Vinicius Souza: "I play for my brother, who was killed in a shootout"

Vinicius de Souza Costa (Rio de Janeiro, 1999), better known in the world of football as Vinicius Souza, is a key player for Espanyol.

Loaned by the Belgian Lommel, ultimately owned by an all-powerful Manchester City who seems to have him in mind with a view to the future, he is not intimidated by anyone.

When talking to him, however, the smile he always has on his lips stands out.

Even when addressing the sad trigger of his decision to become a professional soccer player: the death of his little brother, Caio, from a stray bullet in a shootout between the police and some traffickers.

He decided that he would be a soccer player because of him and, with his career, he has been paying him a hitherto unspoken tribute.

What was it like growing up in Padre Miguel's neighborhood? He was always on the street, playing soccer.

He enjoyed the whole day, there is no other better word to define it. What is the best memory you have of when you were a child? I think that, being able to enjoy with the other children without any responsibility.

Now everything is different, but I have very good memories of that time. I think that is, being able to enjoy with the other children without any responsibility.

Now everything is different, but I have very good memories of that time. When I lost my little brother.

I think almost nobody knows that, it's the first time I've told it.

I was 12 years old, and he was seven or eight.

Until then, I didn't take it too seriously.

He played with my friends, without much thought, half joking, to have fun, although there was a staff and a coach.

Was his death due to illness or an accident? He was going to train with his grandmother, and as he passed through a forum, a shootout had broken out between the police and some dealers.

They tried to cross the street to leave, but a stray bullet hit him in the head.

Because of that, I decided.

For him. How did his parents take it when he told them that he wanted to dedicate himself to this sport? They always supported me.

My father would even put work aside to take me training.

At the age of 13, I signed for Flamengo and then my whole life changed.

The field was very far from my house, I had to leave around four thirty in the morning to be there at nine.

My father put me ahead of his work, ahead of his own life. Was signing for Flamengo a confirmation that I was on the right track? It was all very new to me.

I played soccer to have fun and then it became a job.

Over the years, I got more and more involved and, thank God, in the end I managed to make my debut with the first team. There he met Vinicius Júnior.

What is it like to share a dressing room with him? Vinicius is incredible.

People only know the player and, as a person, he is a thousand times better.

You only need to take a look at his social networks: he always posts photos with his family and his friends.

He is very humble and I am very happy for everything he is achieving. Are you surprised by all the controversy that has been surrounding him in recent times? He surprises me, because he is very good people.

All he wants is to enjoy playing soccer.

In South America we are like that, we always fight to the maximum for our team.

I do too, we fight like crazy.

In your case,

Being Vinicius and being in Madrid, everything is magnified. As I understand it, knowing that Espanyol wanted him, he forgot about any other destination.

Did you know the club beforehand? It's not that I knew much about it, but I did hear a lot about the club, I always watched a lot of La Liga matches and when they told me I wanted to sign, I decided to forget about everything else and came to Barcelona.

There was something inside me that was calling me to sign for Espanyol. Would you like to remain linked to the club beyond this summer? For me, of course.

I can't say much about it, because it's out of my hands, but I'd love to stay. Atlético, Wolverhampton and even City, the ultimate owner of Lommel, have sounded a lot like possible destinations.

Would it be a blow for you to have to leave or would you take it as a new challenge? I prefer not to think about it right now.

Right now, my head is completely focused on Espanyol and the League.

Yes it is true that I have been listening to things, but right now I don't care.

My mind is 100% on this club. Real Madrid has chained two consecutive setbacks.

Does that make them an even more dangerous opponent? Real Madrid is Real Madrid.

You have to always be alert, whether they come from chaining two consecutive setbacks or from adding a good streak.

Does not matter.

We have to go to the Bernabéu very focused.

Our obligation is to be 100% involved in the game because if you don't they will kill you.

Taking advantage of the opportunities to score that we may have will also be essential.

I think we have to go there with confidence, thinking that we can play a good match,

but always respecting a rival of such a category. On what factors should Espanyol focus more? The key is to be fully involved in everything that happens, always be very focused.

If not, in any play, with the players they have, they can leave you out of the game. Espanyol already took a point from the Camp Nou in the last derby and Madrid suffered almost until the end to defeat them in Cornellà.

Do you think the team performs better against this type of opponent? Yes, I think Espanyol thrives in these matches, although it may not be fair to generalize.

I can only speak for myself, and from my point of view, the more focused I am on the game, the more I can help my team.

I think that this factor is decisive for anyone, whether we are talking about the first or the last in the classification.

The main thing is to be positive.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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