Fans camp out from 3am for Vinicius Jr as more Brazil stars arrive in S’pore for friendlies

SINGAPORE – At 3am, while most on the island were asleep, two 19-year-olds were staking out at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, waiting for Brazilian superstar Vinicius Jr.

Nearly eight hours later, football fans Aqil Khan and Max Lau finally had their moment as the Real Madrid forward stepped out of a chartered van to chants of “Vini, Vini, Vini”.

Dressed casually in a black T-shirt, a cap and Vans sneakers, with a diamond-encrusted cross necklace on his chest, the 26-year-old made time for about 50 fans who had been waiting for his arrival.

He posed for wefies and signed autographs for about 10 minutes, while clubmate Endrick walked straight into the hotel.

Aqil was over the moon when he managed to get his idol’s autograph on his Los Blancos jersey.

The electronics and computer engineering student from Ngee Ann Polytechnic said: “I just wanted Vinicius Jr and I got it!

“I’ll frame this jersey up at home and I got other players such as Bento (Al-Nassr), Jair Cunha (Nottingham Forest) and Allan (Manchester City) from earlier this morning as well.”

Like Aqil, others also came armed with Real Madrid jerseys bearing Vinicius’ name, the famous canary yellow shirts of Brazil’s national team or other memorabilia, as they jostled for the perfect spot.

While Lau was “a bit disappointed” not to have Vinicius’ autograph, he was still “starstruck” and vowed to stay on and wait for his chance.

“I’m still amazed that he was like right in front of me, like he’s standing right there and I think it somewhat lowers the disappointment a little bit,” Lau added.

“I’m hoping for Bruno Guimaraes and for Gabriel – I’m an Arsenal supporter, so hoping for those two and (will try for) Vini, of course. And the next few days with Raphinha (Barcelona) and Estevao (Chelsea) coming, you never know, I might come on different days as well.

“But for now, I think I’m gonna stick to camping out here.”

The Selecao’s stars are in town for the Mizuho Blue Challenge – The Kallang Football Series, which will see them take on Japan on Nov 14, a rematch of their round-of-32 clash at the World Cup, before playing the Lions on Nov 17.

Arsenal pair, centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes, had arrived on Nov 8 evening, less than 24 hours after the Gunners’ 1-0 Premier League win over Hull City.

They followed five Brasileirao-based players – Gabriel Bontempo, Arthur Dias, Andre Luiz, Jonathan Jesus and Pedro Morisco – who touched down at Changi Airport that afternoon.

“Rarely do you see teams like Brazil come to Singapore,” said Lau, an aviation management student at Temasek Polytechnic.

“I was really starstruck. I’ve seen many players throughout my time, many Singaporean legends, but foreign players, especially high-calibre players like Vini and Endrick, I’m totally starstruck.

“It’s such a rare opportunity for these foreign teams or clubs to play in Singapore, and to have this opportunity, I think it’s worth the wait – It’s worth the camping.

“Maybe it sounds crazy to others, you know, 12 hours or so, but as a football fan, I think this is dedication.”

Vinicius is among the headline names in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s 25-man squad.

The Italian has picked 15 players under the age of 23, with an eye on the 2028 Copa America and the 2030 World Cup. Fans at the Mizuho Blue Challenge will get to see them in action.

Paraguay, the fourth team in the tournament, play Singapore in the opening match on Nov 13 and will face Japan on Nov 17.