Seven years after the arrival of Casemiro to the first team in an absolute way, Madrid can find the right partner for the Brazilian in the figure of Tchouameni. Seven campaigns, in which various players have passed, but none managed to settle in the pivot position. Casemiro arrived in Madrid to play for Castilla in the first term in 2013. He would make his debut in a match against Betis, but where he would achieve his first flash of popularity was in the second leg of the Champions League in 2014: with 2-0 in favor of Borussia, Ancelotti pulled him to solve the qualifying process. Not only did he achieve that, but he began to earn the love and respect of the white fans. After a year on loan at Porto, Casemiro took a place in the white squad starting in the 2015-16 season. Although Rafa Benítez did not quite like it, it was a loss in a derby against Atlético de Madrid that made Zidane began to give him ownership in midfield. Since then, he has been a fixture in the center of the white field.
But the problem has come later. None of the players signed by the madridistas have managed to reach the parameters that Casemiro has shown. Even his partner Toni Kroos came to affirm that he liked to play there but that it was not his natural position: “I am not a Casemiro,” he said verbatim at a press conference with the German team. First it was the Brazilian Lucas Silva, who arrived in the winter market of 2015. But after a series of interventions, where he left more doubts than successes, he was no longer counted on. He headed to Olympique de Marseille after nine games as a madridista. He would no longer wear the white shirt.
Later he was followed by the Croatian Mateo Kovacicsigned from Inter in the summer of 2015. At the express request of Rafa Benítez, he would play three seasons in white before requesting his transfer to Chelsea after the World Cup in Russia. Kovacic played 109 games for white (among all competitions) and scored three goals. It was Zidane who used him the most in that position: he asked him to help the central defenders to get the ball played and to build the game more from behind. His performance was quite good: his departure was due to the share of prominence that he wanted to have in the starting elevens.
Then up to three players raised from the quarry have passed for that position. In the first place was Fede Valverde. The Uruguayan was signed in 2015, and after passing through Deportivo de La Coruña (he played on loan in the 2017-18 campaign), it was not until the 2019-20 campaign that he made the leap to ownership, putting in good performances in the midfield. Little by little, continuity is being gained in the Madrid starting eleven, but injuries slow him down. He usually plays inside. In the light blue team he plays in midfield in a 4-2-3-1 formation, together with Bentancur, where he is free to join the attack.
Marcos Llorente, now in the ranks of Atlético, also played in that position before leaving for Atlético de Madrid in 2019, although he also did so in the interior demarcation. The now rojiblanco did not feel comfortable and preferred to leave after playing 39 games between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns. His best game was in that position in the 2018 Club World Cup final, where he was chosen as the best player in the final of the tournament.
The last player from the quarry to be used in that position has been Antonio Blanco. The midfielder knew how to take advantage of his opportunities at the end of last season, but this season, he has barely counted for Carlo Ancelotti: 36 minutes spread over two games (one from the League and another from the Champions League). This example serves as a summary of the rivals that Casemiro has had throughout these seven years. The Brazilian has not found a player who complements or helps him over the last seven years…
