How the 21 -year -old Barcelona gem turned around his career

Marc Casado recently strengthened his place in the Barcelona first team after rising through the ranks of La Masia. After the extraordinary beginning for this year, we will see his play style and what has changed for him under the film Hansi.

How Marc Casado appeared this season

Career so far

From joining La Masia at the age of 13 in 2016, Casado explained will always be a talent. As we get older, more achievements come when he helped Barcelona’s Juvenil A team won gold on two occasions in 2021 as captain. This will then cause him to advance to the reserve team called Barcelona Atlètic. Once again, the Spaniard was impressed because in his second season, he became the captain for the team and led them very close to the glory when they lost in the play-offs.

In terms of international appearance for Spain, Casado is also a prominent figure. The Spanish side of the U16 and U17 are in his resume and so does the U21 squad when he returns to the youth setting after four years out. Then last year, after impressive at the early stages of this season, the young man will take his debut for European champions in a 2-1 win against Denmark and then start three days later against Switzerland.

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In the first team, not many opportunities came until this season. Xavi did make him debut to the club, but in two years with Casado, he only played it for a total of 58 minutes. Even though he practiced regularly with senior squad and many injuries came for people like Pedri and Gavi. Sergio Roberto is often preferred than the 32 -year -old man playing 24 times last season. The displacement appeared possible for the 2024/25 season.

However, this will all change when Flick arrives. Injury to Frenkie De Jong, Gavi and Pedri caused Casado to begin in pre-season with fellow MARC Bernal Academy graduates. The duo then opened the season with a 2-1 win over Valencia, but once Pedri returned, Casado would be resurrected. This was absent because of the cruciate ligament injury in August. This opens space in the flick system and he has been there since then.

Play style

The 21 -year -old player has become a prominent figure on the Flick side this season and this is the reason. Casado initially played with Bernal in Pivot and he was in a more advanced role, but Pedri quickly replaced him here. Since then, he has played a deeper role because of the Bernal injury and because his teammates will not match there.

Defensively, he has shown his abilities and why he is a better choice in pivot. This season he is fourth in the top seven European leagues to handle shear with 17, which is very important for his team in breaking the game and creating a turnover for counterattacks. This is further supported by him in the top three percentage for tackles in the middle of one third of the field. In addition, he was third in the top five European leagues for a successful defensive U-21 action because he had reached 132 so far. This balance allows pedri to progress in a way that is not done by options such as De Jong.

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In ownership, it is also strong as shown by these numbers. He averaged 66 operands per 90, which were in the top seven percent, but with variations, when he was superior with short and medium graduation types. This shows that he is a good choice for dictating Tempo and keeping the game moves but also to open defense. His figure to enter the final third is very great and shows that he can take risks and make a violation pass. On average, he made 7.67 operands to the final third which was at the top seven percentage, thus emphasizing his balanced and knowledgeable profile.

This is not only on the ball, where he is in his best condition too. His leadership quality is very important because he has always been a leader throughout time in La Masia. Flick regularly was seen talking to him during the match and wanted to convey instructions through him. This leadership quality is another important part of the game and can be a reason to choose Casado with all young players in the squad.

Future

Talented midfielder, who admires legends like Sergio Busquets is now an important part of Hansi Flick’s troops. He has made 23 appearances now this season in all competitions, which shows how his manager trusted him in controlling the game and protecting the back line.

As a result of the form of La Masia graduate, De Jong is now struggling to get minutes. This Dutch player has started only three matches this season, which shows that he has mostly come out of the bench for 15 appearances for this campaign. For Casado to displace De Jong after a little experience at this level shows the talent he has.

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Even so, its position in the squad is not guaranteed. The big injury that came to Bernal was what caused the treatise of casado because 17 years was a preferred choice initially in a deeper role. Therefore, once he returned, it would be interesting to see who was preferred by the film. Casado improves every week when he plays more often but youth, techniques, and Bernal athletic buildings make it an attractive choice for German managers.