Vinicius Junior leads Brazil against racism and Guinea – 06/16/2023 – Sport

Vinicius Junior enters the field this Saturday (17) for the first time as the biggest star of the Brazilian team. In a spectacular phase for Real Madrid, in Spain, he was one of the great athletes of the 2022/23 European season. And he will wear the number 10 shirt, which belonged to Pelé and for the last ten years was the undisputed property of Neymar – who, recovering from an injury, was not called up.

But that’s not the only reason the world will be watching him this Saturday. Vinicius Junior today represents the fight against racism in football, and, because of that, the Brazilian team will play in a black uniform for the first time in its history.

The outfit will be used in the first half of the friendly against Guinea, at 4:30 pm (Brasília time), at the RCDE Stadium, in Barcelona, ​​with broadcast by Globo, SporTV and Globoplay. In the second, the team will return to the field with the traditional yellow shirt, which, according to the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), will also bring “an allusion to the fight against racism”.

Vinicius Junior was the target of racist chants when he played against Valencia, at the opponent’s home, about a month ago. The case became an international incident, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) lamenting the fact and asking for measures to be taken. Spain has entered into an unprecedented debate over whether or not it is a racist nation.

The Brazilian striker suffers criminal insults in practically every game away from Madrid, home of his team. And even there he is not immune. Five months ago, fans of arch-rival Atlético de Madrid hung a dark inflatable doll with Vinicius Junior’s number 20 shirt (he will wear number 7 next season) on a city bridge, tied by a rope around his neck.

The second match of the Iberian round is scheduled for 4 pm (Brasília time) on Tuesday (20), in Lisbon, against Senegal.

Vinicius and other Brazilian players who will be on the field spoke about the incidents recorded in Spain. Rodrygo Góes, another who defends Real Madrid and was in the last World Cup, regretted the most recent one, in Valencia.

“I was there on the field and I heard the whole stadium screaming ‘mono’ [macaco, em espanhol]. I followed closely and I’m black too, like Vinícius, and having lived it up close was very complicated for me”, said Rodrygo.

The team started to meet in Barcelona on Monday (12), but just two days later they trained with the full group of 23 players. According to the CBF, on Wednesday, interim coach Ramon Menezes “emphasized the defensive work of the first team, paying attention to the positioning of players when attacked by opponents”.

If in the field the maximum reference position in Brazil is now occupied by Vinicius Junior, the bench remains vacant. Since Tite left, after the 2022 Cup, the CBF has not closed with any coach. Meanwhile, the interim starts testing players.

The last ones to join the team were goalkeeper Ederson, from English Manchester City, who helped his team win the Champions League final, on Saturday (10), and defender Robert Renan, from Russian Zenit, who replaced Nino, from Fluminense, injured in a match in the Brazilian Championship.

Nino’s squad had been one of seven players from Brazilian clubs. Three athletes from Palmeiras (Weverton, Raphael Veiga and Rony), two from Flamengo (Ayrton Lucas and Pedro) and one from Fluminense (André) are in Barcelona.

The others, who work abroad, are goalkeeper Alisson, defenders Ibañez, Éder Militão and Marquinhos, laterals Alex Telles, Danilo and Vanderson, midfielders Bruno Guimarães, Casemiro and Joelinton and forwards Lucas Paquetá, Malcom and Richarlison .

It will be the eighth time that Brazil will play in Barcelona, ​​a story that began in 1934, with a defeat against Catalonia. In the unforgettable 1982 World Cup, in Spain, there were two games in the city, both in the second phase: the 3-1 victory over Maradona’s Argentina and the 3-2 defeat against Paolo Rossi’s Italy. The setback became known as the Sarriá Tragedy, in allusion to the name of the stadium, demolished in 1997.

That time, Brazil did not change its uniform. But it was after another game that shook the country that the team changed colors for the first time. When it debuted, in 1914, Brazil wore white shirts and shorts. With that outfit, he lost to Uruguay by 2 to 1 the final of the first Cup held in Brazil, in 1950, in Maracanã crowded.

The trauma was such that, in 1952, the team returned to the field debuting the yellow and blue, in an attempt to purge the plague that prevented the country from being world champion — which would happen in 1958, in Sweden, with Pelé and Didi .

In black, however, it will be the first time in 109 years.