Why is Vinicius Jr. not a starter? That is the big question that Flamengo fans and Real Madrid fans in the distance ask themselves when the Brasileirao competition is over and after the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

The Carioca fans have not seen the player in the starting eleven for four months. The last game he started was on August 19, a match in which his two goals gave victory (2-0) to his team against Atlético Goianese. Since then, the 17-year-old player, on loan from Real Madrid after the white club acquired his rights for 45 million euros, has seen the start of all Flamengo matches from the bench or the stands.

Vinicius' substitute status is a topic of debate in Brazil, where an explanation is found for Reinaldo Rueda's decision to keep him as a substitute and bring him on as a game-changer in the second halves. In fact, the Carioca fans, in unison, chant his name after halftime when the games are stuck.

This is, however, one of the reasons given by the UOL portal to understand the situation of the young promise. In addition, the media considers that two of Flamengo's current stars, Everton and Lucas Paquetá, close the way for him in the starting eleven. Both players provide a defensive work that Vinicius hasn't yet displayed, a quality that, UOL points out, the player will have to improve when making the leap to European football, which is much more demanding in that aspect than Brazilian football.

Aside from contributing more defensively to the team, another possible solution seen in Brazil is a change in the coach's system. An option whose immediate implementation is considered unlikely considering that the season in Brazil has ended and yesterday in the return leg of the Copa Libertadores final that Independiente won after a 1-1 draw, he did not have any minutes either. The next commitment of the red-and-black team will be in 2018, when they start their journey in the Campeonato Carioca on January 17.