Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has said he hopes the weight of expectations being carried by Brazil prodigy Endrick do not become too much for the Real Madrid-bound player.
The Palmeiras forward made headlines as the youngest men’s player to score an international goal at Wembley in Brazil’s 1-0 win over England on Saturday.
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“He’s a 17-year-old player,” De la Fuente said of Endrick in a news conference on Monday. “He’s a very good footballer, as we have of that age in our team, very good players.”
De la Fuente has experience managing that age group, with Barcelona‘s teenage duo Lamine Yamal (16) and Pau Cubarsí (17) having made their Spain debuts under him.
“Regarding these players, from my experience, you have to give them time and be very cautious,” De la Fuente said. “Suddenly there’s talk that he [Endrick] can be the new Pele, good heavens! That is to put too much pressure [on him]. At times it generates a lot of stress, a demand that they are not mentally mature enough to deal with.
“It is doing them a disservice. We need them to let them develop their training process naturally and the time will come when we have to really demand it from them but I don’t think they are yet prepared to withstand that pressure.”
De La Fuente’s side will take on Endrick and Brazil in Tuesday’s international friendly at the Bernabéu stadium, a game organised by the football federations of both countries to combat racism.
“It’s an idyllic setting and game to confront this problem, the fight against racism,” Spain defender Dani Carvajal said.
Carvajal’s Real Madrid teammate and Brazil international Vinícius Júnior has been subjected to repeated racist abuse since he arrived in Spain in 2018.
“Vinícius does not discuss the issue in the Madrid locker room,” Carvajal said. “It’s not a comfortable subject to talk about and Vini will discuss it in his private circle. From our side, we help him as much as we can.
“I don’t think Spain is a racist country. We have a level of inclusion that is very high…
“Unfortunately, people go to football games, it appears, to vent their anger, rage. It is a pity. I hope that these types of people cannot enter a stadium because it is one of the ugliest things that exists in this sport.”
The 32-year-old defender said he believes Vinícius deserves to be praised for how he has progressed at Madrid.
“I was very surprised by the improvement in Vini’s performance, for the better,” he said.
“Those of us on the inside didn’t doubt his game, but he received great criticism. And not many players have overcome the criticism of playing for Real Madrid. That is why I give him a lot of merit because he has overcome that. Right now he is one of our leaders.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by De la Fuente: “He is an exceptional, world-class footballer. He is among the best in the world, without a doubt. He is outstanding.”
De la Fuente confirmed that Rodri will be available for Tuesday’s friendly against Brazil despite missing training for three consecutive days.
Rodri, who was rested by De la Fuente for Spain’s 1-0 defeat by Colombia on Friday, was absent from training on Monday after being excused from the team’s camp on Saturday to attend to personal matters.
“Rodri has had to attend a family issue, but he will join us this afternoon. He will be available and ready to go for tomorrow with no setbacks,” the Spain coach said.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report