Is Vinicius Jr. the next big thing or another overhyped prospect?

Real Madrid are flooded with young faces for this season. Once known for their Galactico policy, Real Madrid used to sign all the established faces and their lineup was always flooded with super-stardom. Since the last few years, they have changed their policy to investing in young prodigies. The most noted names in this aspect are Martin Odegaard, Dani Ceballos, Alvaro Odriozola, Marco Asensio and the most recent addition to this list is Vinicius Junior.

Let's be frank, it's hard being a Real Madrid player. The expectations are ridiculous, it's rare news when Real Madrid lose. The fans and management are overly demanding. Sometimes it becomes hard for even the top players to cope with the pressure (remember how San Iker had to face the whistles). It is not hard to imagine the pressure that youngsters have to go through when representing big clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

Vinicius in his early career:

It is interesting to note that he began his career playing futsal in 2007 like most kids in South America who play futsal before entering into football to improve close control and skills. In 2009, Vinicius went to futsal tryouts for Flamengo where he was praised but was asked to return a year later. In 2010, he took trials for Flamengo football team and passed.

Vinicius at Flamengo:

Fluminense v Flamengo - Brasileirao Series A 2018

Vinicius started training with the senior team when he was 16. At the age of 17, he made his debut for the Flamengo senior team with an 82nd-minute substitution. In his two seasons there, he scored a total of 14 goals and made 69 appearances.

Vinicius at Real Madrid:

In May 2017, Real Madrid made waves by announcing that they had signed the wonderkid for €45 million effective from July 2018. Since his arrival at the Bernabeu, he has made 2 pre-season appearances at the International Champions Cup.

Style of play:

Real Madrid v Juventus - International Champions Cup 2018

Vinicius operates as a second striker or a left winger. He has got good pace, dribbling skills, and loves playing the one-two and short passing game. Like any Brazilian, he loves doing skills in the match which might sometimes reduce the pace of the game. His weaknesses are his crossing and less defensive contribution.

What we have seen so far in the pre-season games and speculating his future:

Vinicius has appeared in two friendlies - one against Manchester United and one against Juventus - and he has shone in both of them along with the rest of the young pack of Real Madrid.

Against Manchester United, his best moment in the match was when he dribbled past Matteo Darmian, completely sending him the wrong way with his Ronaldo like stepovers before delivering a cross in the box.

Against Juventus, he provided an assist to Marco Asensio inside the box and made some good runs. With a little bit of luck, he might have had a goal.

All in all, the future looks bright. He is too good for his age and he is only going to improve. He has shown that he can produce the same magic and has the guts to take on defenders even in European football. But he will need to learn when to pass the ball and when to take on defenders.

We see prospects and we get hyped about how they can be the next Ronaldo or next Messi, but here we will have to keep patience. The talent is there and the intent is there. We will have to reduce our expectations to practical levels and give him time to adjust and improve. We have a very exciting prospect on our hands and we'll have to wait and see how well he does in his career.