Marc Casadó: story of a process – Spanish Super Cup – Semi-finals – Athletic Club-FC Barcelona

In the life of a couple, the idea of ​​marriage often takes time. If some unions take action at first sight on the M6 ​​channel, most of them prefer to wait judiciously for long-term love to blossom in the shadow of the cameras. Between FC Barcelona and Marc Casadó (whose last name means “ married » in Spanish), the ring on his finger, symbolized by his entry into the first team, arrived after seven years of intense collaboration. The 1^is November 2022 against Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League (4-2), Casadó replaces Franck Kessié and spends 23 minutes on the Czech field. Two years later, it’s a metamorphosis: the midfielder blaugrana has established itself as the essential element in Hans-Dieter Flick’s starting line-up for the current third in the Spanish championship. For the worst, but above all the best.

“Something from Xavi”

To fully understand the link between Marc Casadó and football, we must go back to his first touches of the ball within the club from the Catalan municipality of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, a few meters from his birthplace. And according to Anna Torras, his mother, these are not very pleasant to see. « It was a disasterthe spectator still laughs. They were very small and hardly knew how to play. During his first official match, a boy bent down, grabbed the ball with his hands in his box and got up. Penalty… As parents, we had to tell them from the sidelines that we had to attack from the other side of the field. » Starting close to zero in football IQ, Casadó will nevertheless break into the industry in part thanks to his gray matter. Particularly gifted in mathematics (and PE), the teenager, considered a boy with above-average cerebral abilities, enrages his teachers who see him as an intellectual who rests on his laurels as much as on his talent.

In 2016, his arrival at Barça’s U14s from Damm, a renowned training club in Catalonia, seemed obvious. The director of the training center azulgranaJaume Roura, even sees “ something from Xavi » in this small profile, but admirably clever in keeping the ball. However, opinions differ within the club on the kid’s real footballing identity. « There were limits in his knowledge of his game, but in his predispositions, he had this ability to integrate information quickly to apply it straight away.analysis Oscar López, his head coach between 2019 and 2022 within the prestigious Masia. I detected in his desire, his hunger to learn and his character that he was going to be able to improve step by step. »

Alongside the former right defender of Barça and Lazio in the 2000s, little Marc finds himself confronted with having to push back the limits that he had unconsciously set for himself. « I quickly realized that Casadó was not losing a ball. But upon closer inspection, I understood that his passes were often sideways and easy to make. I then asked him if he wanted to become a professional player, to which he obviously said yes. I told him: “OK, so your game can’t be that flat and readable. You must learn to generate the movement of your team 40 or 50 meters forward.” » With the addition of verticality in the U17s, Casado understands that the defensive midfielder position requires specific behavior compared to other midfielders so that the game becomes more attractive. This new state of mind will take it into the hands of Rafael Márquez with the reserve team, then the famous Xavi with the A. « Together, we worked on races without the ball, how to position ourselves higher on the pitch, how to anticipate the opponent’s movements to recover the ball or even analyze the team’s needs for acceleration or tempo depending on the match, lists López. It was a kind of individual methodology. After four or five months, progress was clear. From then on, I would show him his previous videos so he could correct himself. »

The Busquets barrier, the Bernal green light

With these exercises to do from home, the football student has transformed into a tactical enthusiast. « It was one of the fruits of our collaborationremembers López. I wanted to analyze the different playing options with him from an aerial point of view, because I felt that he was able to identify himself in this process. As soon as I saw him so interested in the game and asking specific questions, we began this learning process. » Behind the scenes, Xavi’s appeals follow one another, but in 50 summons, the rookie ultimately only plays four matches under the direction of the Pioneer. Reluctance to replace Sergio Busquets with a 20-year-old unknown to the general public or a simple expectation of maturation? Either way, Casadó knows his time is no longer wasted. « He marked me with his ability to anticipateLopez continued. In the locker room, he approached to question me personally: “And if a certain action happens for a particular teammate, what are our solutions?” He constantly seeks to gather as much information as possible for the good of the team. »

At the end of the 2022-2023 season, the promise became captain of the reserve and even helps out as… right back. A position to which the trained defensive midfielder has already become accustomed. « In the youth categories, it is important to train in a certain versatilityunderline Lopez. This allows you to have a broader vision, to put yourself in the teammate’s position to better understand their needs. You realize why, as an environment, you have to make such an effort. If I sometimes decided to place Casadó in central defense, as a right defender or as a relay midfielder, it was because I felt he was capable of assuming this position, but also with this in mind. » During the following summer preparation, Casadó caught the eye of Flick, but the small size (1.72 m) saw another rising star of the Masia win the pivot position: Marc Bernal. Never mind: for the first day of La Liga at Mestalla against Valencia (2-1), Flick opts for a 4-2-3-1 with Bernal as sentinel and Casadó as shield. “In this system, Casadó is like a fish in water, López metaphorizes. If I had to compare him to a player, I would liken him to Gennaro Gattuso: physical and aggressive in recovering the balls, but also thoughtful and fundamental in preserving them better. »

Without the terrible rupture of the cruciate ligaments suffered by Bernal against Rayo Vallecano (2-1), would Casadó have found his place in the starting lineup alongside the ever-present Pedri? Nothing is less certain. Still, from now on, the figures speak in its favor. In the Champions League, Casadó is, with Jules Koundé, the only player in the Barcelona squad to have played every minute since the start of the season (540). He is thus the fourth longest marathon runner in the competition with 71.1 kilometers covered behind Hans Vanaken (71.2), Joshua Kimmich (75.1) and Callum McGregor (76.1). Finally, his passes still remain his trademark with the best success ratio of his team (91.5%) ahead of Pedri who is far from clumsy in this area. Kimmich, an example to follow for the 21-year-old Swiss army knife? In any case, his partners don’t hesitate to give him this nickname in the privacy of the locker room. « Casadó still has good room for improvement, Judge Lopez. In his overall mastery of the midfield, experience must do its work. Knowing what the coach wants is one thing, but knowing what the team needs is even more important. On a more individual level, he must rely on his strengths, work on them and eliminate his weaknesses. This is the path to becoming an elite footballer. To be honest, I don’t know where the moment is when he will hit his ceiling. » As long as he doesn’t touch the ball with his hands…

Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor re-enrolled… as conservator