Brazil’s coach, Dorival Jr, heaped praise on Vinicius Jr after the Real Madrid forward propelled his team to a convincing 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the Copa America on Friday. Vinicius Jr’s pace and trickery caused havoc for the Paraguayan defense, leading to two goals in a display that was a stark contrast to his subdued performance in Brazil’s opening group stage match against Costa Rica, where he was largely ineffective.
“Today he played a very important role,” Dorival told reporters, speaking with the help of a translator. “He played an almost perfect match, he created very good situations and opportunities. He was dynamic, very effective and straightforward and direct. “He played well with other players and teamed up nicely, he has great capacity.”
Brazil will next face group leader Colombia in California on Tuesday, with a draw being enough to secure qualification for the quarterfinals. Colombia, currently on a 25-match unbeaten run, poses a significant challenge, having defeated Brazil 2-1 in a World Cup 2026 qualifier in November.
“I think that we’ll have a match of a very high level, with players that know each other, that usually play against each other,” Dorival said. “These are different teams that are undergoing different moments but I have no doubts that Brazil will perform at the highest level, and I expect that it will be better than these two first matches.”
In an emotional press conference, the teary-eyed Brazil coach also spoke at length about his uncle and former international Dudu, who sadly passed away at the age of 84 on Friday night.
“Dudu was a reference to me as a player, as a coach but especially as a human being,” Dorival said. “He was always worrying about everyone else but himself. He was a role model to me, I always wanted to follow his steps. To me, he means a great lot, in addition to the amazing history he had. “I think I never met anyone like him. He was the second father to me, he guided me at every time in my life.”
