The crowd struck the final u, and the siuuu came first, building it up to the feet grounding. Next is the “I’m here, I got this” gesture—pointing at the badge and then pitching. Then came the’serenade my magnificence all of you, I’m listening, cup your ears and bow your head’ moment.
Over the course of nine years, Real Madrid supporters have witnessed 451 instances of one or more of these plays—that iconic #7 (OK, one year it was a #9) asking for and receiving the affection of the crowd each time the ball finds the back of the net. But this was not like that. Although Madrid supporters were accustomed to these celebrations, they had never witnessed three of them occurring simultaneously during a game against their fiercest competitors. In the 21st century just three persons had scored hattricks in a Clasico: Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, and Karim Benzema. That is, until Sunday. Vinicius Junior honored Real Madrid’s top scorer during the SuperCopa final in Riyadh, where he currently plays.
First, Jude Bellingham produced a brilliant pass, swerving to avoid Frenkie De Jong and Anders Christensen, creating space where none appeared to be available, and picking out a ball in behind that Vinicius read well in front of Jules Kounde. Maybe because Kounde believed a pass from that position was rather unlikely, but Vinicius’ prompt response highlighted the developing rapport between Madrid’s two most potent offensive players.It just mattered what finish Vinicius chose against Inaki Pena in the Barca goal once he had the jump on Kounde. He went for a shot that another legendary Real Madrid player, Ronaldo, would have been proud of, pushing it wide past the charging Pena and into the empty net.
In the second, it was all Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo: the fullback found the attacker with a superb ball in behind, and within ten minutes, Barcelona’s somewhat ludicrously handled high line was once again exposed. Racing down the right, Vinicius slipped in to bundle the ball over the line after Rodrygo produced a brilliant ball across the goal’s face between the goalkeeper and the defenders.
Vinicius, who has been thriving for a while now, was not restricted to playing as a center-forward in Carlo Ancelotti’s old-school yet innovative 4-4-2 diamond system on Sunday. He was no longer a classic winger. He’s no longer the goal-averse, slow decision-maker; instead, he’s the kind of #7 Real Madrid has nearly always had in abundance: trophy-defining, goal-hungry beasts. That was emphasized once more when he defeated an unmotivated Barcelona, with the Cup winner advancing to the Supercopa ahead of the league winner.
