Casemiro ‘honored’ to receive Trofeo Efe

Madrid, Feb 18 (efe-epa).- Real Madrid’s Brazilian central midfielder Carlos Henrique Casemiro on Thursday received the 2020 Trofeo EFE, an annual award by Agencia Efe that since the 1990/91 season has honored the most outstanding Latin American player playing in the Spanish league.

“It is undoubtedly an honor to receive this important award,” Casemiro said.

“Like all individual awards, it would not exist without the help of my teammates. First, I wanted to thank my teammates, mainly, for the year we have had after such a difficult year for us,” he said.

Looking ahead, Casemiro said that this season “is very important” for the LaLiga title holders after some indifferent performances. They trail city rival Atletico by six points, having played a game more.

“The most beautiful thing comes now. We have important matches, we have the Champions League and almost 50 league points. We are prepared, finding good momentum and doing things well,” he said.

A key part of coach Zinedine Zidane’s starting 11, the defensive midfielder is the sixth Brazilian to receive the prize after Romario, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho.

Real Madrid’s number 14 has been part of Zidane’s squad since 2015. He has won, among other trophies, four Champions League titles, three World Club Championships and two LaLiga championships.

Last season, which Real won after the campaign was interrupted because of the pandemic to add a 34th league title to its trophy cabinet, saw Casemiro play 46 times, including eight in the Champions League, scoring five goals and providing two assists. EFE-EPA

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