MADRID, 23 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
After almost a decade wearing the Real Madrid shirt, Carlos Henrique Casemiro closes a successful stage in the capital as one of the foundations of a generation that has won everything. Not since Claude Makélélé has the Whites enjoyed a pivot who dominated their entire field based on physicality, commitment, tactical talent and effort.
He will always be remembered by Real Madrid for being the mainstay of one of the club’s best midfielders, the faithful squire of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, forming a trinomial, the ‘CMK’, which is one of the most iconic hallmarks of this Real Madrid. 18 titles endorse the Brazilian’s career, of which we highlight these ten moments.
1. Debut with Real Madrid.
The Brazilian arrived in Madrid in January 2013 as one of the big bets for the future. However, after a brief stint at Real Madrid Castilla, he did not make his debut with the first team until April 20 of that same year. It was José Mourinho who placed the midfielder as a starter against Betis that season to introduce the Santiago Bernabéu to the one who would be the club’s ‘5’ for the next ten years. The white team ended up winning the match 3-1.
2. The European night in Dortmund.
The road to the ‘Décima’ was anything but easy and Casemiro appeared as an unexpected hero in one of the key moments leading up to the title. The Brazilian entered the field with 20 minutes remaining in the quarter-final second leg against Dortmund with the difficult mission of supporting the team in the midst of a feasible (until that moment) comeback by the German team that was winning 2-0 and was one goal to force extra time.
The midfielder stopped all of Borussia’s attempts based on strength, commitment, physicality and sacrifice, four of the qualities that would underpin him in the Whites’ midfield. The Brazilian did not shrink in what was his first great European night, and Real Madrid, who went 2-0 against in the 37th minute, asserted their 3-0 first-leg deficit to advance to the semi-finals.
3. First goal as a madridista.
Casemiro had to wait 50 games to celebrate his first goal as a madridista. The Brazilian, on matchday 29 of the 2015-2016 season, gave Real Madrid victory against Las Palmas with a great header at the Gran Canaria Stadium. It was the first of the 31 total goals that he scored during his long stay at the Chamartín club.
4. First two titles.
In June 2013, his integration into the first white team became effective, in which he completed a first season to remember. The Brazilian, with level competition in his position -Khedira, Illarramendi or Xabi Alonso-, added his first two titles as a member of the first team. In the Copa del Rey de Mestalla against Barça he played the final minutes and in the Champions League final in Lisbon he did not participate, but they were two achievements that allowed him to grow and a lot on a personal and mental level.
5. Loan to Porto.
In July 2014, he left on loan to Julen Lopetegui’s Porto in search of minutes and experience. After a season in Portugal, where he played a total of 41 games, he returned to put himself under the orders of Rafa Benítez, the first who gave him stripes, and later gained the trust of Zinédine Zidane, for whom he would be key in his scheme.
6. Score in the Cardiff final.
The Cardiff Champions League final in 2017 against Juventus was the climax of one of the best courses of this golden age of Real Madrid, as well as one of the best versions of Casemiro. In that match that took the Whites to their twelfth European Cup, the Brazilian was stellar and rounded off his display of physique, balance and tactical intelligence with a truly amazing goal.
Casemiro hit a powerful shot from outside the box to make it 1-2 on the scoreboard and spur the Whites on, who in the second half of the match thrashed an Italian team that ended up losing 1-4.
7. Reach 300 games in the white club.
Casemiro played a total of 336 games for Real Madrid, a figure attainable by very few and which places him as the player with the 32nd most appearances in the club’s history. Thus, it was important for the Brazilian to reach the number of 300 duels wearing the white shirt, in the victory against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Bernabéu, on matchday four of the 2021-2022 Champions League group stage. “It’s a very important brand. Honestly, I never imagined when I arrived at Castilla that I was going to stay in so many games,” he confessed at the time.
8. Achieves his fifth Champions.
Casemiro, in one of his last contributions, re-entered the history of world football by lifting his fifth Champions League -the fourteenth for the club- last May. In addition, he was one of the most important of the team in the final, after a course with ups and downs, and at times below the high level shown in previous campaigns.
9. MVP in the European Super Cup.
However, that was not the last of his titles as a madridista, since the Brazilian was a starter and participated, in what way, in the European Super Cup against Eintracht on August 10, a match in which the Brazilian was able to lift his Trophy number 18 at Real Madrid. If it was after Paris when Casemiro considered leaving the white club, this new title allowed the midfielder to say goodbye at the top, without time for decline, at 30 years old.
10. Last match wearing the white jersey.
His exit was cooking in recent weeks, however, Casemiro started in Real Madrid’s first game in the new season of LaLiga Santander against Almería, on August 14, the last game in which he wore the white shirt, without the opportunity to say goodbye on the lawn of the Bernabéu. Five days later, United made his signing official, thus closing his glorious stage at Real Madrid.