Advertisement

Casemiro: I’ve never had an argument with Bruno Fernandes – it’s the opposite

Casemiro embracing Fernandes - - Action Images via Reuters/ANDREW BOYERS

Wembley Stadium. February 26. Manchester United have just won their first trophy for six years, beating Newcastle 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final, and Casemiro is having a heated discussion with Bruno Fernandes at the final whistle.

The Brazilian wants to know why his United team-mate elected to shoot, rather than square a pass late on for Scott McTominay, and will not let the matter rest, even as all around are celebrating. A couple of months later, at the end of a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford, the pair reprise the scene: Casemiro rebukes Fernandes, unhappy with his fellow midfielder for conceding possession cheaply in stoppage time attempting a needless piece of skill that allowed Villa to break on the turnover. Casemiro stopped the attack with a foul.

The mistake here would be to think Casemiro has a problem with Fernandes. On the contrary, they get along famously. It is a reflection of Casemiro’s exacting demands, which have been central to United’s revival under Erik ten Hag this season, that he will not tolerate any slip in standards, even when they come from a player he regards as “the driving force of the team, the one that helps us the most”.

Not that Casemiro – a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid – can understand the fuss. He believes such behaviour should be the norm at a club with big ambitions, and it will be no different back at Wembley on Saturday when United face Manchester City in the FA Cup final with so much at stake.

“We could spend all day talking about how good Bruno is but to be honest - and I say this to him - I expect a great deal from him because, in my eyes, he’s one of the most important players in the team,” Casemiro says. “So, when he misses a chance, when one of his passes goes astray, we always want him to do everything perfectly.

“But these are normal conversations. I’ve never had an argument with Bruno – the opposite in fact. I just always demand a lot from him, and he demands a lot from me too. Behind the scenes too, sometimes we’ll say to each other: ‘You could have scored, you could have done better there, because you’ve got the quality to do it’.”

‘I knew United wouldn’t be easy’

The Etihad Stadium. October 2. Cristiano Ronaldo’s face is a picture. Every time another goal flies in, the television cameras pan to the brooding Portugal forward, sitting glumly on the United bench, and capture every shake of the head, every eye roll, every hint of a groan or mutter.

Ronaldo scowling on the bench - REUTERS/CARL RECINE
Ronaldo scowling on the bench - REUTERS/CARL RECINE

A 6-3 defeat to City was not a happy day for anyone of a United persuasion, least of all Ronaldo, who seven weeks later would be out of the club, not just the team. Yet Ronaldo was not the one that missed that day. It was the bloke sat to his right whose absence left the real hole.

Casemiro has had a transformative effect since his £60 million move from Real last summer and has stayed true to his vow – relayed by his representatives to worried United officials after that wretched 4-0 defeat to Brentford in August – that he would “fix” it.

“I had no second thoughts at all,” said Casemiro, who had been watching the Brentford game at home on television when he instructed his agent to text United and reassure them he was still coming. “But to be honest I did say that. I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new project. It was clear in my mind.

“I knew that it wouldn’t be an easy challenge because it was a tough defeat for us to take but I think the excitement of coming here and making a change … we knew there was still a long way to go in the season and wouldn’t start winning things overnight.

“We deserve a lot of credit in turning the season around when you look at how we started in relation to how we finished. It wasn’t just me because, ultimately, it’s impossible for a single player to change performances but as a squad you can.”

‘Complete faith’ in United’s transfer team

With Casemiro, Fernandes and the likes of Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Christian Eriksen and Alejandro Garnacho, Ten Hag has the makings of a top side. But it is clear the squad still requires considerable strengthening if they are serious about challenging City’s dominance of the Premier League.

With the unresolved ownership saga continuing to cast such uncertainty over a critical summer transfer window and threatening to complicate Ten Hag’s transfer plans, the whole project still feels a little fragile. Yet Casemiro says he is confident the club will get the right players in this summer.

“When top class players come in – quality players – it’s always welcome,” he said. “It’s important to have as much quality in the squad as you can but us players know that there are people who have the knowledge to do that. We’ve got John [Murtough, the football director] who signed me so I have complete faith in him, along with his staff and the manager who can assist. But it’s always the club that have the final say and it’s not us players who need to be putting their noses into this. But the more top players you have the better because there’s competition for places and that means you get to the end of the season in better shape.”

With Casemiro in the team for the 2-1 win over City in January, United were unrecognisable from the side that had been demolished at the Etihad three months earlier. Ten Hag likes to call Casemiro the “cement between the stones” and it was not a surprise to see United’s league season run into difficulties soon after that City win when they began to lose Casemiro to suspension. Indeed, the one blot on the Brazilian’s debut season has been the eight domestic games he missed owing to two red cards and five bookings.

‘Defensive midfielders have had to adapt’

It took him a while to recover his form after those disruptions but he is back to his best again now, relishing the connection he has forged with the fans, acutely aware of the importance of his role, and out to thwart City.

“I’m enjoying myself as if I was a 20-year-old kid,” Casemiro says. “It’s because I’m very happy here and it isn’t just me - it’s my whole family that are very happy here. The club and fans have been brilliant with me since day one. I love the affection I get from them. I feel their love towards me and I try to show this on the pitch by giving my all – my soul – in every 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 other midfielders leave. 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 be the No.10 that would be required to do that. I saw an interview with Juan Roman Riquelme [the former Argentina playmaker] once talking about central defensive midfielders and specifically [Sergio] Busquets [at Barcelona].

“He said that often the team didn’t play well because the central holding midfielder hadn’t played [well]. People forget that throughout the history of football, it was the No.10 who was the playmaker. The central defensive midfielder was always someone that helped the centre backs, helped in the midfield, helped the full backs, filled in and stopped counterattacks. I think football has changed. The way that central defensive midfielders have had to adapt has changed a lot.”

Casemiro has certainly moved with the times. And United fans hope he will be giving them more cause for celebration at Wembley.