The recent injury to Vinicius once again forces Carlo Ancelotti to call on a young player from La Cantera.
Vinicius Junior injured, Gonzalo García called in to reinforce the first team. Once is not usual. The injury curse continues to plague Real Madrid and it is the Brazilian's turn to join the already well-stocked Madrid infirmary: Carvajal, Alaba, Militao, Tchouaméni, Rodrygo…
This slew of absences therefore regularly leads to the opportunity for certain young players trained at the club to show up in the first team, like Raúl Asencio who brilliantly succeeds in his first steps with the big boys. For the match at Anfield against Liverpool, it is the turn of Gonzalo García (20 years old), Castilla striker (7 goals in 12 games), to make his first appearance in Carlo Ancelotti's group.
He is a versatile player, capable of playing as a central attacker but also of playing on both wings of the attack. The young player trained at the club, shaped by Arbeloa before becoming an indispensable player for Raúl's Castilla, has “a great team mentality” and “if he doesn't like something, he says it like it is”, hears we say about him. He has an impressive burst of speed and a solid physique (1m 82), which allows him to excel in particular in the game with his back to goal.
In Arbeloa's Juvenil A team, he was the top scorer in the League (27 goals) and contributed to the historic treble (Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) achieved during the 2022-2023 season. This season, he finished the year with more than 40 goals in all competitions and even scored twice in the Champions Cup final against Real Betis to give his team a 3-1 victory.
“Ancelotti asked me to take advantage of it. I have dreamed of it since my childhood, since I arrived at the training center,” he said during the 2023-2024 season where he had the opportunity to take his first steps under the white tunic in the first team with his entry into play in the 78th minute of play against Cadiz.
