After watching the terrible and horrendous displays of the Spanish giants in the ongoing pre season fixtures, I am forced to ask a perplexing question, “Why did Real Madrid sell the only pure Casemiro replacement in the team, Marcos Llorente?” I mean what exactly were they thinking? It is not enough that they sold the talented and confident Spaniard, they let him off to one of their closest and fiercest rivals, Atletico Madrid.
Diego Simeone is certain to bring out the best physically and mentally in Marcos, something Zidane apparently couldn’t do and we are most likely to see a better version of the Spaniard and who is going to pay for it? Certainly every opponent he stands up against and that includes Real Madrid but the Capital club would not only feel the heat but also the shame, criticism and regrets.
Let us assume that Marcos was sold because they lacked money which is one of the funniest of excuses considering the status of the club. Another obvious reason the Spaniard might have been sold was because he wanted to leave due to lack of game time at the club or he suddenly stopped feeling it at Real which is doubtful considering no one would want to leave such a club, not when they are the only available back up and when the club is not calling for the axe on their head but the most obvious reason and one the media reported to us is that Real Madrid are supposed to trim their squad down to the required amount after new signings but isn’t that the most absurd and silliest of reasons?
There are too much attacking midfielders and attackers in the team, why jump those positions to lift the axe on one of the most essential position in the team?
The seasons Zinedine Zidane enjoyed successes with Real, domestic and internationally which was in the period of 2016-2018, one wing was very important in the build up to those successes and they had just about the right player on that wing, Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro. The Brazilian was a solid rock in front of the defensive line, although he wasn’t much of a ball carrier like his fellow midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos but he made sure his team conceived fewer goals.
Casemiro was part of the Brazilian team that won the just concluded Copa America and was still on holidays while his team engaged in friendly matches. His absence was very much felt as the Spanish giants played like they were without a defence. They were outrun and outwitted time without number and they ended up conceding a bizarre 16 goals after four matches, a number unacceptable for a club of their calibre. There is no doubt that if Casemiro was there, that number would have been much lesser and that brings us to why there is no alternative for his absence.
Every sane human should know nothing lasts forever; it is either Case is going to age or he is injured or loses form and confidence but someday, something is bound to keep the very precious midfielder away from the starting line up and in that case, someone has got to take his place. In the current Real Madrid squad, Marcos Llorente was the only pure alternative of Case and Santiago Solari used the Spaniard to great effects last season while Casemiro was injured. Even when Casemiro returned, he found it difficult reclaiming his spot as the new golden boy (as he was fondly called) has won the heart of not just his coach but the fans and many were calling for him to stay on course to be Casemiro’s replacement.
Marcos was strong, energetic and reads the game well just like Case, he shoots well too. In fact, he was another version of Casemiro who will undoubtedly be made better with more focus on his improvement. Real Madrid would have needed the Spaniard’s presence while Case was on holidays but rather, he was the first to be axed while the quest to reduce the squad number began. Zidane instead chose to rely on his central midfielders to do the job of attacking, maintaining and defending at the same time and the results showed nothing but a pure “LACK OF CASEMIRO”.
Now, I don’t know if Real Madrid regrets the sale of Marcos Llorente neither do I know why exactly they sold him. Players can be sold and the club especially one as rich as Real Madrid must have a concrete reason for shooting out their players but failing to find a real and trustworthy replacement especially when it is very much needed in a particular position leaves question marks on the air on whether the club is been run by dunces. Going into the new season without a pure Casemiro backup is sure to hurt the team in the long run. Whether they are planning on getting a perfect replacement or drafting/building Fede Valverde into that position remains to be seen but one thing is certain, they are lost right now without Marcos.
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