Casemiro Reveals Luka Modric's Incredible Real Madrid Champions League Prediction
Real Madrid has long been considered to be the biggest club in world football, and their incredible success in the Champions League has played a large part in that.
On June the 1st of last year (2024), they made history by winning their fifteenth European Cup. They overcame German outfit Borussia Dortmund 2-0 with goals from both Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior.
The fifteenth title, or ‘La Decimoquinta’ as it is called in Spanish, was an impressive feat, but perhaps their grandest achievement on the continent was the three Champions League titles they won back-to-back-to-back from the years 2016 to 2018.
And now former Real Madrid midfielder, Casemiro, has explained just how they were able to accomplish such a feat.
Playing in midfield alongside Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the 32-year-old, who now plies his trade for English giants Manchester United, was a crucial part of the side that won those three cups, and he won five in total whilst playing for Madrid.
Speaking to the Spanish newspaper, AS, Casemiro had this to say about the celebrations that followed the first of those trio of triumphs, a penalty shootout victory against cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid in Milan, and their eleventh as a club:
"We were celebrating the 11th (UCL title) and Luka Modric approaches us and tells us with his peculiar Spanish: ‘Friends, we have to win two more Champions Leagues now”Casemiro
As you can imagine, that was met with some derision from the Madrid players back then, but it goes to show the ruthless mindset that has clearly helped to drive their success over time.
”With this great team we have, we have to take advantage of it and make history by winning at least two more in a row"Luka Modric
And, unbelievably, that’s exactly what they did. Champions League title number 12 arrived in 2017, when, dressed head to toe in purple they beat Juventus in Cardiff, and in 2018 the three-peat was complete when they beat Liverpool in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv - thanks in no small part to an exceptional overhead kick from Gareth Bale.
Casemiro went on to add:
"Luka knew it. At Madrid you win the Champions League and the next day they tell you: "Let’s see next year". You win La Liga alone and well, it’s nothing special - they will tell you that the European Cup was missing. You win the Copa del Rey alone and they will tell you that the season was a disaster. That’s Madrid, always the maximum demand"Casemiro
The hunt for Champions League title number 16 continues back at the Bernabeu against Manchester City on Wednesday.
The game itself is firmly in the balance, and Madridistas around the world will be hoping for another magical night at the Bernabeu to see them safely through to the quarter finals, where either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico lie in wait.
The Latest Real Madrid News
Mesut Ozil Names The Young $45 Million Star Real Madrid Needs To Protect
NBA Superstar Names Vinicius Jr As the Best In The World
Jude Bellingham Speaks Out After Controversial Red Card In The Osasuna vs Real Madrid Game
Osasuna 1-1 Real Madrid: Bellingham Sent Off As Los Blancos Slip Up
Rafa Benitez Explains Why Real Madrid Would Be A Good Move For Trent Alexander-Arnold
Dylan has been a sports journalist for over four years, working in both print and digital. He also works as a stadium announcer for Crawley Town FC in the United Kingdom. He covers Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG On SI.
Follow dylanchavasse