Real Madrid: 5 players who have an important leadership role

DM Casemiro

Casemiro is a crucial player to Real Madrid’s success. The best defensive midfielder in the world, Case has been Los Blancos’ MVP this season, and there’s nobody who can replicate what he does for the team. Among all players with at least 500 minutes, Casemiro leads Real with 3.1 tackles per game and two interceptions per game, making the most difficult of slide tackles look almost routine. He has mastered the art of defending in midfield.

Of course, the 28-year-old is also capable of joining the attack, as his all-important brace in a 2-1 win over Sevilla earlier this year showed. Casemiro makes everyone around him better and is the kind of player a championship-winning side needs. It’s no wonder why Real’s richest period of Champions League success occurred after they bought Casemiro back from FC Porto.

CF Karim Benzema

Although Dani Carvajal and especially Marcelo deserve nods, Karim Benzema plays more regularly than Marcelo and has more of an influence on others than Carvajal. Benzema is the kind of player young attackers benefit a lot from, as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes can probably attest in the 2019-2020 season.

There are so many wide forwards who can credit some of their success to working with Benzema. He doesn’t score as often as other great strikers of this era, such as Robert Lewandowski or the oft-compared Luis Suarez, but he creates far more chances than any other No. 9. Benzema isn’t a traditional striker, but he’s a super-effective one. The man doesn’t like standing in the way of young talent either, constantly talking to them and working with them on the pitch to help the next generation grow. Benz is one of those player who wants to help the club no matter what.