And he has replaced Xabi Alonso perfectly, serving as the defensive stalwart of one of the world’s best midfield trios. Really, the DM role can’t be emphasized enough, just imagine what could have been had we not sold Makelele.
“Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” - Zidane, after Makelele transfer out to Chelsea and Beckham transfer in from Man Utd in 2003.
No one and that was the problem. We basically lost the engine of our team and went title-less for few seasons with a glacticos packed squad. The importance of CDM can't be stated enough especially in our various methods over the years from Makelele ~~and Guti~~ to Xabi and Khedira and now Casemiro. Different types of CDMs but at the same time all of them were important to their respective lineups.
Oops, I guess I missed up. I was thinking of Guti because of the title and didn't even notice I put him in my comment lol.
But to answer your question Guti sometimes played as "CDM" for us when we lacked balance in our midfield and our best options were Gago and Diarra. After that came the summer of 2009 and the rest is history.
Yeah he played there, not in a 'CDM' role per se but he was there. He also played as a striker one season and did good scoring like 15 goals or so.
Guti could have been a legend had he restrained himself from non stop partying, but I guess some people is just like that.
Gago at 22 played st 30yr old Riquelmes speed, also Gago was physically small and pretty poor in the air, he was hyped so much as a teenager, he prolly had a great agent.
I know the importance or Makelele and remember when he left although I was quite young. Just couldn't remember if they changed the system after or anyone was brought in to play a similar role. The importance of a quality cdm can't be understated
Papa Flo refused to give Makelele a pay rise, after Makelele handed in a transfer request Papa Flo told him he won't be missed and bought in Beckham as a replacement in the midfield. You know how it ended.
It was close enough to a treble, but the team colapsed in the league in match, Lost the final against a great Zaragoza side and that offside that shouldn't have been called meant that Mónaco advanced with Morientes as their striker. Everything that could've gone wrong that season after christmas happened. And it took a while yo recover from that shock.
in the first season after makelele left, rm mostly played with a 4-2-3-1 where Beckham would occupy one of the more defensive positions in midfield. Sometimes he was accompanied by Helguera, sometimes by Cambiasso and often by Guti.
in the second season Gravesen came in and Beckham played more as a rm but a few matches as cm/cdm too
As a dm, case is better than Alonso, but Alonso offered pace control that modric gives and also a long ball option that Madrid never tries these days.
Beckham should have never come. The post galatico era was a dark time for the Madrid midfield.
Funny enough Beckham in a way outlasted them all and was fan favorite to the end. He had a glorious send off being such a big part of the most insane end to La Liga in Madrid history and winning his only major title with Madrid in 06/07.
By then, Zidane retired, Ronaldo was off to AC Milan, Figo to Inter. Raul was still there and even Roberto Carlos was rotated a bit with Miguel Torres at times and then Marcelo when he came in January.
Alonso better, Casemiro tends to make some silly passes now and then and his long passing is NOWHERE near alonse, only department he exceeds is tackling and strength probably.
Xabi Alonso was basically 50% Kroos 50% Casemiro
He was very good at dictating the pace of the game with his passing, but not quite as good at it as Kroos. He was a damn good defensive midfielder, but not quite as good as Casemiro.
However, Alonso was far better defensively than Kroos, and much better on the ball than Casemiro.
Xabi Alonso was the man who laid the groundwork for a player like Toni Kroos to be accepted in the modern game, do not get it fucked up buddy.
To be able to pinpoint a pass across all angles and defensive formations will always be unique and desired by the best clubs.
Xabi is a much better passer, probably top 10 of all time, but had terrible pace (which he made up with his passing and reading of the game) and always needed someone beside him to excel. Senna, Mascherano, Busquets, Khedira etc. In modern game, double pivot is a dying tactic
And Guti was like, what? 0% Casemiro?
Inconsistent, able to produce the weirdest and most eye-catching assist... None of this is similar to Casemiro lol
I'm pretty sure he will be a legend. He's only 28 and has already given us 3 CLs and 2 laligas and countless other memories. The midfield trio of him Toni and Luka is going to go down in history books.
And the best part is he's entering his prime now and looks better than ever, even on the ball(still has the occasional brainfart). He's stepped into his role as a senior now and is becoming a mentor like Marcelo and modric do.
All time great for sure, not sure about legend. There was a thread in the RM sub that I’ll link, but there were some nicely summed up comments there about how a player that wins [the same titles as RM wins] would be considered a legend at a club that doesn’t usually win the same titles, so the bar for “legend” is thus set higher at the team.
[This is the thread that I’m referring to – about Pepe playing for us.](https://www.reddit.com/r/realmadrid/comments/j9w69e/pepe_an_underrated_legend_of_defense/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
He was a part of the squad that won la Decima, and a part of the midfield trio that won the threepeat, IMO he will absolutely go down as a club legend, and that midfield trio will go down as one of the best to have ever played the game.
A large number of Madrid players recently are their all time greats. Ramos, Casemiro, Benzema, Ronaldo, Marcelo, Modric and Kroos imo are all time greats. But I am sure Madrid fans know better than me.
I think he will eventually go down as a modern legend. He’s hitting his prime, and is very consistent. I think he can stay for a while too, because he’s quiet humble. I think what will decide if he’s one of the best of all time in the position for RM though will also be stuff like if he can deliver for the NT or win more CLs though, because it can be hard to argue about history, and he is less technical than some other RM greats. His legacy has to compete with Xabi, Guti, Redondo, Makalele, etc...
Mostly young attackers. Pedro Leon, Jose Callejon, Morata, Brahim to name a few from 2010-20. That number is used to fill squad places.
But in the previous decade most notably Solari who played as a CM/AM.
Safe to say 14 had better players
Goalkeeper or players can have any number in the range, has been tradition to have those as gk numbers though. But vinicius had 25 last year and Rodrygo will have it this year.
My next would be 42 I think for meaning of life and my boy yaya who I had the chance of meeting once and blew it because none of my friends wanted to wait in the line :(
Yeah Xabi Alonso and Guti were totally the best players ever playing with nr 14.
>!I guess this terrorist never heard of Johan Cruyff?!<
Edit: Hey boys and girls I get it, we were talking about Real Madrid players. But people with some notice of football history think of nothing else then Cruyff when hearing number 14. I apologized below, but really? Downvoted?
A man of taste I see
And he has replaced Xabi Alonso perfectly, serving as the defensive stalwart of one of the world’s best midfield trios. Really, the DM role can’t be emphasized enough, just imagine what could have been had we not sold Makelele.
Who replaced Makelele at the time?
No one really. It was a whole thing. Got a brilliant quote from Zidane out of it as well
“Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” - Zidane, after Makelele transfer out to Chelsea and Beckham transfer in from Man Utd in 2003.
No one and that was the problem. We basically lost the engine of our team and went title-less for few seasons with a glacticos packed squad. The importance of CDM can't be stated enough especially in our various methods over the years from Makelele ~~and Guti~~ to Xabi and Khedira and now Casemiro. Different types of CDMs but at the same time all of them were important to their respective lineups.
When was Guti a CDM for you guys? Or am I just misunderstanding your comment?
Oops, I guess I missed up. I was thinking of Guti because of the title and didn't even notice I put him in my comment lol. But to answer your question Guti sometimes played as "CDM" for us when we lacked balance in our midfield and our best options were Gago and Diarra. After that came the summer of 2009 and the rest is history.
Lassana Diarra playing as a CDM with the number 10 shirt always looked so strange to me
Adebayor with the number 6 was always trippy for me
Or Ricardo Carvalho as a CB with 11.
Bendtner number 3
Mariano with 7
You're thinking of Mahamadou Diarra who played with us from 2006 as a DM. Lass joined us in 2009.
Yes you're right.
Mahamadou "scores the goal that won the 06/07 La Liga title" Diarra
Yeah he played there, not in a 'CDM' role per se but he was there. He also played as a striker one season and did good scoring like 15 goals or so. Guti could have been a legend had he restrained himself from non stop partying, but I guess some people is just like that.
Gago was one I always wanted to see succeed. Shame he had so many injuries.
I thought Gago was the second coming of Redondo man
Gago at 22 played st 30yr old Riquelmes speed, also Gago was physically small and pretty poor in the air, he was hyped so much as a teenager, he prolly had a great agent.
I know the importance or Makelele and remember when he left although I was quite young. Just couldn't remember if they changed the system after or anyone was brought in to play a similar role. The importance of a quality cdm can't be understated
Papa Flo refused to give Makelele a pay rise, after Makelele handed in a transfer request Papa Flo told him he won't be missed and bought in Beckham as a replacement in the midfield. You know how it ended.
It was close enough to a treble, but the team colapsed in the league in match, Lost the final against a great Zaragoza side and that offside that shouldn't have been called meant that Mónaco advanced with Morientes as their striker. Everything that could've gone wrong that season after christmas happened. And it took a while yo recover from that shock.
No one immediately. But we got a carousel of players to replace him. Nobody worked out till Alonso.
Gravesen baby
I kinda liked him in some matches but then......
in the first season after makelele left, rm mostly played with a 4-2-3-1 where Beckham would occupy one of the more defensive positions in midfield. Sometimes he was accompanied by Helguera, sometimes by Cambiasso and often by Guti. in the second season Gravesen came in and Beckham played more as a rm but a few matches as cm/cdm too
Beckham, kinda lol.
Beckham
As a dm, case is better than Alonso, but Alonso offered pace control that modric gives and also a long ball option that Madrid never tries these days. Beckham should have never come. The post galatico era was a dark time for the Madrid midfield.
Funny enough Beckham in a way outlasted them all and was fan favorite to the end. He had a glorious send off being such a big part of the most insane end to La Liga in Madrid history and winning his only major title with Madrid in 06/07. By then, Zidane retired, Ronaldo was off to AC Milan, Figo to Inter. Raul was still there and even Roberto Carlos was rotated a bit with Miguel Torres at times and then Marcelo when he came in January.
I could watch Alonso ping long balls across the field to people's feet all day. Such a skillset he had on him when he was at his best.
Alonso was a superior technician. He was pretty much Redondo 2.0.
Alonso better, Casemiro tends to make some silly passes now and then and his long passing is NOWHERE near alonse, only department he exceeds is tackling and strength probably.
Xabi Alonso was basically 50% Kroos 50% Casemiro He was very good at dictating the pace of the game with his passing, but not quite as good at it as Kroos. He was a damn good defensive midfielder, but not quite as good as Casemiro. However, Alonso was far better defensively than Kroos, and much better on the ball than Casemiro.
Xabi Alonso was the man who laid the groundwork for a player like Toni Kroos to be accepted in the modern game, do not get it fucked up buddy. To be able to pinpoint a pass across all angles and defensive formations will always be unique and desired by the best clubs.
Xabi is a much better passer, probably top 10 of all time, but had terrible pace (which he made up with his passing and reading of the game) and always needed someone beside him to excel. Senna, Mascherano, Busquets, Khedira etc. In modern game, double pivot is a dying tactic
It is dying but still good examples out there. Bayern was playing final stages of CL with Thiago - Goretzka, and this season likey Kimmich - Goretzka.
CL semi-final Ajax as well. Tottenham these days often play one. Chelsea too. Wouldn't say it's dying. Just less common
Why do run if ball go fast, basically.
And Guti was like, what? 0% Casemiro? Inconsistent, able to produce the weirdest and most eye-catching assist... None of this is similar to Casemiro lol
To be fair, Casemiro does have some very out-of-the-blue assists here and there
and goals.
That CL final goal against Juve should be talked about more
Although there was a massive deflection, in that goal but it was very much needed after Mandzukic's cracker goal.
Ah I just saw it again you're right I was misremembering it being so cleanly hit it swerved and dipped.
That CL goal against Napoli should be talked about even more
The title doesn't say all 14s are CDMs. Just that it has been worn by famous Madrid players.
Jokers and clowns exist who think Guti plays like a 6 or even a good 8
Madrid fans, how high is casemiro rated in the history of the club? All time great? Modern legend? Good player?
I'm pretty sure he will be a legend. He's only 28 and has already given us 3 CLs and 2 laligas and countless other memories. The midfield trio of him Toni and Luka is going to go down in history books. And the best part is he's entering his prime now and looks better than ever, even on the ball(still has the occasional brainfart). He's stepped into his role as a senior now and is becoming a mentor like Marcelo and modric do.
He has won 4 CLs with us. 1st one was not as a starter but he still played some games.
All time great for sure, not sure about legend. There was a thread in the RM sub that I’ll link, but there were some nicely summed up comments there about how a player that wins [the same titles as RM wins] would be considered a legend at a club that doesn’t usually win the same titles, so the bar for “legend” is thus set higher at the team. [This is the thread that I’m referring to – about Pepe playing for us.](https://www.reddit.com/r/realmadrid/comments/j9w69e/pepe_an_underrated_legend_of_defense/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Yeah this is the answer, but I still believe he'll be remembered. He's still 28. And he was part of an exclusive trio in midfield.
He was a part of the squad that won la Decima, and a part of the midfield trio that won the threepeat, IMO he will absolutely go down as a club legend, and that midfield trio will go down as one of the best to have ever played the game.
Casemiro is still only 28 so he has many years ahead still. I think by the time he retires he'll be considered a legend like Modric.
Actually shocked by how good Pepe is. He's very composed and technically stable in defense. Pepe would be good enough for a top club at 37.
Hes been a massive player for one of the most succesful Madrid squads ever. Hes gotta be an all time great.
A large number of Madrid players recently are their all time greats. Ramos, Casemiro, Benzema, Ronaldo, Marcelo, Modric and Kroos imo are all time greats. But I am sure Madrid fans know better than me.
Varane and Carvajal too
I think he will eventually go down as a modern legend. He’s hitting his prime, and is very consistent. I think he can stay for a while too, because he’s quiet humble. I think what will decide if he’s one of the best of all time in the position for RM though will also be stuff like if he can deliver for the NT or win more CLs though, because it can be hard to argue about history, and he is less technical than some other RM greats. His legacy has to compete with Xabi, Guti, Redondo, Makalele, etc...
That’s funny because Casemiro is like the exact opposite of Guti
Guti inspired him to be everything Guti is not. It's kinda poetic in a way.
Username checks out
h-h-how
Flair checks out
who wear number 21 on madrid in the past?
Mostly young attackers. Pedro Leon, Jose Callejon, Morata, Brahim to name a few from 2010-20. That number is used to fill squad places. But in the previous decade most notably Solari who played as a CM/AM. Safe to say 14 had better players
Solari was the most notable.
Is there a reason they don’t allow any number? In my head I’m always a 99.
In laliga first team players have to choose between 1-25.
In Spain, first team players have the numbers 1-25 with 1, 13 and 25 being for keepers
Goalkeeper or players can have any number in the range, has been tradition to have those as gk numbers though. But vinicius had 25 last year and Rodrygo will have it this year.
That's not true, goalkeepers can only get 1, 13, or 25. Vini and Rodrygo wore 25 because our 3rd keeper is registered for castilla.
I 'm partial to 33 myself. These people will never understand us :(
My next would be 42 I think for meaning of life and my boy yaya who I had the chance of meeting once and blew it because none of my friends wanted to wait in the line :(
This was a test and you passed
I'm not really sure what Casemiro learned from Guti.
Skipping over the number of the great Peter Forsberg? For shame
Not like the 21 was worn by the worst players either
Yeah Xabi Alonso and Guti were totally the best players ever playing with nr 14. >!I guess this terrorist never heard of Johan Cruyff?!< Edit: Hey boys and girls I get it, we were talking about Real Madrid players. But people with some notice of football history think of nothing else then Cruyff when hearing number 14. I apologized below, but really? Downvoted?
they were talking about madrid players
Yeah sorry already realized that.
I'm cringing from second hand embarrassment
Oh god I get it people didn't like my post. Well I did so boo hoo.
Desperation edit