If the anthem of the Champions League sounds, Casemiro plays. The equation is simple. The Brazilian is the only Madrid midfielder to have played every game in this edition. Nobody in the squad is able to provide the muscle and the ball output that it offers from the pivot. It is his place, his position, indisputable. Zidane he knows it and the numbers support him.
Casemiro has disputed 600 ' in the present Champions. Of the seven games Madrid have played so far (the six group stages and the first leg against City), has been a starter in all, only being substituted in the rout (6-0) against Galatasaray. In the others, he started and left when the referee whistled. Also takes a goal, marking Bruges in the fateful draw (2-2) at the Santiago Bernabéu.
It is Mister Champions on its own merits. The second midfielder who has played the most in the top European competition is Kroos, with 450 ' and two absences: the return against Bruges and the match against City. Precisely his substitution against Guardiola's marked a before and after. Behind the, Valverde (341 'and two absences), Modric (308 'and two absences), Isco (272 'and three absences), James (81 'and five absences) and Brahim (17 'and six absences). Casemiro, however, has played in all seven games this edition. Furthermore, it is the player who has played the most minutes this season of the entire squad, with 3,991 ' between all competitions.
Four 'apricots' in their display case
To their 28 years already has four Champions to his credit. In the season 13/14 he raised the Tenth, in which he disputed a total of 144 ', still being a rotation player. Two years later, in the 15/16, he won the Eleventh already with a much more leading role in the team: he played 925 ' and he only missed the semifinal second leg against City due to muscle discomfort.
His third Champions would come a year later, in the season 16/17, the Twelfth. He played less, 827 ', but because a calf injury separated him in four of the six days of the group stage. Finally, his fourth Champions, the Thirteenth, was in the season 17/18 and he played 944 ', participating in all matches except the fifth day of the group stage against Apoel.
Casemiro is the example of an indisputable player. Since his arrival in Madrid, he has been climbing the white pyramid to become an axis. Zidane He considers him a superlative, unique and does not contemplate sitting when the anthem of the Champions League sounds. A challenge is on the horizon: raising 'la orejona' having played every game for the first time in his career.