Casemiro, Real MadridGetty

Real Madrid ace Casemiro on ‘the best decision of his life’

Real Madrid star Casemiro has lifted the lid on the decision that changed the course of his career and he believes was the best of his life.

When he first arrived at the Spanish club permanently in 2013 from Sao Paulo, he was 24 years old and initially struggled to make an impact in the first team, featuring in only 12 league matches in his debut campaign.

However, a loan spell at Porto, where future Spain and Los Blancos boss Julen Lopetegui was coaching, altered his life.

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“I had the chance to go to Sevilla, Inter and Porto,” he explained to ‘Universo Valdano’ on #Vamos. “Lopetegui called me and convinced me to go to Porto. It was the best decision of my life. Lopetegui helped me a lot, and I played all the time.

“By the time I came back to Madrid, I was a player with experience. I had played the Champions League. When I returned, I was a completely different player.”

Now recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, things could have played out very differently for the Madrid star had it not been for a piece of quick thinking when on trial with Sao Paulo.

“When I arrived, I was 12 or 13, and there were 300 players in the trials, with just 50 players chosen,” he remembered. “I introduced myself as a striker. And then I remember the coach asked who played as a goalkeeper – three hands were raised. And then when he asked about strikers, I saw about 40 people raise their hands and I thought: ‘I’m not a striker, there’s a lot of competition.’

“The same thing happened with midfielders and I thought the same thing.

“Then the coach said: ‘Who is a defensive midfielder?’ About seven or eight hands went up and I said: ‘I’m a defensive midfielder.’ 

“The coach called me and said: ‘You’re not a defensive midfielder, you’re here as a striker,’ but I insisted that I was and that’s where it all began.”

Casemiro has since played 204 times for Real Madrid, notably winning four Champions League titles.

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