Has Casemiro improved under Ten Hag?

Bebestation

Im a doctor btw, my IQ destroys yours
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Oct 9, 2019
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I’ve thought about this recently.

Ten Hag has improved nearly every player here at United.

We all knew Casemiro was World Class for Real Madrid and great defensively but I genuinely don’t think he was playing like this.

All the progressive passes, defending and scoring important goals.

Maybe I’m wrong but I think Ten Hag has improved Casemiro as well - an already experienced world class player.
 
Possibly. Maybe he's given more freedom. He started out as a striker apparently.

The most goals he's scored in a season is 7. If he tops that, we'll say he's improved
 
I think he enjoys having more responsibility in terms of ball-carrying and progressive passing. At Real he was very much supposed to just give it to Modric or Kroos. So I don't think he's improved, just a slightly different role which he seems to flourish in.
 
I'm not sure if it's necessarily improvement but I think Casemiro has a lot more freedom at United.

At Real Madrid Casemiro has Kroos and Modric in midfield which meant he could sit back more and let them dictate the attacking play. At United he is also taking this role on himself.
 
Wasn't the narrative that Casemiro wanted out of Madrid precisely because they saw him solely as a destroyer, and he wanted to enjoy his football a bit more and show the world what he is really capable of?

That said, I love him.
 
He made Kroos and Modric look competent. I had no doubts he would have the same effect on Fred and Bruno.
 
He's probably being asked to be more of an all rounder (which he is great at) where at Madrid he was more of a defensive player. He didn't need to do more than that there because of who they had ahead of him and around him

So improved, don't know, but definitely feels like a slightly different role
 
next_number_seven said:
Possibly. Maybe he's given more freedom. He started out as a striker apparently.

The most goals he's scored in a season is 7. If he tops that, we'll say he's improved
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I guess that was in Spain or Brazil. Spanish league is much easier than the PL, plus he played for Madrid.
 
Eh? He was great at Madrid. He had some down periods towards the end, but his class was always there. They literally won the CL last season.
 
No. He always stepped up with big goals for Madrid, they had so many great players upfront he didn't need to as often as here.
 
Wasn't he voted best player in his position ever, before he came to United?
 
Maybe he just thrives more here. There’s a great connection with the fans. Or did he also have that at Real? (Their fans are quite boring)
 
There was a time a few years ago where it felt like every time I checked Madrid's latest score on Livescore, they were up 1-0 late thanks to a Casemiro goal. He's always had this in his locker.
 
Probably in some aspects but he stands out more in this team than that Madrid one because that Madrid side had world class players in every position. They were phenomenal and it is only really after it has been broken up you can truly see the quality of each individual.
 
Heard today that Ancelotti wasn’t happy with his fitness and work rate at Madrid. Could have just been complacent but Ten Hag demands that of his players so by default he’s improved
 
I think it’s just a mixture of being given more freedom in a team where he is a star rather than as a facilitator for others, and a new challenge that he is motivated and passionate about.

It’s never really spoken about but managers like Ancelotti and Zidane that can motivate players to win the same titles over and over again really are a special breed.

It’s incredibly tough to maintain hunger and motivation and I think this new challenge has given him extra passion and drive.
 
Jev said:
I think he enjoys having more responsibility in terms of ball-carrying and progressive passing. At Real he was very much supposed to just give it to Modric or Kroos. So I don't think he's improved, just a slightly different role which he seems to flourish in.
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Which is a slightly different way to say improved
 
He’s won god knows how many Champions League and he seems ecstatic about this trophy
 
Most proactive coach he's ever had. The team isn't as good but he's showing the best of himself
 
crossy1686 said:
Heard today that Ancelotti wasn’t happy with his fitness and work rate at Madrid. Could have just been complacent but Ten Hag demands that of his players so by default he’s improved
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It’s interesting, considering how lenient Carlo in training. Bayern players even had to complain to club’s authorities to improve the intensity of their training regime.
 
harms said:
It’s interesting, considering how lenient Carlo in training. Bayern players even had to complain to club’s authorities to improve the intensity of their training regime.
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I think that’s a product of Ancelotti’s stand off approach to training. You’ll naturally get players dropping off and becoming complacent if you’re not holding them to standards every day.
 
I don't think he's necessarily improved as a player. I think he just has way more responsibility here. It's not a case of knocking it on to Modric or Kroos anymore. Here he's expected to do more of what they did himself, partly because we don't have a history of people playing purely restrictive midfield roles and partly because of personnel - it is required from him.

So I think the extra responsibility, a new challenge, it is all contributing to a very motivated player. I think he fancies himself to be the main man, and why wouldn't you, he was walking into a squad of losers as a winner.
 
There were signs of him getting more involved in attacking play last season with Madrid.

This is probably the perfected version of that.
 
He's just been more involved because we don't have Kroos and Modric to take care of the attack.

He is what I hoped Pogba would be back when we signed him -- a beast in attack and defense and can apply himself wherever needed.
 
I think he always this good but based on his comments about La Liga, PL is more intense and have more transition.

Because of more transition between attack and defense, he is more involved in both phases.
 
Don’t think he’s improved, my opinion is he just has more freedom and can now show his true class.
 
He has more influence here than at Madrid, mainly because he's clearly the main man at United.
 
He was always like this. And he played with one of the best player ever to played this game.
And that Kroos guy wasn't shabby too.
 
I'd sort of phrase it in a different way as it's hard to improve too much on being a bedrock of 5 champions league winning sides.

I'd say he's been perfectly integrated and used very well tactically in a new side where he has a fairly different role with different responsibilities.
 
I'd be interested to see his pass success rate as compared to his Real Madrid- he does seem to take more chances here that don't always come off.
 
He was doing a lot of things with the ball and attacking the box at Real Madrid. He wasn’t some Kante style player
 
Everyone hoped he'd be the defensive midfield don we've lacked for so long.
No-one could have thought he'd also be a goalscorer, assister and player of creative passes!

Brilliant stuff.
 
Nah, it’s just that he is our best midfielder so stands out more whereas at Madrid it was Modric.
 
crossy1686 said:
Heard today that Ancelotti wasn’t happy with his fitness and work rate at Madrid. Could have just been complacent but Ten Hag demands that of his players so by default he’s improved
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It's funny, because I was just saying the other day that he looked chubby to me. ETH did not play him for a few weeks at first, stating something like he needed to adjust the way we played or something (?). It could mean that he was either physically or tactically unfit, or that he was both. It makes me wonder now.

On the subject, I don't mind the idea that he has improved here, which can only be a good thing for us. But it's possible that because we're a worse team than where he came from, his talent stands out more here.
 
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