeting with everyone last Wednesday, and Vinicius was perfect. He spoke frankly and was very good. For me, that settles the matter.”
When asked why Vinicius Junior did not mention him in his apology statement, Alonso replied: “It was a valuable and very positive statement. He showed his honesty; he spoke from the heart. What he said was the most important, and I was very satisfied. It was settled last Wednesday.”
The Real Madrid coach added: “It was very positive; we trained well yesterday. We are all excited and in the same position,” in response to a question about whether Vinicius Junior’s ignoring him in the apology statement surprised him.
Xabi Alonso confirmed: “No, I will not punish Vinicius Junior, I will not retaliate.”
Alonso responded to the journalists’ insistence: “I think I have already provided sufficient clarification, I respect the media’s focus on what happened, and I confirmed that the matter was completed on Wednesday. We have had a very good week, and what interests me now is facing Valencia, and I hope you understand my position just as I appreciate your interest in what happened.”
The Real Madrid coach also denied that Vinicius Junior is affected by the issue of renewing his contract with the club, saying: “The Brazilian player seems very focused and enthusiastic. He played a great match against Barcelona.”
When asked if he fears a repeat of what happened with Vinicius Junior, Xabi Alonso replied: “I think the team, and everyone, including Vinicius, are focusing on what is most important. Everyone wants to be on the field, participate in matches, and the focus is one. We want to continue playing safely.”
In another context, coach Xabi Alonso confirmed that he is not thinking about facing Liverpool in the Champions League, as much as he is focusing on the two matches against Valencia and then Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish League.
Alonso stressed: “Valencia won at the Bernabéu last season, and Rayo Vallecano is an organized and difficult team, and also after achieving an important and great victory, it is possible to lose your enthusiasm and focus, so facing Valencia is the most important now, and I am only thinking about this match.”
Xabi Alonso touched on the Clasico, saying: “Before facing Barcelona, I talked about the importance of winning against the Catalan team, because it will raise the confidence and morale of the Merengues, and we must now forget this victory and focus on the upcoming matches, because if we do not prepare well, we will lose points, and we want to avoid that.”
The Real Madrid coach confirmed: “I watched the Clasico match again, and I found that many of our plans had succeeded against Barcelona, and the royal team showed great strength, and we were very excited. That was clear in the players. They were up to the task, and when we are strong, we take the initiative.”
Regarding his demand that French star Kylian Mbappé score more goals, Alonso explained: “Mbappé has scored goals and will continue to score goals, he is working in an excellent routine, and he is a very mature player, and this is very important. Then we must support the team’s teamwork so that he can score goals.”
He added: “I am always careful not to overwork the players, and you must also be aware of the effort required and the demands placed on each player. There are times when you have to manage the players’ participation rate, and that happened with Mbappé, and we look forward to what will happen in the future, and what the next period holds for us.”
Xabi Alonso explained the reason for not including the young Brazilian striker Endrick in the matches, saying: “I wish he would participate in the matches, but the circumstances are not appropriate, however, he is training very well.”
Alonso expressed his sadness at the injury of Dani Carvajal, the team captain, in the knee again after his participation in the Clasico, stating: “Carvajal played 20 minutes against Barcelona, and gave a wonderful performance, and participated effectively, and I was surprised by what happened to him the next day, we will definitely miss him, and we are waiting for him, and I think he will be absent for a period of between 7 and 8 weeks.”
