Vitor Roque, forward sponsored by Ronaldo Nazario, Xavi's first reinforcement to take flight

First reinforcement for the distraught Xavi Hernández, who needs to change the dynamics of a very irregular team. The Brazilian Vitor Roque (Timóteo, 2005) will soon join the training of a team that has lost the wake of Real Madrid and Girona.

Before training as a Barcelona player, the young striker has already won the affection of many fans with a simple and symptomatic gesture: the care with which he folded a Barça shirt before putting it in one of the suitcases with which he will arrive in Europe.. The Brazilian has among his endorsers one who, of course, knows very well how to be decisive in attack: Ronaldo Nazario. Many, due to his powerful verticality and dribbling, already compare him to him.

The current president of Valladolid was dazzled by this kid when he began to stand out in 2019 at Cruzeiro, a team he joined after tense negotiations with América Mineiro, the team with which he took his first serious steps in football.. The financial problems of Cruzeiro, a club of which El Fenómeno was a majority partner, forced it to be sold, in April 2022, to Athletico Paranaense for around five million.

Initially, Vitor Roque seemed to accuse the change of team and had a hesitant start, but then, in 2023, everything changed. From one year to the next he went from scoring seven goals and providing three assists in 36 games to scoring 21 goals and providing seven assists in 44 games.

Tigrinho, a nickname inherited from his father, who is known as Tigrao in his circle of friends, sparked the interest of several European clubs.. The great mobility in attack (1.72 meters, 78 kilos), his ability to take advantage of spaces and a scoring instinct that has increased over time were the main arguments of a player who feels that his nickname is very appropriate..

However, despite the siren songs that wanted to take him to the old continent or other places, he was always very clear that Barcelona would mark his destiny.. From the moment the Blaugrana knocked on his door, he no longer wanted to listen to another proposal. The negotiations were not easy, but finally the entity chaired by Joan Laporta managed to close his incorporation in exchange for 30 million euros plus a succulent series of variables.

The signing was closed last summer, and the club also gave him a termination clause of 500 million euros.. Then it was already announced that his arrival was going to be postponed to July 2024 due to the delicate financial fair play situation of the Catalan entity.. But Gavi's long-term injury will allow his arrival to be brought forward, through a somewhat bizarre formula: he arrives on loan for the remainder of the season, but must be effectively registered with his original contract with a view to the campaign. 2024-25.

Lewandowski performance

After the last and discouraging days of Xavi's team and the discreet performance of Lewandowski, the Brazilian striker is expected with arms wide open. From his point of view, his arrival can contribute a lot to his team increasing its scoring performance.. Joan Laporta also intends to hire a midfielder who plays a role similar to Gavi.

“He is a hope for the team, a very good signing and I think he can contribute a lot to us.”. So many positive things come to mind…. It gives us hope, work, goals, sacrifice, it goes to space…. “We will help him adapt as soon as possible,” Xavi said about the young Brazilian this week.. The coach also made it very clear that we should not put too heavy a burden on the new player's back: “We cannot put pressure on Vitor Roque or young people like Lamine Yamal. They have to go little by little. Therefore, we have to take a step forward as a team and make differences in the areas.”

Trust

Tigrinho, whom his father, Juvenal, his mother, Hercilia, and his older sister, Vitoria, prefer to call Vitinho, has already begun to know the responsibility that comes with having all eyes on him. In the last South American U-20 championship he was the most outstanding player, with a total of six goals. He has also had the opportunity to debut with the senior Brazilian team. A premiere that also marked a parallel with that same Ronaldo who saw so much and so good in his figure during the time he defended the Cruzeiro colors. Vitor Roque donned the canarinha against Morocco on March 3 and became the youngest debutant since El Fenómeno played his first game with the seniors.