Zinedine Zidane's success as Real Madrid manager depends greatly on midfielder Casemiro, Real Betis coach Gus Poyet says.
Casemiro's insertion into the lineup under Zidane last season helped Real Madrid win the Champions League, but the Brazilian has missed the past month with a fracture in his lower leg.
And with Real entering Saturday's game at Benito Villamarin on the back of four consecutive draw, Poyet said the club's recent misfortunes are no coincidence.
"People say four months ago Zidane was a better coach -- no," Poyet said as quoted by The Independent.
"Zidane four months ago found the solution to Madrid's problems by playing Casemiro and he won the Champions League.
"Casemiro gets injured and now they say he is a disaster."
Poyet also said he was hoping for a change in fortune from Betis' last game against one of Spain's biggest clubs, when Barcelona triumphed 6-2 to open the season.
"I wrote 'enjoy it' on the board before the game and we were hit for six! So 'enjoy' -- no, that word is out," Poyet said.
"When I was a player here in Spain at Zaragoza the first thing you would look at when the fixtures came out was when you were playing Madrid and Barcelona.
"I wanted to play those games. So this week I imagine the players will have been thinking, 'Train well, pay attention to the ideas and then play.'"