da 888： Sometimes, it’s really difficult to stand out at huge clubs such as Real Madrid.
da dobrowin： Usually, Los Blancos have no shortage of different kinds of stars within their squad. This is a trend that began way back when the first Galacticos were formed, with Zinedine Zidane leading the way in the early 2000s. The same man has now, more or less, continued down the road even almost two decades in the future.
Of course, one could argue that this particular squad is not as stacked up with superstars and Galactico names as it was before, and maybe that’s not too far away from the truth.
But nonetheless, this Real Madrid squad does feel a lot less like a Galactico squad, especially now that the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo are long gone.
In many ways, with the Portuguese superstar bossing the pitch for the Whites, it was difficult to celebrate any other player’s fortune for as long as the spotlight was on Ronaldo. And let’s face it – whenever he plays, he gets the spotlight if he so wishes.
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For that reason, the players that are thriving now, like Karim Benzema for instance, who scored six goals and assisted one in seven La Liga games, are finally getting a piece of the fame that was once unattainable for various different reasons.
But even so, there are certain difficulties for certain players that make their rise to glory much more tiresome than for the rest.
Strikers, for example, are generally more celebrated than defensive-minded players.
Of course, Virgil van Dijk’s recent emergence on the scene would beg to differ but the big Dutchman is practically the first defender, or at least a defensively oriented player, to start a shift in power ever since Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or back in 2006.
But it’s difficult to say that Lionel Messi or Ronaldo haven’t warranted their duopoly over the last decade because quite frankly – they did.
And yes, the forwards and even the advanced midfielders who tend to score goals usually get the spotlight. But there’s one player that truly makes the Real Madrid squad tick and is slowly but surely becoming an irreplaceable part of Zidane’s squad despite not really exhibiting such characteristics.
The player in question is Casemiro.
The now 27-year-old defensive midfielder, or pivote as they would call him in Spain, has been a part of Los Blancos’ squad since 2015 when he joined them from Porto.
Casemiro is a type of player that’s rarely pleasing on the eye – after all, as the team’s defensive midfielder, it is his job to stop the opposition, break up their play and stop them in their tracks – by any means necessary.
And sometimes, the Brazilian takes his job maybe too literally and is prone to being too harsh and too aggressive at times, something he himself admitted recently when talking to Movistar+ (via Marca):
“I’m aggressive in how I go for the ball. I don’t care if it’s the second or 90th minute, I always go for the ball like I am going for a plate of food. I always go for a ball as if it were my last.”
This statement is even more reinforced when we add his average of two fouls per game in the ongoing La Liga campaign and 3.4 fouls in the last iteration of Copa America to the equation.
But that’s actually an essential part of his arsenal and something that makes him such a special player.
And never has he been as important to Real Madrid and Zidane as this season in 2019/20.
The stats clearly support this as he is currently the player with the most minutes in La Liga for the Whites, tallying a total of 870 so far. Not only that, but his status is recognised on the international stage as well.
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When we take games across all competitions and stages into consideration, Casemiro has played a total of 1,114 minutes of a possible 1,170 minutes since the season started. This translates to a sublime 95.4% of possible minutes.
Evidently, the Brazilian is simply irreplaceable.
At Real Madrid, however, that statement is more literal than one would think.
After all, in the whole squad, Casemiro is the only natural defensive midfielder Zidane has got. Sure, the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric can deputise in the case of an emergency but as far as natural pivotes go, the Brazilian is the sole trooper the coach has at his disposal.
Considering he’s played so much and without proper rest, it’s safe to say that he is quite clearly an integral part of both squads he features for.
And we can already state all of that without actually analysing his statistics and contribution in more detail. When we do exactly that, however, the situation becomes even clearer.
Even though he is not a goal-scorer, he does have a goal and an assist in the eight games he played for Real Madrid in La Liga but that doesn’t even start to describe his effect on the team.
So far, he averaged 2.8 tackles, 2.6 interceptions and two clearances per game in the Spanish top-flight. Not to mention that he also maintained 85.8% passing accuracy and averaged six long balls per game.
By all standards, that is a truly impressive CV for the Brazilian in the ongoing campaign.
Having said all of that, it becomes a bit easier to see just how essential Casemiro has become for Real Madrid and without trying to belittle his success so far with the Galacticos, it really does feel like he went from zero to hero.
Never before has he been so recognised as a key figure as is the case right now.
That is not to say, however, that he’s been bad before. No, not by any means but now, he is simply irreplaceable.