Can Casemiro solve Inter Miami's vulnerability to opposing counter attacks? | OneFootball

Can Casemiro's experience, leadership anchor Las Garzas' defense?

Former Real Madrid and Manchester United star Carlos Henrique Casimiro -- better known simply as Casemiro -- was at Nu Stadium last night to see Luis Suárez and Germán Berterame lead shorthanded Inter Miami edge the Chicago Fire 3-2 in a lackluster showing by both teams.

Earlier Wednesday, Inter Miami announced that it had signed the five-time European champion after weeks of anticipation. The free agent contract expires at the end of Major League Soccer's shortened 2027 "sprint" season -- 14 matches and playoffs scheduled to be played from February to May before the league goes to its new calendar beginning next July. The pact includes options for extensions through June 2029.

Despite multiple reports this spring that Casemiro wanted to join Las Garzas after his Manchester United contract expired in June, the Herons couldn't sign the five-time European champion until they acquired the MLS discovery rights from the L.A. Galaxy. The club also announced Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with the Galaxy, but terms of the deal were withheld pending an MLS investigation into possible tampering. Teams are forbidden from contacting players whose discovery rights are owned by other teams. According to Tom Bogert, writing in The Athletic, Casemiro's contract is not in jeopardy -- he is an Inter Miami player -- but MLS likely will sanction the club if tampering is proven.

That's good news if you believe the Brazilian can solidify the Herons' midfield; I'm skeptical. Interim Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos fields an aggressive attack that pushes combinations of wing backs and midfielders higher up the field in possession and relies on multiple runners and short, quick passes; the result is a fluid, potent attack that leads MLS with 42 goals in 16 matches -- 2.6 goals per match.

But flooding the opponent's third with attacking players leaves the defense vulnerable to quick counter attacks. The Herons have conceded 30 goals (1.9 per match); only eight teams have allowed more.

Casemiro, among the best defensive midfielders of his generation, is expected to bring leadership and a physical presence to the midfield and to modulate games' pace from the back, a skill the Herons lost with Sergio Busquets' retirement after last year's MLS Cup victory. The Brazilian also provides a much-needed aerial threat on set pieces and is a competent passer and dribbler who can advance the ball and create scoring opportunities for other players.

My greatest concern is whether Casemiro still has the pace needed to track down opponents running into space behind Inter Miami's attack. If not, is he really an improvement over Telasco Segovia or Yannick Bright, the players most likely to lose minutes to the newcomer?

Probably. His experience, poise, ability to read games, and leadership should bring discipline and better positioning to the Herons' defense. Only time will tell whether that reduces Miami's vulnerability in quick transitions.