Can Karim Benzema rescue Real legend status?
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Karim Benzema could do no right in the eyes of Real Madrid fans.
He was booed and whistled every time he set foot on the Bernabéu turf, and it got so severe that Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to plead with the crowd to stop.
That spell came in a difficult 2017/18 season for the Frenchman in which he managed only five league goals, and it looked like his stay in the Spanish capital was coming to an ignominious end.
He probably would have left that summer were it not for a combination of the departure of Ronaldo to Juventus and a paucity of ambition in the transfer market from Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez.
The season that followed was a tricky one for Real Madrid, with no silverware, three different managers and 12 league defeats, but Benzema emerged as a crucial player amid difficult circumstances. His 21 league goals directly contributed to 28 points for his club, and it’s doubtful whether Madrid would even have qualified for this season’s Champions League were it not for Benzema’s significant contribution.
His good form has continued into this season, with five goals in his five games so far. His goal in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win at Sevilla on Sunday night gave Zinedine Zidane’s side a much-needed victory after their battering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, and was particularly timely with potential title rivals Barcelona and Atlético Madrid both dropping points.
His quality as a player is finally being recognised by the Madrid faithful, and last week he was ranked as the most underrated player in the world by the readers of one of Spain’s leading sports dailies. As the paper in question was Marca, it’s fair to assume that most of the respondents were Madridistas, which shows the extent of the fans’ volte-face.
He has always been respected within the sport, with Zidane and Ronaldo both huge admirers of his work. PSG boss Thomas Tuchel was effusive in his praise of Benzema’s all-round game ahead of their Champions League clash last week. “He’s top class, he’s very difficult to defend against because he doesn’t only play as a number nine, he goes wide, he goes everywhere.”
That sums up Benzema perfectly. When allowed the freedom to flourish, he excels at every aspect of forward play with equal helpings of skill, power, speed and guile.
But it seems that he is only now being appreciated in Madrid, after ten long years at the club.
He has spent most of that time in Ronaldo’s considerable shadow, and his occasional bouts of poor form and goal droughts have not been tolerated by Madrid’s famously demanding fanbase.
At 31 years old, the end of his career is drawing ever closer, and it’s still unclear how he will be remembered by Real Madrid fans when he finally goes.
If you were to look at his stats in isolation, you’d say he was a shoo-in for legendary status. He has won four Champions League winners medals, two La Liga titles and two Copas del Rey, scoring 227 goals for the club. That makes him the sixth-highest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history, just 15 goals behind the great Ferenc Puskás.
And yet most Real Madrid fans – even those who have come round to Benzema in the last year or so – would still hesitate to hold him in such high esteem.
But if he keeps up this form and helps Madrid towards the title – which isn’t inconceivable given Barcelona and Atleti’s stuttering starts to the season – he could complete his redemption, and there could still be time for him to take his place in the pantheon of Real Madrid greats.
Dan Bridges
