Casemiro has advised his teammate, 19 year-old sensation Eduardo Camavinga, that he will need to sacrifice for the team if he is to succeed as a defensive midfielder.
Speaking in an interview with El País, Casemiro spoke about whether Camavinga could grow into becoming his heir at Madrid.
“Camavinga still has to choose if he wants to be an eight or a six. If he wants to be a six, he has to sacrifice himself for others and help his teammates.”
“People want to score goals, give assists and play beautifully. But in Madrid, the pivot has to sacrifice and help his teammates, stealing balls, covering gaps,… sometimes people don’t see that. The six has to sacrifice himself much more for the rest.”
Casemiro took the example of Karim Benzema to explain the sacrifice. Benzema had, for years, played second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, but has become the main man at Madrid after the Portuguese’s departure.
“The great example is Karim. He is scoring many goals now and people talk about him and the Ballon d’Or, but for me, nothing has changed. He has been the best nine for years.”
