Berlin (dpa/Stats Perform)
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has praised his Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, calling him a role model amid criticism Real Madrid leveled at Mallorca ahead of the two teams’ La Liga clash on Sunday. .
The Royals beat Mallorca 4-1 at home last September after Vinicius complained about instructions given by Mexican coach Javier Aguirre during the match.

Vinicius felt that Aguirre had told his players to play hardball and challenged the Mexican coach about what really happened. A few days later, Mallorca captain Antonio Rayo told Dario de Mallorca: “Vinicus has the right to dance, but he must not be disrespectful, he must not insult or underestimate his teammates”. Rayo spoke again this week about Vinicius and said: “If I had to set an example for my son as a football player tomorrow, I would probably choose Luka Modric or Karim Benzema, but I would never choose Vinicius.” For his part, Ancelotti said: “Vinny will prepare for this match like he does every match, he won’t have to sit down with me to discuss it.”

And he added: “For me, Vinicius is an example of a football player. Young people love football players with their potential. My grandchildren have his shirt and they don’t want another shirt.”