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Casemiro has spoken to Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup final.
Manchester United face Manchester City in what is the first FA Cup final to be decided via a Manchester derby.
Casemiro, 31, has been instrumental to United’s achievements this season; the €70 million Brazilian has seamlessly soothed fans’ long-held desire for a world-class defensive midfielder.
Since enduring a rocky two-month spell mid-season due to suspensions and inability to recapture form, Casemiro has seemingly regained the spring in his step just in time for the Wembley showdown.
The former Real Madrid linchpin has been widely included in fans’ and pundits’ Premier League team of the seasons.
As a defensive-minded midfielder, he has surprised many non-La Liga watchers with his eagerness to initiate and get involved in attacks. Casemiro has contributed seven goals and six assists in Erik ten Hag’s debut season as United manager.
With such, Whitwell questioned Casemiro on his unique role in the team. Traditional No. 6s are expected to sit back as the rest of the team attack in order to provide security. But such is Casemiro’s quality that he can afford to contribute to both aspects of the game.
“When people talk about central defensive midfielders, they forget that you need to help your team-mates, you need to defend, to slot in between the centre-backs, cover any gaps that the full-backs or midfielders leave. These are the basic principles for a central defensive midfielder.
“Of course, beyond that, people want you to score goals, to pass the ball, to get the team playing because football’s changed. In the past, it would [only] be the No 10 that would be required to do that,” Casemiro explained.
“I saw an interview with (Juan Roman) Riquelme once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically (Sergio) Busquets. He said that often the team didn’t play well because the central holding midfielder hadn’t played (well).
“The central defensive midfielder was always someone that helped the centre-backs, helped in the midfield, helped the full-backs, filled in and stopped counter-attacks. The way that central defensive midfielders have had to adapt has changed a lot.”
Discussing how he has grown so comfortable with the rigours of the Premier League, something which many La Liga players struggle with initially, Casemiro stated:
“I think the key thing for a player is to adapt quickly.
“Of course, it’s different here, the game is more open and there are lots more transitions. In Spain there’s much more of the tiki-taka that people talk about. But I think how you settle in is the most important thing and to do it as quick as you can.”
