Speaking to AS, Lille coach Ancelotti said Vinícius’ attitude was a major reason for his popularity inside the dressing room.
“What can I say about Vini? He scored in two Champions League finals with us. I can only be grateful to him. A player that all his teammates love is not by chance. Because he is generous. He never misses a training session. He doesn’t hide, he doesn’t deceive you, he doesn’t save himself an effort, he doesn’t tell you ‘this hurts and I’m not training’. He is always there for the team. And the players know that and that’s why he is very loved.”
Ancelotti explained that Vinícius’ direct approach can create tactical problems, but believes the answer is to build the correct structure behind him.
“When he is well he is very unbalancing. You have to know that there is a player like him, because at the level of collective balance, he influences it. He influences it because he is a very direct, very vertical player. He has so much confidence in his possibilities that he always takes players on… And you have to have a structure behind you that allows you to play with him. If you don’t have it, the game starts to become uncontrolled.”
The former Real Madrid assistant coach believes that structure can be adjusted without changing Vinícius himself.
“You’re not going to change Vini, but what you can change is the structure behind him. And when he is in a positive moment, Vini decides matches. He has done it many times at Madrid.”
Ancelotti was also critical of Vinícius’ confrontation with Xabi Alonso during the Clásico, although he believes the incident should now be left behind.
“Vini is the first to know that he made a mistake, because you don’t do that out of the respect you owe the coach, the club, your teammates and the fans. But it is already in the past. I don’t think Madrid failed to win important titles because of that moment.”
He rejected the suggestion that Madrid’s players have greater authority than their coach.
“If that were the case, there would be no need for the coach. It is not something that coincides with reality. The Madrid players are hyper-professional. We never had a bad response from anyone. That Vini did not want to leave the field is normal. But that does not mean the players are in charge. In the Madrid dressing room the coach is in charge.”