Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior on the UEFA Super Cup meeting with Frankfurt, his career goals and his passions for Flamengo and fashion – interview

A Real Madrid player since he joined the club from his first love, Rio de Janeiro side Flamengo, Vinícius Júnior took a giant step up last season, breaking into the first team under Carlo Ancelotti – and scoring the winning goal against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final.

The 22-year-old returns to the continental fray as his side take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup game in Helsinki, and the Brazilian is setting his sights on plenty more trophies before he hangs up his boots, as he tells UEFA.com.

How are you going to approach the UEFA Super Cup?

It is very important to try to win as many games as possible, especially if you want to win competitions as important as the UEFA Super Cup. We will do all we can to win the first piece of silverware on offer in the season.

Real Madrid's mentality last season was incredible: agree?

That's just in the DNA of this club and this shirt, always turning up in important games, players who know how to approach games in this competition, so I believe that it was a bit of everything. Some of the games were emotional rollercoasters and everything seemed to go our way.

My favourite moment? The game against [Manchester] City here at the Bernabéu. In two minutes, Rodrygo came on and scored two goals which took us to the final. The most important moment of the competition, I believe, was the City game.

Did you enjoy the Champions League final?

[It was] a very important moment for us: for me, for the whole team. After such a great season, we had to end it with a victory in the final. I always say that I have about 15 years left of my career and I don't know when my next final will be, so I had to enjoy it to the max.

[Scoring the winning goal] was a unique feeling. To describe it, you don't have much to say, you don't have to write much, you don't have much to speak about. Only the people who have lived it, who have experienced football the way we experienced it that season, know how important it is and how happy it makes you.

What role did Carlo Ancelotti play in that win?

I think he was able to get the most out of us, not just out of me, but out of the whole team. He is very friendly and treats everyone as if they were his son. Of course, he has a job to do in terms of preparation off the pitch, but when he got here, it was the calmness and confidence he gave us.

You have already achieved so much at such a young age. What's next?

I look up to the players who have achieved so much at this club, who achieved those things at the biggest club in the world. Of course, I want to keep winning here and play for a long time to win as much as them – to win five or six [Champions Leagues] – and to try to be as influential as some of the greatest players to have worn the Real Madrid shirt.

Vinícius Júnior feeling the pre-pandemic love at FlamengoGetty Images

You are still an idol to Flamengo supporters. Do you still feel the love from Brazil?

Of course. I've been a Flamengo fan since I was little. I went to the Maracanã recently and when the supporters saw that I was there, they started singing my name. That was very important to me because my heart is with the club deep down, and it was [the club] that encouraged me to come here to Real Madrid.

How did your interest in fashion come about?

I like the NBA and I always see how the players turn up to play-off games. I am also a fan of Lewis Hamilton. David [Alaba] and [Eduardo] Camavinga [share my passion]. Camavinga went on the catwalk during the last Balenciaga fashion show.