Casemiro quote shows why Man Utd fans will love him
Daniel Edwards
- 22 Aug 2022 20:35 BST
- 3 min read
Just a short while ago, Casemiro leaving Spanish and European champions Real Madrid to delve into the bearpit of Manchester United appeared so preposterous an idea as to be dismissed out of hand.
But the transfer window moves fast, and in United's case, they were desperate for that missing piece that could complete the puzzle.
The club decided that Casemiro is that piece, and have officially completed a deal for the brazilian, prying him away from European champions Real Madrid.
The Brazilian may not have stood out at Madrid as much as some of his team-mates, but he was at the centre of all their success over the past decade.
His dynamic, committed, and at times furious midfield play was indispensable at the Bernabeu, and at the age of 30 and with five Champions League winners medals in his pocket Casemiro would've be an asset for any club on the planet.
So for United, who have toiled in the middle of the pitch for years as the likes of Fred, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba have failed to fill the void, he is an excellent signing.
How Casemiro has triumphed
There is no secret to his success, just hard work, as Casemiro himself admits - as well as a healthy regard for the dark arts of the game which can leave some observers puzzled as to his relatively slim red card count.
“I think there’s a stat that nobody talks about. Football games tend to go for an average of 97 minutes and Real Madrid players usually have the ball around two or three minutes," he pointed out to Panenka earlier in 2022.
"The other 95 minutes we’re running, covering different spaces, runs off the ball, helping the team. Many times we look at those three minutes and say, ‘look at that, he plays really well’, but people usually forget about the other minutes.
"You foul to stop the opposition’s counterattack, you cover ground, you force the opponent to pass it backwards, that work is there. Sometimes, that’s even the most important aspect of the game.
"Defenders and defensive midfielders like myself have less room for error, we have to make fewer mistakes."
That work ethic and determination to avoid mistakes will be music to United's ears, given that recently they have been running low on the former and shockingly high on the latter.
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Casemiro may also be United's final bargaining chip thrown at Cristiano Ronaldo to convince him to stay at Old Trafford alongside his old Madrid brother-in-arms, proof that the team can bring in proven winners despite their dreadful start to the season.
Madrid, meanwhile, perhaps felt they could not refuse such an elevated fee for a 30-year-old midfielder, particularly with the likes of Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni already in the first-team squad and pleased to take up the challenge of replacing a club legend.
The move does smack of desperation on United's part, but that does not necessarily make it a bad one. The club needs a proven performer, one who will put his body on the line in pursuit of victory; and Casemiro fulfils that brief better than almost any other player in the game.
