Superstar in Spain, doubted in Brazil: Will Vinicius convince a nation?

Carlo Ancelotti's news conference was coming to an end when he addressed the elephant in the room in his typically subtle, elegant way.

"People sometimes say Brazil don't have a star right now. Maybe that's true," the Brazil manager said before the friendly against Panama in late May.

"We don't have a Pele, a Romario or a Ronaldo, but we can have a shared sense of responsibility, and that can be a very powerful thing."

The expectation was for Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, by now, to have become the Selecao's leading figure.

Yet, four years on from a penalty shoot-out exit against Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, doubts remain around the 25-year-old forward.

Such is the situation that, following Brazil's 2-1 defeat by France in March, the debate in his homeland pivoted to whether Vinicius still deserved a place in the starting XI.

"Should Vinicius be dropped?" asked one of Brazil's most traditional football panel shows, ESPN's Linha de Passe.

Even with the arrival of former Real Madrid serial winner Ancelotti, arguably the most impactful coach Vinicius has had in his club career, the question that has defined his national team story so far continues to follow him.

Its gist is simply this: "Why can't Vinicius reproduce his Madrid form with the Selecao?"

Vinicius is the Brazil player with the most goal involvements in this World Cup cycle, but his numbers are still modest – seven goals and six assists in 28 matches.

"Playing at the same level as he does for his club is complicated," Cleber Xavier, who worked as Brazil's assistant coach in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, told BBC Sport.

"Once you get to the national team, the reality is much harder than it looks from the outside. At your club, it's different training, a different way of playing, different team-mates, the day-to-day where things happen and develop.

"The clearest example is [Lionel] Messi with Argentina. He was always questioned about that and only managed to do it in 2022. But that's because Argentina managed to build a team. In Qatar, we faced Croatia and they were almost like a club side because they repeated so many players. That's how you give a player a proper structure."

Vinicius has never shied away from the conversation.

"At our clubs, every three days there's a new opportunity," he told Caze TV in a recent interview.

"So if I play badly in two games out of 10, nobody is going to talk about it that much. With the national team, it's a long time between one match and the next. The pressure is always huge and people always expect me to perform at my best.

"If I go to the World Cup, score four or five goals and we become champions, the whole story changes. Then people will say I was preparing myself for the World Cup all along, even in the games where I didn't play well."

Can Vinicius make Brazil fans love him?

Playing for Brazil has never been straightforward for Vinicius.

A former international manager, speaking anonymously to BBC Sport, said it is his belief that the 2024 Ballon d'Or runner-up suffers from "the anxiety of wanting to be the protagonist".

Being the protagonist is of course the status Vinicius has been used to throughout his career.

And that is partly reflected as he heads into his second World Cup. He has 14 commercial deals, more than any other Brazilian player.

For all his success off the pitch, however, Vinicius has yet to inspire the same emotional connection Neymar still has with the country's football-loving public.

It's a paradoxical situation: one superstar, past his peak but still loved; another, at the top of his game but still waiting for the same level of affection.

"I believe Vinicius is loved by Brazilian fans – just not at the same level as Neymar," argued Eduardo Musa, a marketing specialist and a former adviser to the former Barcelona and Paris St-Germain forward.

"There are a few important differences between them. Neymar already has a very clear legacy with Brazil. He is the national team's all-time top scorer. Vinicius, meanwhile, still hasn't had the chance with Brazil to deliver what he delivers for Real Madrid.

"That's one point. The other, from a more technical perspective, is that Neymar stayed at Santos from 2011 to 2013 and had two wonderful years there. Brazilian fans watched him every week. Vinicius left earlier. He was playing at Flamengo, but he was not yet an undisputed starter and there were still doubts about his technical level simply because he had not had enough time to prove himself."

A recent poll from Datafolha, one of Brazil's leading research institutes, showed the majority of fans - albeit a slender majority - still trust veteran Neymar, as 53% backed his inclusion in the World Cup squad.

"I think that remains very vivid in their minds, what Neymar did in Brazil before moving abroad," said Musa. "And there is also the personality factor, the charisma, those things matter a lot too.

"I'm someone who absolutely admires Vinicius. I think he is a fantastic player, truly fantastic. But Neymar has had more years at the top and, because of that, more time to build unforgettable moments."

'I'm the one everyone talks about now'

For some time, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has been working to give Vinicius a more central role within the Selecao.

In March, after the serious injury that ruled Rodrygo out of the World Cup, Vinicius was handed the famous number 10 shirt and selected to appear at a news conference before the France match, something that had not happened for two years.

The plan was clear: for Vinicius to become the face of Brazil.

But with Neymar's surprising return, the number 10 has gone back to the 34-year-old Santos forward.

Despite that, Neymar's litany of physical issues in recent times means expectations of him are not what they once were.

Many eyes will be trained on Vinicius as he aims to shine in Brazil's quest for a sixth title and leave the doubts behind for good.

"He improved a lot when he started doing more individual work, improving his finishing, his collective game, his combinations and one-twos. It was through that work that he matured a lot, with plenty of goal contributions," explained Xavier, currently an assistant coach for the Venezuela national team.

"But for him to really maximise his individual qualities, which is what happened at Real Madrid, he depends on the collective structure around him. In 2022, we were still in a rebuilding process. Now maybe is the time."

Vinicius says he is ready for the spotlight.

"I'm the one everyone talks about now because I've had five or six positive seasons at Real Madrid and have already spent years among the best players in the world," he said.

"That naturally brings more responsibility. And that's the responsibility I want, because I know I can do more, improve, keep evolving, and I know where I can reach because my ceiling is always very high."