Franco Mastantuono has been the target of criticism after his childish red card against Getafe last weekend and a suspension that will keep him off the pitch for two games.
Of course, this caused criticism of the former River Plate player, but coach Alvaro Arbeloa defended him and showed great faith in the young Argentine and his team.
Arbeloa mentions Vinicius case in defense of Mastantuono
Real Madrid will face Celta Vigo on Friday 6th March in La Liga round 27. Although they have lost two games in a row, they need a win to calm their nerves and renew fans’ faith in the team.
In the pre-match press conference, the coach did not ignore the current slump. “Defeat is always difficult to deal with, but for now all we are thinking about is tomorrow’s game.”
However, in addition to these two defeats, there is the controversy caused by one of their players in the game against Getafe. Mastantuono was sent off for insulting the referee and was suspended for two games. This only reignited criticism of him, who has been playing minutes in recent days (only 33% of his minutes over the past 10 games).
Arbeloa did not ignore the situation and came to his defense, asserting that he was taking his first steps in league and club at the age of 18 and that it was normal to make mistakes while learning. To illustrate this, he gave the example of Vinicius.
“As for Juysén or Mastantuono, I am clear. There are many players in the Juvenil A team of the same age as Mastantuono, and Juysén could play for Castilla given his age. I remember what was said about Vinicius when he arrived and I would like to see him now,” Alvaro explained. “We have to be very patient. Playing for Real Madrid means playing at the most demanding club in the world, which is unlike any other club,” he added.
The truth is that when Vini arrived at Madrid, he missed a lot of goals and was heavily criticized, but over time he has grown and is now one of the best players in the team. For this reason, Arbeloa believes that given time, Mastantuono could develop in a similar way.
The Real Madrid manager therefore calmly asked him not to judge young talent hastily and to evaluate the performance of two of the four players signed this season.
“They have my full confidence and a lot of ability. I want the fans to understand what each player is like. Care for them, encourage them and above all demand hard work and effort from them. Encourage them to make mistakes, because they will make mistakes. Football is a sport of mistakes. We are looking forward to a great night with them.”
Meanwhile, Franco will not feature in tomorrow’s match against Celta Vigo and next weekend’s match against Elche at the Bernabéu. If Arbeloa decides to do so, he could feature the Argentine in the Champions League match against Manchester City and even against Atletico Madrid on March 22.
