The build-up to Sunday's derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid has been dominated by Vinicius' dancing during his goal celebrations. The controversy began when Atletico's Koke was asked how the home fans would react if Vinicius danced at the Metropolitano. His response of "there'll be trouble, for sure" did not go down well with those of a Real Madrid persuasion.

To add fuel to the fire, a Spanish sports programme saw the president of the Spanish association of football agents, Pedro Bravo, call out Vinicius for his celebration by saying he should refrain from "hacer el mono" (literally "doing the monkey", but its real translation is "acting like a fool"). Many in Brazil have slammed Bravo for racism while others, including Bravo himself, have denied any racist intention and claimed it was just a common Spanish phrase. In any case, Real Madrid announced they would take legal action against those who made racist comments against him.

Many Brazilian footballers created the hashtag #BailaVini (dance Vini) as a way of encouraging Vinicius to dance if he scores and Vinicius has confirmed he will do just that. There have also been claims that Vinicius has been targetted because of his race. The example used is that Griezmann has never been criticised although the fact Villarreal's Gerard Moreno was recently abused by Atleti fans for celebrating a goal to the camera to send a message to his daughter means that argument could be questioned. Whatever the reasons, there is a very tense atmosphere ahead of the derby.

On Saturday, Valencia beat Celta Vigo 3-0. Castillejo scored the first goal in the 37th minute and they had to wait until the 82nd minute for the second, which Marcos Andre scored. In the 93rd minute, Andre Almeida also found the target. Marcos Andre celebrated the goal and seemed to show support for Vinicius.

After scoring the second goal, the Brazilian danced to celebrate the goal. Whatever happens in the Atletico versus Real Madrid game, we will have seen dancing in a goal celebration in La Liga this weekend.

September 17, 2022

Marcos André

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