Casemiro the talisman: Madrid always win when he plays

Casemiro has become one of Zinedine Zidane's key pieces for his Real Madrid side. No-one now debates whether he should be a regular starter or not and statistics back this up.Since Zidane took charge of the first team following Rafa Benitez's dismissal in January, Madrid have won the eight games that Casemiro.has played in. The 24 years old started in six of these and came on as a substitute against Espanyol and in the away leg of the Champions League tie against AS Roma.

Zidane lhas been involved in 15 games as Real Madrid first team coach with 12 wins, two draws and one loss. Casemiro played no role in the 1-1 draws against Betis and Málaga and wasn't involved in the home defeat against Atlético (0-1) .

It took for a while for the Brazilian player to convince Zizou of his worth ( he had to wait four games before getting a game under the French coach) but injuries opened the door for him and he started in the game against Levante and took full advantage of the opportunity afforded to him. He's played in the past six games for Madrid which have coincided in six consecutive wins for the team from the Spanish capital.

His playing statistics reinforce Zidane's belief in the player with an 89,8% effective passing rate and he was on target to give Madrid a few weeks when he scored against Las Palmas for his debut goal in the famous white shirt.

On an international level, Casemiro's priority is to play with Brazil in this summer's Copa América tournament. Despite being in the squad for the 2015 edition he didn't get a minute of playing time for Dunga's side.