Vini Jr. returns to India 10 years after U-17 top-scorer run | OneFootball

Vini Jr. returns to India on Saturday with Brazil's senior side, 10 years after finishing top scorer there at under-17 level.

Brazil face India at Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, known as Salt Lake, kick-off 11:00 Brasília time. It is the nations' first senior meeting. According to Coluna Do Fla, Vini Jr. should start for Ancelotti's side.

He called playing in India a notable occasion, said it is different and does not happen often, and added the team hope to perform well and return more times.

At 16 he contested the 2016 BRICS Cup in India, scoring five in five as Brazil won the title and he finished top scorer. He recalled arriving as a boy, noted the local crowd follow him closely, love football and love Brazil, and said he is happy to be back.

That under-17 side also featured Wesley Andrade and Lincoln Correa, with Carlos Amadeu as coach. A year later the group repeated the success at the South American Under-17 Championship, again with Vini Jr. among the winners.

A Flamengo academy graduate, he began in futsal before moving to the pitches at Ninho do Urubu, joining the club around age 10 in 2010.

His senior debut came in May 2017 in a 1-1 draw with Atlético-MG. He played 70 official games for Flamengo, scoring 14 with five assists. Later in 2017, aged 16, he was sold to Real Madrid for 45 million euros, then among the biggest transfers in Brazilian football.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”