Casemiro refused to pander to Cristiano Ronaldo and now sets the standards in training with Manchester United.
The Athletic have reported on the Brazil anchorman, who continued his strong season by hitting Brazil’s winning goal against Switzerland this week.
He was rested for last night’s 1-0 loss against Cameroon but will return to the side for the knockout round against South Korea.
The report says that Casemiro is the first player at training every day, the first one in the gym and the one who is setting standards at the club.
Casemiro impressing in training
Casemiro played with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid but the report says the Brazilian did not pander to the superstar forward before his departure.
Elsewhere in the report, Casemiro’s humility and ability to listen and take on instruction were praised. He is a true professional.
Plenty was made of the way Ronaldo was meant to drive up standards at United but that did not prove to be the case and his exit showed a lack of maturity for a player with his level of experience.
Casemiro may actually be far better at getting those changes across, with his quiet determination to get the best out of his ability.
With Ronaldo gone, new leaders in the dressing room will have even more room to come to the fore and it seems Casemiro is one of them.
He is integral to Brazil’s World Cup hopes, providing the stability in their midfield to allow their attacking talent to go forward and shine.
Casemiro is not in the team for his goalscoring but that is what he produced earlier this week and his contribution to his country is just as big as for his club.
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