Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho defended Vinicius Jr. on Saturday as the Brazilian forward prepares to serve a four-match suspension following his dismissal against Villarreal last weekend.
Vinicius was banned for pulling the hair of Villarreal midfielder Nathan Saliba during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win, receiving a two-match suspension for the incident and a further two matches for protesting the referee’s decision.
“He’s a spectacular guy, and it’s easy to have a good relationship with him. I spend a few minutes alone with him every day, and I appreciate him a great deal because he always manages to carry on with his life and endure with a smile,” Mourinho said ahead of Sunday’s La Liga home match against Sevilla as quoted by Xinhua.
“If I were in his position, I probably would not have stayed here. I would have forced the club to let me leave for a country where they respect me, but he has stayed because of his sense of belonging to Real Madrid and his love for the club,” he added.
The Portuguese coach also played down suggestions that Vinicius’ substitution had been decisive in Real Madrid’s dramatic 4-3 Champions League victory over Roma on Wednesday.
Madrid scored three late goals to complete the comeback after Vinicius was replaced by Endrick, who played a key role in the turnaround.
Mourinho pointed out that he had made five changes during the match, insisting that “substitutions are simply part of football.”
The Real Madrid coach offered few clues about his starting lineup against Sevilla, emphasising the competition for places in his squad. “There are so many players who deserve to play: not just 11, but 15 or 16,” he said
Vinicius earlier slammed La Liga for announcing his four-match domestic suspension just two hours before the club’s UEFA Champions League fixture against Roma. “I only heard about it at the stadium. I think the ban came at a bad time. They had all day to announce the suspension, and just as I got to the stadium, I got the message that I was going to miss four La Liga games,” Vinicius said as quoted by goal.com.
The forward also questioned the lack of communication surrounding the disciplinary regulations, claiming players had not been adequately informed about the rule that led to his suspension.
“I don’t understand why. The truth is that the rule is new. They’ve never explained this to us. Someone from LaLiga always comes in, or from whatever the refereeing organisation is called, to explain the new rules to us. But this time, this specific thing, nobody told us about it,” he added.
