This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is Paixão and the second is de Oliveira.
Vinícius Júnior
Vinicius Jr 2021.jpg
Vinícius Júnior in 2021
Personal information
Full name Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior[1]
Date of birth 12 July 2000 (age 22)[2]
Place of birth São Gonçalo, Brazil[2]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team Real Madrid
Number 20
Youth career
2005–2017 Flamengo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Flamengo 50 (11)
2018 Real Madrid B 5 (4)
2018– Real Madrid 117 (25)
National team‡
2015–2016 Brazil U15 10 (7)
2016–2017 Brazil U17 19 (17)
2018–2019 Brazil U20 4 (0)
2019– Brazil 12 (1)
Honors
- Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:33, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:13, 25 March 2022 (UTC)
Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (born 12 July 2000), commonly known as Vinícius Júnior or Vini Jr. (Brazilian Portuguese: [viˈnisjus ˈʒũɲoʁ]),[4] is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. He is considered to be one of the best wingers in the world due to his dribbling skills, pace, and stamina.
Vinicius Junior’s decision to train at the Flamengo Academy made his family relocate in 2010. While his father moved to Sao Paulo, his mother accompanied her son to Gavea, from where Vinicius would board a bus every single day to travel to the Academy.
When he was 13, Claudio Cacapa, coach of the Brazilian U-15 team spotted him and drafted ‘the exceptional talent’ into the Brazilian side. Since then, Vinicius’ career graph has seen only peaks.
While representing the Brazil U-15 team at the South American Football Championship, he scored 6 goals in as many matches, helping his side to an easy victory.
The heroic performance at the U-15 level, however, went unnoticed. He then came into the limelight while showcasing his skills at the U-17 South American Championship, where he scored 7 goals and earned the ‘Best Player of the Tournament’ trophy. Because of this victory, the team even qualified for the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
Although Vinicius has every move in his book, he is best-known for his ‘Chapeus’ technique. This shot involves the ball being flipped over the defender’s/goalkeeper’s head, making them feel ‘humiliated
