Real Madrid midfielder has become the latest to ask teammate Vinicius Junior on his attitude during games, after a controversial Copa del Rey final for the Brazilian. Vinicius was often seen getting involved with Osasuna players without provocation during the first half, and before he went down the tunnel, did so himself with Chimy Avila, a player who was on the bench.
Kroos was asked ahead of their first leg in the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City what he thought of Vinicius’ behaviour.
“I think he is the player that makes the difference, at what? 22? He is very young, they are situations that he has not experienced a thousand times. It is not normal that at 22 he is so decisive, playing so well for such long periods of time, not getting injured.”
The German midfielder went on to suggest that Vinicius was better when he was calm rather than fired up though.
“It must be very difficult to play against him. He does not stop. He has to learn, when he is calm, he is incredible. They provoke him and the referees perhaps could do more to help him. He deserves more protection, there’s a climate that doesn’t help before the games. He’s the type of player we all want to see, except our rivals. He has to live with this, understand that he has to be calm.”
Vinicius has however produced some of his best performances while riled, with games against Barcelona, Girona and most recently Osasuna standing out. On the flipside, he runs the risk of being sent off, having been booked in each of those games.
