In Casemiro, Real Madrid has a true defensive midfielder that distributes the ball well with either foot.
Toni Kroos, despite being more of a box-to-box midfielder or playmaker, has been used as the anchor of Real Madrid’s midfield three the past few years, and since he is a complete midfielder, he was able to excel in the more defensive role that he was ask to play.
Like Kroos, Luka Modrić has also been freed up to play a more attacking role by the emergence of Casemiro who has risen from promising young defensive midfielder to first-choice defensive midfielder for Real Madrid.
When everyone is healthy in the Real Madrid midfield, the true Number 10s will find themselves in even more of battle for the Number 10 role, especially since both Kroos and Modrić are themselves really Number 10s.
Five out of the six players in Real Madrid’s Front Six must be thought of as locks in the starting lineup, and these five players are: Casemiro, Modrić, Kroos, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema. As this is the case, James Rodriguez, Isco, and Mateo Kovačić will now be battling Gareth Bale for the final spot in Real Madrid’s Front Six.
Given both Modrić’s and Kroos’ excellent playmaking abilities and particularly their ability to feed Benzema and Ronaldo, there is less of a need for James, Isco, or Kovačić in the lineup, and this will make Rafa Benítez’s job of keeping his superstars happy even harder.
How do you put Isco on the bench, and how do you put a healthy James on the bench?
Kovačić has also showed his ability to orchestrate an attack and keep the passes moving around the field quickly for Real Madrid, and his ability to tackle and play defense makes him a strong option off the bench or to replace Casemiro, Modrić, or Kroos if they are injured.
Casemiro might not necessarily be a starting lock yet, but given the fact that Real Madrid now have a real defensive midfielder to deploy in front of the defense, we might see both Modrić and Kroos display their true playmaking skills, which will push Ronaldo and Benzema even closer to goal.
The Casemiro effect might be one where the insertion of a midfield destroyer with excellent ball-playing abilities makes Real Madrid’s attack even more dangerous, as Modrić and Kroos will be able to just play a non-stop stream of through balls and balls play over the top to Benzema and Ronaldo.
What will happen with Isco, James, and Kovačić now?