You may not remember all of them, but let me assure you that Spanish football has been witness to some of the great retaliation extravaganzas of all time.
Diego Maradona, when he was at Barcelona, Kung Fu-kicking Athletic Club‘s Miguel De Andres at the end of the 1984 Copa del Rey final. Real Madrid’s legendary winger Juanito stamping on the back, and then the head, of Bayern Munich‘s Lothar Matthaus in the 1987 European Cup semifinal. Brazilian magician Djalminha snapping and headbutting his own Deportivo La Coruna coach, Javier Irureta, in the midst of receiving a huge rollicking during training. Diego Costa and Sergio Ramos spitting on one another during a Madrid Derbi. Madrid defender Pepe swinging a wild boot at a prone Javi Casquero, then raking his studs down the Getafe player’s back when Madrid looked like they were going to drop points at home in 2009. The list goes on.
At one time these hot-tempered bursts of retribution leading to sendings off were so “in fashion” in Spain that Pablo Alfaro, Sevilla‘s infamous defender — second only to Sergio Ramos in LaLiga red cards — once said: “Admittedly I’m not a Saint! But it feels like media coverage of me being sent off has become a national sport!”
Vinicius Junior’s name is not currently on that list of high-profile, perpetually-targeted footballers who succumb to provocation, frustration, red mist, or who simply have a bit of mala leche (badness) running through their veins. The 22-year-old Brazilian is so far opting for the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo school of “don’t make me angry because I won’t punch or kick you in retaliation … I’ll just score, or create, more goals against you.”
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Messi played nearly 800 matches for Barcelona so if he’d been fouled, on average, an extremely conservative six times per 90 minutes that would mean he was kicked, barged, obstructed, tripped, knocked over, hacked down nearly 5,000 times. Wouldn’t you react? Most of us would.
Only twice did Messi properly teeter on the verge of complete red mist on club duty. In the 2009 UEFA Super Cup final against Shakhtar Donetsk when he moved his forehead perilously close to Darijo Srna’s nose, no action was taken from the ref. And then in the 2021 Spanish Super Cup defeat to Athletic Club when, having been bodychecked all night, he swung a petulant right hook at the back of Asier Villalibre‘s neck and was, correctly, red-carded for the only time in his long Barcelona career.
Ronaldo’s four red cards for Madrid, mostly expulsions for momentary losses of temper and some kind of lashing out, exclude him from being branded “Mary Poppins-exemplary.” But given the treatment he, too, was handed out while inspiring Madrid to vast achievements domestically and internationally, his self-restraint, and ability to re-divert anger towards scoring and winning, were definitely to be admired.
