Like the rest of Rayo's members, Iván Balliu completed a fantastic game during Real Madrid's visit to the Vallecas Stadium. During the first minutes they erased the current European champion based on intensity, a lot of pressure and ambition. He will be overwhelmed by the reaction of the whites, who will lose sight before the initial 1-0, and will have added very important points when it comes to knowing how to ensure permanence. To the delirium of the Kas Valley, the strip crushed Madrid.
However, within that great choral performance of the franjirrojo team, the harsh marking of Vinicius by Balliu himself, a Madrid star who went completely unnoticed in the Avenida de la Albufera stadium, more pending personal wars than intention to disarm the rival defense.
The duel between the two caused a controversial action in which the Brazilian attacker complained about an attack by the rayista. A slap that did catch the repetition on television but that both the referee and the VAR ignored and he was not penalized.
The day after, in the midst of the happiness with which Vallecas woke up this Tuesday, Balliu went through the program 'A diario', on Radio Marca, to share his feelings after the brilliant victory against Real Madrid. And to questions from Raúl Varela, he opened up about his intense duel with Vinicius.
"Tricks" and "that other football"
"It's difficult to stop players like this, you had to look for those little tricks or that other football... He tried to go strong, mark territory and he also had in his head that the list for Brazil had come out a few hours ago... And everything went well," he confessed. the Rayo Vallecano footballer.
On the possible slap of the Brazilian, Balliu acknowledged the touch: “If that is true that I give it, I brush the ear a little bit and he will also exaggerate. I try to stop myself and I do stop a little with his ear or his head, but without the intention of hitting him or with violence, I received messages telling me about everything, but nothing like asking for red or anything like that ».
With Balliu's marking and his subsequent confession, they confirmed a trend in LaLiga. Once the rivals already know Vinicius and his volcanic character, capable of burying his unquestionable ability to edge between protests and reckoning, it is becoming common for them to look for that dark side of the Brazilian.
Ancelotti, aware of his pupil's Achilles heel, has tried to correct him and redirect his behavior on the pitch. Also some teammates who, even during games, have tried to contain the Hyde part of 'Vini', so as not to lose his Jekyll part, one of his best offensive weapons in the last two seasons.
The influence of the World Cup
Asked if his neighbors to the north of the capital could have been distracted by the proximity of the World Cup in Qatar, the rayista thought that "of course it influences." “You play on a Monday night, in a tiny stadium, with the fans squeezing a lot. I don't know in their head what percentage they have of being in Qatar”.
Balliu attributed a good percentage of the victory to his fans, "in Vallecas we all pushed a lot", but he highlighted the good game they played against Carlo Ancelotti's men: "The feeling was that, that they were not reaching us and that in two actions got ahead. And you say oysters, it's that this Madrid... is that whatever you do, it wins. But Alvarito's goal gave us strength and we went all out”.
Finally, he acknowledged that after what happened last season, in which the team undid after a good start to the league, they were not going to trust each other for having caused the first league defeat for the meringues: "I'm not going to fool you... After winning dice do we look up or down? But the memories of the second round of last year come to you and in the end you think that you have to look at what you have to look at ”.
