Endrick’s Struggles Leave Vitor Roque Olympic Dream Shattered

Endrick, the future ‘9’ for Madrid, failed to score in the Pre-Olympic second phase, leading Brazil’s Seleçao to elimination at the hands of Argentina. Vitor Roque, the potential Olympic call-up, now misses out on the Games for the first time in two decades for Brazil.

At just 17 years old, Endrick, set to join the new Bernabéu in July, took on the challenge of leading Seleçao in the Pre-Olympics towards Paris 2024, but Brazil faced a historic failure in missing the Olympic qualification for the first time in 20 years, courtesy of Argentina under Javier Mascherano.

The collateral victim of Brazil’s historic setback is none other than Vitor Roque. Ramon Menezes, the Olympic Seleçao coach, expressed full confidence in ‘Tigrinho’ (Roque’s nickname), but the early incorporation of Roque to Barça in January dashed his chances of a call-up.

With Roque unavailable, Endrick, mandated by Real Madrid to participate, carried the weight. Despite being touted as the most individually skilled player in a struggling Brazil squad, Endrick, like many others, failed to live up to expectations in the final quadrangular where Paraguay and Argentina secured the Paris-bound spots.

In the critical stage, Endrick failed to score in three games, missing even a penalty against Paraguay in a 0-1 defeat. Despite a strong start in the initial phase, Endrick’s performance dwindled, eventually being substituted in the 73rd minute of the crucial match against Argentina.

The narrative unfolds with a Real Madrid player, representing Palmeiras but bound for Madrid in a €72 million deal, thwarting the Olympic aspirations of a Barcelona player, Vitor Roque, who has been showcasing his talents under Xavi Hernández, recently scoring in the last two matches he played.