The football hasn't left Casemiro quite yet! How Ruben Amorim revived Man Utd's much-maligned midfielder to create another Europa League redemption story

As Casemiro prepared for Thursday's second leg against Athletic, he may have reflected on events one year ago,, when he produced the worst game of his career in United's 4-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace on May 6, 2024. It was by no means Casemiro's only bad game of last season, but for many it was the straw that broke the camel's back, the confirmation that he was no longer able to cope with the intensity of the Premier League.

That was certainly how Jamie Carragher felt. The former Liverpool defender was already one of Casemiro's biggest critics, but after watching him disintegrate at Selhurst Park from the Sky Sports studio, he produced one of the most damning pieces of punditry of his career, if not in the history of Sky's 30-odd years of Premier League coverage.

"I think Casemiro should know himself tonight as an experienced player that he should only have three games left at a top level and then say I'm gonna go to the MLS or Saudi," Carragher said. "His agent or the team around him need to tell him. We're watching one of the greats of the modern time... But I always remember something when I retired, a saying I'll always remember: 'Leave the football before the football leaves you'.

"The football's left him at this top level. He needs to call it a day at this level of football and move. He should not be putting himself through this. A man of that level should not be going through what he's going through now, he needs to call it a day."

Carragher's verbal assassination of Casemiro was condemned by ex-United stars Louis Saha and Rio Ferdinand, but the midfielder's two managers seemed to agree with the assessment. Erik ten Hag dropped the midfielder for the FA Cup final against Manchester City, and the decision reaped dividends as United pulled off a shock win. Brazil's then-coach Dorival Junior also chose to leave Casemiro put of his squad for the summer's Copa America.

Casemiro defended himself by pointing to the injuries he had suffered that season and called Carragher's comments "disrespectful". He also justifiably pointed out that United had suffered an untold amount of injuries and that he had been forced to play out of position at centre-back in that infamous game against Palace.

When the 2024-25 season started up there were some signs of improvement as he played in an advanced role, although things soon unravelled again when Casemiro was embarrassed once more on the pitch, this time in the 3-0 home drubbing by Liverpool, during which he was hauled off at half-time and replaced by debutant Toby Collyer.

He was left out of the line-up for United's next four league games, although he did start Ten Hag's final two matches. Interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy also started him in all four of his games in charge, but when Ruben Amorim took over, Casemiro returned to the bench and his career at United looked to be winding down.

Casemiro started just one of United's 14 games between mid-December and the start of February. He played 136 minutes out of a potential 1290 and was an unused substitute in nine matches.

When asked about Casemiro's prolonged absence, Amorim gave a typically honest but cutting response, telling TNT Sports Mexico: "We know that Casemiro nowadays has other qualities. He's intelligent, understands the game and knows where the ball is going to be. But we are in a league where there is a big intensity difference. Therefore I feel our team needs players with high intensity and sometimes we don't have them."

A couple of weeks later, Casemiro gave his interview to AS but he refrained from criticising his coach. “I have to keep doing what I am doing, with a lot of respect and politeness," he said. "Of course I would like to play more, of course. I don’t know any footballer who doesn’t want to play and help. Also, I would like to help the club at this moment. I approach things with respect for my team-mates and the technical committee. And above all I respect United, a club I am very grateful to.

"I have one-and-a-half years left on my contract and I would like to finish it here in Manchester. I am comfortable here and so is my family. They have adapted, we speak English. I’m very grateful to the fans at Old Trafford and to the club. I am happy at club level. Happy on the bench? Of course not. That’s something else."

Casemiro is no longer on the bench, though. He had started nine out of United's previous 10 matches before earning a well-earned rest for Sunday's defeat at Brentford. He showed he can still deliver against the Premier League's top sides, playing superbly in the home draws against Manchester City and Arsenal, but the Europa League is where he has shone brightest. He was involved in three of United's goals in the manic extra-time comeback against Lyon, including winning the penalty which sparked the fightback before assisting Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire.

He was then the standout performer in Bilbao. While Bruno Fernandes and Maguire grabbed most of the limelight, the former for his two goals and the latter for his sensational dribbling and cross that led to the opener, Casemiro was the most consistent performer throughout the 90 minutes.

It was he who headed in the first goal after Maguire's tricky wing play and it was he who led United's most mature European away performance in more than a decade. Casemiro ran 10.55 kiloetres during the game, more than any other United player. He bossed the midfield, he put out fires at the back and he was an ever-present in the final third. In the words of Maguire: "He was everywhere."

Casemiro's revival shows the danger of writing serial winners off as Carragher did, while it also highlights Amorim's tactical flexibility. The United coach normally wants both of the midfielders in his 3-4-2-1 formation to work their socks off as they did for him at Sporting CP and press high up the pitch, but he has done something different with Casemiro, allowing the Brazilian to drop deeper and operate as a third centre-back, instead deploying his wing-backs further up the pitch.

The coach explained: "We understood that he cannot jump [out of midfield] all the time and press high. We needed to understand him better, and sometimes it is better to put three defenders and let him be the fourth defender and put the wing-backs pressing high."

But Amorim also stressed that Casemiro's revival was really down to the player, adding: "These are all things we are understanding and trying to cope with, but the credit is for Casemiro."

Casemiro has always been known for his combative side on the pitch, but he has always used his brain. Raised by a single mother in a deprived area of Brazilian metropolis Sao Paulo, he once said that he fought for the ball as if it were a plate of food. But his brain was equally useful, such as when he lied to Sao Paulo scouts when trying out for the team as a teenager.

He told them was a holding midfielder even though he was a striker as it meant he would have fewer players to compete with and would have a higher chance of getting selected. The plan worked and he moulded himself into one of the top No.6s in the world.

Casemiro told The Guardian in 2020: "I like to think. It’s not the legs, it’s the mind that’s in charge. You have to be strong, aggressive: I like challenges, contact. But you play with your head; I always thought the key was thinking: being better positioned, seeing the move before it happens."

Work-rate has also been a big factor in Casemiro's success. For example, he famously cancelled a family trip to Disneyland in 2019 to return to Real Madrid training early after seeing his team lose 7-3 to Atletico Madrid in a pre-season friendly.

Casemiro's revival at United has been down to hard work and intelligence, two qualities he always had in abundance and which have served him well as his physical capabilities began to wane. Carragher was quick to point out that the Brazilian's "legs have gone", and even if that was an exaggeration, it was grounded in fact.

But he was wrong to say that the 'football had left him'. Even at the highest level, football is about more than pure athleticism. It is about positional intelligence and, above all, mentality. In recovering from Carragher's attempted career assassination, Casemiro has shown he has incredible mental fortitude.

As Manuel Ugarte put it before the first leg in Bilbao: "I'm learning a lot with Case. I try to copy as much as I can, all the good things that he has as a player. And not only inside the pitch, but outside the pitch too. These are things that make you win, because he's a winner."

There's no arguing with that, and Casemiro is on the road to winning again, even when everyone thought his days at the top were numbered.