Benzema went from 'pussycat' to a big game beast at Real Madrid

PETE JENSON: Karim Benzema’s remarkable success at Real Madrid was due to brilliance and resilience in equal measure… the shy and accident-prone striker dubbed a ‘pussycat’ by Jose Mourinho evolved into a big game beast

• Karim Benzema is leaving Real Madrid after 14 glittering years with the club
• Real Madrid paid £40m to sign the then 21-year-old striker from Lyon in 2009
• The shy and accident-prone striker was dubbed a ‘pussycat’ by Jose Mourinho 

As the debate commenced in Spain on Sunday night about how Real Madrid go about replacing their all-time second highest goal scorer Karim Benzema, one phrase was repeated over and over again: ‘there is no one like Benzema on the market right now’.

It’s true that, while Harry Kane has many of the same traits, no one can offer up the same record over so many years with so many big performances in big games. But it sort of misses the point.

No, there isn’t another Benzema out there at the moment but the Benzema that Real Madrid signed 14 seasons ago from Lyon was nothing like the beast that leaves them now; they will have to be as patient with whoever replaces him as they have been with him.

His evolution from shy, lightweight, to the greatest in his position in the world is one of the most impressive things about but Madrid’s belief that he would come good is also a huge part of his success story.

Back in 2009 he had been dubbed ‘Zinaldo’ by France Football. They had seen, with great foresight, that combination of centre-forward’s goals and number 10’s assists in him that would become so obvious in later years.

Karim Benzema is leaving Real Madrid after 14 glittering years with the Spanish club

Benzema collected 25 trophies, including five Champions Leagues and a Ballon d’Or

Manchester United wanted him as Rio Ferdinand would admit to BT Sport many years later saying: ‘Sir Alex wanted him to sign after that game (in 2008). He was speaking to him in the tunnel after the match and I remember some of their officials came and ushered him away.’

But United balked at the asking price with Ferguson later claiming they had gone to £35m for the 21-year-old but no higher.

Madrid paid Lyon’s £40m asking price and Benzema said all the right things in his presentation in 2009: ‘I’ve wanted to play for Madrid since I was 15-years-old’. That did not make the early years any easier.

He scored just eight in his first season. When Jose Mourinho arrived in his second year he famously said: ‘When I don’t have my dog, I will have to go hunting with my cat’ in reference to having to pick Benzema when others were injured.

Off the pitch he struggled to learn Spanish and avoided all media appearances. He was also accident-prone. There were embarrassing images of his yellow Lamborghini being towed away with its front wing stoved-in, not once but twice. He even hit a tree driving home from his first ever Clasico.

Real Madrid paid Lyon’s £40m asking price for the then 21-year-old striker in 2009

The shy and accident-prone striker was dubbed a ‘pussycat’ by Jose Mourinho

At another club, or if Benzema had possessed thinner skin, he might have had to move on. But he never complained about the ‘pussycat’ criticism from Mourinho.

Likewise Madrid president Florentino Perez, far from ushering him out, redoubled attempts to make the signing work. There were even times when Real Madrid resisted bringing in other strikers because of a perceived negative effect on the Benzema’s confidence.

Winning 25 trophies, including five Champions Leagues and a Ballon d’Or – the gongs that count most at Real Madrid – means he rides off into the Arabian sunset leaving a gold and silver legacy that will be hard to beat. Only Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals for the club.

The reaction to his departure has been somewhere between bemusement and panic since it was announced at the weekend. The expectation was that he would stay until 2024, accepting the one-year automatic contract extension offered him.

In his last game on Sunday there had been no time to organize much of a tribute and the match had an end of season feel more than a goodbye to a legend vibe. But legend is the word that best fits him – in 14 seasons he played for seven different coaches; with and without Cristiano Ronaldo; and playing the leading man role with just as much brilliance as best supporting actor.

His morphing from one to the other was hugely impressive, but even more so was his sheer staying power.

Madrid can be an unforgiving environment for a young player who does not speak the language, who faces huge competition on the pitch (Madrid still had Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul and Gonzalo Higuain when he arrived), and whose coaches don’t always publicly back him.

He survived all that to become the greatest number nine in the club’s history. When the dust of this season settles, and it finally sinks in that he has played his last game, that fact will be his legacy. He was brilliant and resilient in equal measure and it’s no coincidence that his greatest years were also the club’s most successful.

The French striker is expected to sign a big-money contract to play for Saudi side Al-Ittihad 

Source: Read Full Article