Can Vinicius Jr. rise above Ballon d’Or snub? It’s up to him

There’s a long and glorious history of the greats in life using failure, rejection and criticism to spur them on to heights that, perhaps, they wouldn’t have achieved without facing what they considered to be gross unfairness. The question now is whether Vinícius Júnior is about to join the ranks of those who suffered “the slings and arrows of life’s outrageous fortunes” and retorted, defiantly, with: “Is that really all you’ve got?”

The fascination, after his and Real Madrid’s furious reaction to last week’s Ballon d’Or snub, is augmented by the fact that other people, no matter how talented, take slights, put-downs and setbacks personally, allow adversity to corrode their focus and allow the permanent chip on their shoulder to clip their ability to soar. Is that what the Brazilian is made of instead?

A quick reminder of the context here: Madrid’s star player was reportedly furious at not having placed first in the Ballon d’Or voting, having thought he would win outright and having prepared extravagant fiestas to celebrate his taking of the throne. Also, Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez, cancelled the club’s attendance at last week’s Paris gala and subsequently, he, Vinícius, and the entire staff of the European and Spanish champions came under extreme criticism for what was considered “crybaby” behaviour.

Vinicius swiftly used social media to proclaim: “I’ll do 10 times more if I have to. They’re not ready.” A post viewed over 128 million times! Now, if he’s preparing to inflict a tempest of brilliance on Madrid’s rivals to “show” those who have done him “an injustice,” it’s worth reflecting on how just such circumstances have had a catalytic impact on a few high-achievers in these situations.

The Beatles were famously rejected by DECCA studios, thought of as derivative and nothing special, before becoming the greatest recording artists in history. Fred Astaire, 37 years after his death, is still regarded as one of Hollywood’s all-time greats, but when he was first assessed by MGM studios, their verdict was “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Not handsome. Can dance a little.”

The list goes on. Michael Jordan being cut by the Emsley A. Laney High School team for being too small didn’t slow him down from becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time. David Beckham, who was hung out to dry by England manager Glenn Hoddle after the 1998 World Cup, thus unfairly becoming the country’s No. 1 villain, only used that thorn in his side to produce brilliance the next season and inspire Manchester United to the Treble.

Remember Lionel Messi? Perhaps he was always destined to achieve preternatural greatness, but he still had to suffer the ignominy of being told by one of Barcelona’s directors that he was only going to be the size to make him a good table-footballer — not much more.

Maybe you feel that to put Vinicius’ perceived slap in the face in this category is an exaggeration? That’s fine for you, but let me assure you it’s precisely how angry and hurt the proud, touchy Brazilian feels.

The question, with AC Milan in town on Champions League duty this week, is: how ready is he to channel his fury and direct it towards still more superlative performances?

It’s a pertinent question, not because his character, resourcefulness or competitive aggression are really in question. These personality traits are partly what have led him to soar when, initially, manager Zinedine Zidane didn’t much fancy him in Real Madrid’s first team, or played him on the right and when the media were obsessed with Vinicius’ inability to keep a calm head when trying to finish goal chances. These tenets were also central to the way in which he reacted (you remember this?) when microphones caught Karim Benzema tearing into Vinicius while muttering angrily to teammate Ferland Mendy in Mönchengladbach on a torrid Champions League night.

To have a man that you admire, and who’s one of the team leaders, telling his fellow Frenchman: “Don’t give the ball to Vinicius … it’s like he’s playing for the other team” must have felt devastating. Yet within a matter of weeks, Vinicius was delivering assists for Benzema, their relationship was wholly repaired, and they went on to thrive as a prolific attacking duo. Vitriol from a trusted teammate became a trampoline to greatness; it’s downright impressive. But, sometimes, even the most exceptional can allow these types of potholes in their life to drive them down a bad route.

This time I’ll ignore song and dance and film and focus on football.

There’s no arguing whether or not Roy Keane was one of the great modern midfielders: not only ferocious but a blindingly good footballer. Yet when Alf-Inge Haaland, Erling’s dad, insulted him as the Irishman injured his ligaments during a Manchester derby, Keane waited nearly four years before serving up one of the nastiest football tackles you’ll ever see and ensured eternal infamy as he, more or less, ended Haaland Sr.’s career.

While I was wholly supportive of Keane when Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy prepared poorly for the 2002 World Cup and then falsely accused Keane of half-hearted attitude when being asked to wear the national shirt, it could still be viewed as the wrong reaction for Keane to walk out on Ireland’s training camp and miss the chance to drive forward a team that, according to many of his contemporaries, had the potential to reach the last four or even the final. I’ll leave it to you to decide on whether the Irishman’s reaction to life’s “slings and arrows” was wise or flawed: the fact remains that there was another way to treat these putdowns, a way to harness them and use them positively, rather than be driven by blind fury.

Which path will Vinicius choose?

I’m not boasting to remind readers that I have been, from the outset, one of those who had most faith in the young Brazilian and who always believed that this was a world-class talent, even when he looked so inexperienced. Now that he is approaching 300 games and 100 goals for Real Madrid, I’d point out that for their senior side, he’s been sent off just once in all that time. Once more each for his original club, Flamengo, and for Madrid’s (Castilla) B team.

Overall, his disciplinary record is statistically excellent. (He’s only missed four LaLiga matches due to suspension in roughly six years. a measure that equates to a booking more or less every six matches.) He gets kicked, bullied and racially abused regularly, and is often unsupported properly by referees. In context, his record is almost Zen-like. Nevertheless, it is completely inarguable, even from one of his strongest supporters, that Vinicius’ behaviour is increasingly intemperate, provocative and aggressive, and already looks like earning him more red and yellow cards for dissent.

Hopefully he’s now developed the maturity and has sufficiently good counsel around him from people like Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric, to avoid letting this sting that he’s feeling increase his tempestuousness rather than motivating a tempest of outstanding football. Deep down, I suspect that had his employer not cancelled the expedition to Paris, Vinicius would’ve attended the gala and, even if his face had looked like he was chewing a wasp, I think he would’ve sucked up his medicine while Rodri received the coveted golden award.