From abandoning the general to the core! Europa League launches its power to carry Manchester United, and continues to write the legend of immortality by changing the formation.

In Manchester United's away victory over Athletic Bilbao last week, Casemiro's dominance showed made many commentators exclaim: We once again saw the player who was the most trusted deputy under Zidane, who won almost all trophies between 2013 and 2022. But if you ask the player himself about the battle at Saint-Mames, he will likely compare it to the more recent Manchester United era.

Casemiro admitted in an interview with Ass in February this year: "From an analysis of personal career, the best season as a professional player is the first season at Manchester United. This does not refer to the collective honor level. Winning the Champions League with Real Madrid is the peak, but as an individual player, I think the most perfect Casemiro at Old Trafford in 2022 is the most perfect Casemiro. "

And if we want to talk about the extension of the best career state, this Brazilian international has every reason to choose the moment. As Manchester United moves to the UEFA Cup final, he has become one of the most iconic leaders. This should have been the expected scene, after all, this is exactly what Manchester United expected when signing the champion harvester from Real Madrid for £60 million in 2022 and giving it a maximum salary.

But considering that his top career was sentenced to an end only a year ago and even suggested to consider retirement, Casemiro's Nirvana is a football miracle.

Rhetoric killing moment

When Casemiro prepares for the second round against Bilbao on Thursday, he may recall the darkest moment a year ago: Manchester United suffered a 0-4 defeat to Crystal Palace on May 7, 2024, and he experienced the most disastrous performance of his career. While this is not the only bad game Casemiro had last season, for many, it is evidence of the final conviction that he can no longer adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.

At that time, Carragher, who was in the Sky Sports Studio, gave his commentary career, and may even be the sharpest criticism in the 30-year history of Premier League broadcasting: "I think Casemiro should understand tonight that as an experienced player, he only has three top games left to play, and then he should consider going to the Major League or Saudi Arabia. His agent team needs to tell him the truth. We are witnessing the fall of a great contemporary player. I always remember it when I retire. A proverb: 'Leave football before football abandons you '. In this level of competition, football has left him, and he should not continue to suffer such torture, and legends of this level should not experience such shame. "

The denial of three coaches

Carragher's "professional obituary" was opposed by Manchester United legends such as Louis Saha and Rio Ferdinand, but the actual actions of the two coaches seem to agree with this judgment. Tenhager excluded the midfield from the starter in the FA Cup final, and the decision ultimately paid off. Manchester United beat Manchester City to win the championship in an upset, and Brazil's then-head coach Dorival Junior also excluded him from the 2024 Copa America roster.

Casemiro defended himself with injury factors, saying Carragher's remarks "lack of respect" and pointed out that the injury crisis that Manchester United encountered last season forced him to play a guest appearance in the centre-back many times. When the 2024-25 season started, he had briefly recovered when he changed to the front, but soon collapsed again in a home 0-3 defeat to Liverpool, and was replaced by 19-year-old youth training young player Toby Collier in the first half.

He has been on the bench in all four rounds of the league since then. Although he regained the start in the last two games of Tenhach, interim coach Luther van Nistruy also gave him four chances to play during his coaching session. But when Amorin officially took charge of the coaching staff, Casemiro became a marginalist again, and his Manchester United career seemed to be in the countdown. In the 14 games from mid-December 2023 to early February 2024, Casemiro only got one starter, with a total of 136 minutes of play (accounting for 10.5% of the total 1290 minutes of the total game time in this period), 9 of which were not included in the competition list. When asked about the reasons for long-term hiding, Amorin gave a frank and almost cruel explanation: "We know that Casemiro now has other qualities, wisdom, tactical understanding and prediction ability, but the Premier League is a league that emphasizes the differences in intensity, so I think the team needs high-intensity players, and we do not have these conditions at this stage. "

Two weeks later, Casemiro showed his professional style in an exclusive interview with AS: "I must maintain a professional attitude and treat the status quo with the greatest respect. Of course, I hope to get more playing time, after all, there are no players. I don't want to help the team. But all this must be based on respect for teammates, coaching staff, especially Manchester United clubs. My contract is still one and a half years left, and I hope to be fulfilled here. My family and I have fully adapted to life in Manchester, and we can even communicate in English. "

The All-round Warriors' European Awakening

The turnaround began with an epic reversal against Lyon in February. In overtime, Casemiro first created a key penalty, then assisted Menu and Maguire to score respectively, directing a shocking reversal from 1-3 to 4-3. At the San Mames Stadium, he completed a 10.55-kilometer highest run (beyond all Manchester United teammates), and scored the first record with a header while being everywhere: 67 touches (third in the team), 5 regaining the ball (second in the team), and 3 key passes (second in the team). As Maguire said: "He seems to appear in every corner at the same time. "

Tactical Revolution: From the abandoned child to the core of the system, Amorin's tactics were adjusted to a critical turning point. The Portuguese young coach gave up the 3-4-2-1 high-pressure system that was commonly used in Sporting Lisbon, and instead allowed Casemiro to retreat deeply as the "third central defender" while pushing the wingback to the frontcourt to implement asymmetric pressure. Amorin explained the tactical innovation: "We realized that he could not continue to press forward and needed to redefine his role, sometimes setting up three central defenders to exist as the fourth defender, while making the wingback more efficient in implementing high-level oppression. "

But the coach attributed the final credit to the player himself: "All these adjustments are based on a re-understanding of him, but the real glory belongs to Casemiro. "

The master of tactics that came out of the slums

The star raised by a single mother in the slums of Sao Paulo, always known for the spirit of "fighting for every ball like a food." What is little known is that when he was a teenager, he confirmed his philosophy of "controlling the game with his mind" by lying about his position (professing himself to be a defensive midfielder rather than a striker) through the trial. Casemiro explained the concept in an exclusive interview with The Guardian in 2020: "The legs will eventually grow old, and the brain will never stop. The key is to predict: a smarter position and have a three-step advance insight into the trends of the game. "

This professional attitude was fully demonstrated in 2019: When Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 3-7 in the preseason, he canceled the Disney trip and returned to the team to practice in advance. Now, this spirit is transforming into words and deeds for young teammates. Uruguayan star Manuel Ugat revealed: "I am learning how to be a winner, not only interception skills, but also the champion aura he exudes all the time. "

The never faded champion gene

Carrag's so-called "legs are destroyed" may be partially correct, but it obviously underestimates the diverse dimensions of top football. When athletic ability declines, position and mental power become the key to the legend. As the Amorin system proves: Casemiro's predictive advantage is amplified through tactical design (Europa League averaging 2.3 interceptions + 2.8 steals per game this season), while avoiding its weakness of its reduced coverage ability.

At this moment, the five-time Champions League winner is continuing the legend in another way, using wisdom to make up for the erosion of time and using experience to guide the young Red Devils. When everyone thought his peak had gone with Real Madrid years, Casemiro reignited the never-ending fire of champions in the cold night in Manchester.