Why 2015-16 Is the Season Casemiro Will Break Out at Real Madrid

Though it's sometimes true and sometimes misleading, it's often said that the best way to the Real Madrid first team isn't via the B team. "Barcelona breed them, Real Madrid buy them," is the commonly held view.

Thanks to Real Madrid's Galacticos, mind-warping revenue figures, Florentino Perez and the rivalling La Masia, such a perception has persisted, regardless of its accuracy. But whether it's simply an exception to the rule or an example that disproves it, the Real Madrid Castilla 2012-13 class is currently showing there is a way to the first team via the B team, even if the path might be a winding one. 

From the 2012-13 academy batch, Jese, Nacho, Denis Cheryshev, Lucas Vazquez and Casemiro have all found their way into Rafa Benitez's current squad, even if the latter's Castilla stint was a short one. The first man on that list has already enjoyed his breakout moment at the Bernabeu, while the latter three have had to forge reputations elsewhere to earn the chance to do so.

Patience will be necessary for Cheryshev and Vazquez, given the attacking talent in front of them. But for Casemiro, the 2015-16 season looks poised to be his breakout campaign. 

Just by looking at the Brazilian, it strikes you. The muscular physique, the 80-kilogram frame, the powerful thighs, the fierce eyes, the rugged looks: Casemiro offers Real Madrid something different. Something they haven't had. Something they need.

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Last month, he was dubbed "Commando Casemiro" by Marca, and the Madrid-based daily declared, "If Rafa Benitez had to go to war, Casemiro would undoubtedly be a member of his platoon." Benitez, of course, isn't going to war in a literal sense. But in a figurative sense, he is. 

Managing Real Madrid is an arduous test, as battles with the president, sections of the fanbase and the capital's press are common. But for Benitez, the more pressing battles will be those looming on the pitch. In Real's wars against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and European rivals, he'll need that "platoon."

Last season, Carlo Ancelotti's incarnation was explosive but brittle, spectacular but flawed. Though the team fielded extraordinary attacking power, their season of underachievement was defined by defensive lapses that left no margin for error.

There were the four goals conceded to Real Sociedad, when the Basques simply walked through Real's midfield. There were the four conceded to Atletico, when Real didn't turn up. There were also the four conceded to Schalke, when Roy Keane said Real played like a "pub team."

On two of those occasions, Ancelotti said he was "sorry," and his team's concession of four goals across two meetings to Valencia was equally damaging. 

Benitez, therefore, will look to add a different edge to this side.

"This team has bags of talent, we have to take advantage of that and just improve that little bit in defence," he said while Real were in Australia.

Benitez's system will account for some of the adjustment, as will his demand for tighter connections between lines—"the 10 metre rule," as Marca described it. But personnel changes will also form part of his plan, with Casemiro the mostly likely candidate to benefit. 

Here at Bleacher Report, we described the Brazilian as "a junkyard dog—an adequately polished one but a junkyard dog nonetheless." If that sounds derogatory, it's not. Casemiro is an endearing character for it.

Though he's comfortable on the ball and is known for his neat passing and his ability to score, the 23-year-old is defined by his grit. He scraps, fights, wrestles and tackles. He wins balls on the ground and duels in the air. When it's needed, he can be scrappy and feisty. 

In midfield, he's exactly what Real Madrid need. 

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In heavyweight clashes, the former Sao Paulo star can anchor Benitez's formation, providing the manager with a physical presence alongside the silky Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. In that role, he'll supply desperately needed cover to Real's enigmatic defence, giving the side a stronger foundation and reducing the team's susceptibility to crashing like a top-heavy Jenga arrangement. 

Naturally, fans this summer might have hoped for a higher-profile midfield anchor to arrive, a player such Paul Pogba or William Carvalho or Arturo Vidal. But without the flair, Casemiro possesses exactly the ingredient Real Madrid need: a willingness to get his hands dirty.  

It's that quality that will prevent Los Blancos from being pushed around in midfield the way they were last season by Atletico, Valencia and Juventus. And if Casemiro doesn't help butcher La Liga's minnows, it won't matter. Those outings haven't been Real's issue.

Instead, his presence will be a plus in the outings that have given Real trouble, and that will set him up for a breakout season in 2015-16.