Article by Daniel Grigore – Published on Thursday, 27 November 2025, 13:11 / Updated on Thursday, 27 November 2025 13:35
Brazilian defender Rodina, 33, had a difficult night in the Champions League, being turned around by Vinicius Junior in Olympiakos – Real Madrid 3-4. After the match, he spoke highly of his former Flamengo teammate.
In the 2017/2018 season, Vinicius and Rodinei were teammates in Flamengo's first team, before the Brazilian winger made his way to Madrid.
Last evening, the two South Americans met again and were direct opponents in the Olympiakos – Real Madrid duel, in the 5th stage of the Champions League group.
It was a complicated evening for Rodinei, taken off the field in the 72nd minute. He was dribbled 4 times by Vinicius, but he won 8 of the total of 12 duels with Real players.
After the match, the Olympiakos right-back declared himself overwhelmed by the duel with his former colleague.
Turned around by Vinicius in Olympiakos – Real Madrid, threw in the towel: “I couldn't even touch him!”
“Come on… On a day like this, playing with so much freedom, with so much ease, what more can I say? I couldn't even touch him, but not out of any respect. He is so fast, so hard to score. It's a completely different Vinicius to the one we were marking at Flamengo, completely different.
Congratulations to him for all he has achieved. He is the best player in the world. It was an honor for me to share the field with a player who, in addition to being the best in the world, is also my friend,” commented Rodinei, according to O Globo.
Vinicius versus Rodinei // photo: Imago Images
Vinicius managed 8 dribbles last night, out of a total of 14 attempts. He assisted Mbappe on two of the Frenchman's 4 goals, becoming one of only 3 players in the last 10 Champions League seasons with at least 8 dribbles and two assists in the same game. The others are Lionel Messi (in 2019) and Kylian Mbappe (2020).
