“Karim Benzema is not a forward for Real Madrid”. Against that phrase the white ‘9’ had to fight in his time in the white team on countless occasions. Now, nobody disputes him. His greatest criticism was, in turn, his greatest virtue: he always had a ’10’ soul. The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo made the Lion in a complement and took him away from the leading role. A role that, with the Portuguese star’s departure to Juventus, he has inherited naturally. Karim He has not lost his soul of ’10’, but necessity has sharpened the ‘9’ on his back. Mourinho’s ‘cat’ is part of the past. However, the forward was not always like this. At least, in the words of Raymond Domenech, who gave him the alternative with France.
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The former French coach debuted a 19-year-old Karim Benzema on March 23, 2007 with Blues. And he did it with the winning goal in a friendly against Austria (1-0). His assistant was another rookie, Samir Nasri. The teenage couple was called to lead France for years to come. The one, Karim, has not been able to complete the task for non-sporting reasons (Deschamps pushed him away after the Valbuena scandal); the other, because its performance plummeted over the years. That Karim, the one who made his way to the Olympique de Lyon, was not a complement, if not a protagonist, as he himself felt.
“A monster, but it didn’t exploit its potential”
“He believed that it was written forever, that he was going to make his career, content with little. Physically he is a monster, but it did not exploit all that potential it has. It was enough to say to himself: ‘I am here to score, the others have to do the work’. He was at that stage of his life and he was not the only one “, recalls Domenech in France Football. The former coach was not happy with the attitude of that first Benzema and insists on his judgment of the already veteran forward: “Because I was at that point I just wanted the ball, like ‘I’m not trying, I’m the best, period’, people saw it quickly. It is easy to recognize those who strive and work for others. He was brilliant, but he was content with little. “
Landing in Madrid and paradigm shift
However, everything changed on July 1, 2009. Real Madrid left 35 million euros in the coffers of The Gones and added our protagonist to his cause … At Lyon, he brought all the lights together. In Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká arrived that same summer. In the white constellation, there were stars that shone brighter than Karim. In addition, Gonzalo Higuaín would prevent him from being considered the undisputed holder in the beginning. This particular war with the Pipa, he also won.
The young Karim knew how to assume his new role and Domenech highlights that ability to change his role in the film of his career: “He has had that intelligence to adapt to the situation and exploit his full potential. I have seen him go down to defend, make efforts, exchange positions, ask for the ball in the run …, while before he wanted the ball at the foot. Karim helped Ronaldo. And Ronaldo helped Karim. He made it better. “
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This symbiosis turned Benzema into a more complete player and Cristiano’s goodbye has made him regain that scoring nose that made him win the comparison with the ‘other’ Ronaldo, Nazario. Now, Karim is half Madrid, as Cristiano was in his day, and the debate about his presence in the French team is purely topical. Is he one of the best French forwards in history? “A lot of people think so, and with good reason,” says Domenech. Is it the best of today? France is clear about it, as much as its history with the national team seems like a closed book. Meanwhile, Benzema continues his business and fights to win his first top scorer trophy …
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