arim Mostafa Benzema (
Arabic: كريم بن زيمـة ; born 19 December 1987)
is a
French international
footballer who plays for
Spanish club
Real
Madrid in
La Liga. He primarily plays as
a
striker
whose influence can extend out to the
wings
and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast
goal-scoring ability.
[3]
He is described as an "immensely-talented striker" who is
"strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the
box".
[4]
Benzema was born in the city of
Lyon and began his football career with local club
Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city
Olympique Lyonnais and,
subsequently, came through the
club's youth academy.
Benzema made his professional debut in the
2004–05 season and appeared
sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span.
In the
2007–08 season, Benzema became
a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its
seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the
National Union of
Professional Footballers (UNFP)
Ligue
1 Player of the Year and named
to the organization's
Team of the Year. Benzema was
also the
league's top scorer and given
the
Bravo
Award by
Italian
magazine
Guerin Sportivo. After another
season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema signed a six-year contract with Spanish
outfit
Real Madrid. After struggling
to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the ensuing two
seasons, Benzema reached prominence scoring 32 goals en route to helping Real
Madrid win the
Copa del Rey in 2011 and the
2011–12 edition of La Liga. He
has been awarded
French Player of the Year for
his performances during the calendar year of 2011
[5]
respectively 2012.
Benzema is a former
French youth
international and has represented his nation from
under-17 level
onwards. Prior to playing for the
senior team,
he played on the under-17 team that won the
2004
UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Benzema made his
senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against
Austria. On
his debut, he scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win. Benzema has
represented France at two major international tournaments; the
2008
and
2012
editions of the
UEFA European Football
Championship. He made two appearances in the former competition
against
Romania and
Italy in the group stage.
Personal
life
Benzema was born in the city of Lyon, France to French
nationals of Algerian
descent.[6][7] His
grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tighzert, located in
the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before
migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s.[8]
Benzema's father, Hafid, was born in Tighzert, while his mother, Wahida
Djebbara, was born and raised in Lyon; her family originated from Oran. Benzema is the
third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb
of Lyon.[8]
His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri are also footballers.[9] The
former currently plies his trade at the amateur level with Vaulx-le-Velin in
the Division d'Honneur, the sixth division of French football, while the latter
plays in the youth academy of a club in the family's hometown of Bron.[10][11]
Since establishing himself as an international footballer, Benzema has been
involved in numerous promotional campaigns. Since 2008, he has regularly
appeared on the cover of the French version of the annual FIFA video game. Benzema is sponsored by
German sportswear company Adidas and has, subsequently, appeared in several television
advertisements for the brand.
Benzema is a practising Muslim, He
observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan.[12]
On 18 April 2010, it was first
reported by French television service M6 that four members of the French
national team were being investigated for their roles as clients in a
prostitute ring operated inside of a Paris nightclub, with some of the women
possibly being underage or transgender. The players were eventually revealed to
be Franck
Ribery, Sidney Govou, Hatem
Ben Arfa, and Benzema.[13][14]
Benzema was alleged to have had a sexual rendezvous with a prostitute when she
was 16 years of age, an act Benzema denied through his lawyer.[15]
On 20 July, Benzema was questioned by Paris police and indicted on the charge
of "solicitation of a minor prostitute."[16][17]
In November 2011, prosecutors asked for the cases against Ribéry and Benzema be
dropped, saying that the players were not aware that the escort, identified as Zahia Dehar,
was 16 years old.[18]
Club career
Early career
Benzema began his football career at his hometown club Bron Terraillon SC at
the age of eight. While at the club, he was nicknamed
Coco by friends
and, after scoring two goals in an under-10 match against the
Lyon youth academy, began
attracting attention from the biggest club in the city.
[19][20]
According to Serge Santa Cruz, who was president of Bron Terraillon in the
1990s, Lyon officials had visited him directly in an attempt to sign the
youngster; however, Santa Cruz refused.
[21]
After talking with Benzema's father, the club allowed the player to undergo a
trial with Lyon.
[21]
Following the trial, Benzema officially joined Lyon and was inserted into the
club's academy at the age of nine.
[22]
Benzema quickly ascended up the youth categories in the academy. He served as
a
ballboy
during Lyon senior team matches and performed well in school being described as
a student who was "discreet and respectful".
[21][23]
At under-16 level, Benzema scored 38 goals in the
Championnat National des
16 ans, the domestic league for under-16 youth players in France.
[24]
Ahead of the
2004–05 season, Benzema was promoted to the club's
reserve team, which was playing in the
Championnat de France amateur, the
fourth division of
French football. Despite only playing with the
team during the autumn campaign, he scored a team-high ten goals as the Lyon
reserve team finished second in its group.
[25]
2004–2007
Benzema was called up to the senior team for the first time under manager
Paul Le
Guen during the break leading up to the second half of the season. As is customary
with new players arriving at Lyon, the young striker had to stand up and speak
to his new teammates, which at that time included the likes of
Michael
Essien,
Sylvain Wiltord,
Florent
Malouda, and
Éric Abidal.
[26]
While speaking, Benzema was subjected to jokes and laughter, which prompted the
youngster to declare "Do not laugh, I'm here to take your place".
[26]
He, subsequently, made his professional debut on 15 January 2005 appearing as a
substitute for
Pierre-Alain Frau. Lyon won the match 2–0 as
Benzema provided the assist on the second goal scored by
Bryan
Bergougnoux.
[20][27]
Five days after his debut, he signed his first professional contract agreeing
to a three-year deal.
[28]
After making three more appearances as a substitute, on 2 April, Benzema made
his first professional start in a 1–0 win over
Lens.
[29]
He finished the campaign with six appearances as Lyon won its fourth straight
league title.
Benzema began the
2005–06 season under the tutelage of new manager
Gérard
Houllier. Under Houllier, he struggled for meaningful minutes due to the
presence of newly-signed
Brazilian striker
Fred, as well as Wiltord. Benzema made his
season debut on 2 October 2005 in a league win over
Rennes appearing as a substitute.
[30]
On 6 December, he made his
UEFA Champions League debut in Lyon's final
group stage match against
Norwegian club
Rosenborg
BK. On his competition debut, he scored his first professional goal in a
2–1 win.
[31] A
month later, Benzema scored his first professional double in a 4–0 win over
Grenoble
in the
Coupe de France.
[32]
On 4 March 2006, Benzema scored his first professional league goal against
Ajaccio
in a 3–1 win.
[33]
Benzema began earning more playing time in the
2006–07 season and made his competitive season
debut in the
2006 Trophée des Champions against
Paris Saint-Germain. In the French
supercup, Benzema converted a penalty, which drew the match at 1–1. Lyon later
won the league curtain-raiser 5–4 on penalties.
[34]
Benzema opened the league campaign on a quick note scoring in the team's first
match of the season against
Nantes.
[35]
Three weeks later, on 26 August 2006, Benzema appeared as a substitute and
scored two goals in a 4–1 away win over
Nice.
[36]
He also converted two goals in the Champions League group stage against
Romanian outfit
Steaua Bucureşti and
Ukrainian club
Dynamo
Kyiv.
[37][38]
After appearing regularly during the autumn campaign, on 10 November, Benzema
suffered a severe thigh injury.
[39]
The injury resulted in the striker missing three months of action before
returning in February 2007. Benzema failed to score a goal until the final
league match of the season against Nantes as Lyon recorded its sixth
consecutive league title.
[40]
Breakthrough season
For the
2007–08 season, with the likes of
Florent
Malouda,
John Carew, and
Sylvain
Wiltord all departing from the club, Benzema, despite being 19 at the time,
switched to the number 10 shirt and was inserted into the lead striker role.
After forming a special relationship with new manager
Alain
Perrin, he responded with 31 goals in 51 games. He topped the league with
20 goals, scored four goals in the
UEFA Champions League, one in the
Coupe
de la Ligue, and totaled six goals in six
Coupe
de France matches, helping Lyon win their first ever
double.
[41]
Some of his more dazzling performances that season included a
hat-trick
against Metz on 15 September,
[42]
an
equalizing goal in the 90th minute from a
free
kick against
Derby du Rhône rivals
Saint-Étienne,
[43]
and a goal against
RC Lens that was nominated for goal of the season by fans.
[44]
In the Champions League, Benzema scored an important double against
Rangers
at
Ibrox
Stadium on the last match day of
the group stage. The 3–0 victory
assured Lyon progression to the knockout rounds.
[45]
In
the knockout rounds, Lyon faced
Manchester United and Benzema continued to
score, this time it was from outside the
penalty
box in the first leg match which ended in a 1–1 draw
[46]
and United eventually won the tie 1–2 on aggregate. Manchester United manager
Alex
Ferguson and players praised Benzema for his performance.
[47]
Lyon president
Jean-Michel Aulas later accused Ferguson of
tapping-up
Benzema.
[48][49]
"It's a
compliment to be compared to Zinedine Zidane, but we are different
players."
On 13 March 2008, Benzema extended his contract with Lyon until 2013 with a
one year extension option.
[51]
After signing his new contract, Benzema became one of the highest paid
footballers in France.
[52]
For his efforts that season, he was named the Ligue 1
Player of the Year, selected to the
Team of the Year, and awarded the Trophée
du Meilleur Buteur for being the league's top scorer.
[53][54]
He was also shortlisted by the French magazine
France
Football for the
2008 Ballon d'Or award,
[55]
won by
Cristiano Ronaldo.
2008–09 season
Benzema got off to a good start for the
2008–09 season scoring twice in Lyon's
opening league match against
Toulouse.
[56]
The following three weeks, he scored goals against
Rhône-Alpes
rivals
Grenoble[57]
and Saint-Étienne
[58]
and scored a goal against
OGC Nice, converting a
penalty
in the dying seconds.
[59]
Lyon won all three matches. As a result of his early goals, Olympique Lyonnais
president Jean-Michel Aulas quelled the many transfer rumors surrounding
Benzema by placing a €100 million price tag on the striker. He was also
nominated alongside
Franck Ribéry to be featured on the French cover of
the video game
FIFA
09.
[60]
Benzema during a training session with Lyon
He scored his seventh goal of the league on 29 October, scoring in the 2–0
win over
Sochaux. Benzema scored again the following
weekend in a 2–0 win over
Le Mans.
[61]
He was among the top scorers in the
UEFA Champions League group stage,
scoring five goals,
[62] a
double against
Steaua Bucureşti,
[63] two
goals in two matches against
Fiorentina,
[64][65]
and a goal against the eventual group winners
Bayern
Munich on the final match day.
[66]
Following the
winter break, Benzema endured a rough
patch going scoreless the first three games before recording his 11th goal of
the season against Nice in a 3–1 victory.
[67]
Two weeks later, he scored his 12th goal against
Nancy in a
2–0 victory.
[68]
The next nine matches, both Benzema and Lyon's form dwindled losing four
matches, drawing three, and winning only two with Benzema scoring only two
goals in that stretch, both of them against Le Mans in a 3–1 victory.
[69]
The bad form resulted in Lyon losing their grip on first place position and
eventually falling out of the title race, thus ending their streak of seven
consecutive Ligue 1 titles.
[70]
Benzema was a part of four of those title runs.
Despite losing the title, Benzema got back on track scoring his 15th and
16th goals of the season on 17 May in a 3–1 away victory over rivals
Marseille, the first goal being a penalty.
[71]
He scored his 17th goal the following weekend against
Caen in a 3–1
victory moving him into third place among Ligue 1 top scorers.
[72]
Real Madrid
2009–10 season
Benzema participating in his first pre-season with Real
Madrid.
On 1 July 2009, it was announced that Lyon had reached an agreement with
Spanish club
Real Madrid for the transfer of Benzema. The
transfer fee was priced at €35 million with the fee rising to as much as
€41 million based on incentives.
[73]
On 9 July, Benzema successfully passed his medical and signed his contract, a
six-year deal, later that afternoon.
[74]
He was presented officially as a Real Madrid player later that night at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, similarly to
the previous signings of
Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo.
[75]
Benzema made his Real Madrid debut on 20 July in the club's opening
pre-season friendly
against
Irish club
Shamrock Rovers in
Dublin, appearing
as a halftime substitute.
[76]
He scored the lone goal in the club's 1–0 win, scoring in the 87th minute.
[77]
On 24 August, Benzema netted two goals in Real Madrid's 4–0 victory over
Norwegian club
Rosenborg
in an annual friendly tournament organized for the
Santiago Bernabeu Trophy.
[78]
The goals brought his total tally in the preseason with Real Madrid to five,
making him the joint top scorer alongside fellow striker
Raúl.
[79]
Benzema made his league debut for Madrid on 29 August 2009 against
Deportivo La Coruña. He started the match,
but was substituted out in the second half as Madrid won 3–2.
[80] A
month later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory against
newly-promoted club
Xerez.
[81]
After missing the mid-week match against
Villarreal,
against
Tenerife
at the weekend, Benzema scored his first double for Madrid in a 3–0 home
victory.
[82]
He made his Champions League debut for the club on 30 September in a group
stage tie against French club
Marseille.
[83]
In the match, Benzema assisted on a
Cristiano
Ronaldo goal.
[84]
After failing to score a goal in the month of October, in the team's first
match in November against
Italian club
Milan in the Champions League, Benzema scored the opener
to give Madrid a 1–0 lead. His goal was later cancelled out by a
Ronaldinho
penalty.
[85]
On 7 November, in the
El Derbi madrileño, Benzema assisted on
Madrid's second goal, scored by
Marcelo.
Madrid won the match 3–2.
[86]
Benzema playing against Marseille in a 2009 Champions League
match.
In late November, Benzema began appearing mainly as a substitute as manager
Manuel
Pellegrini preferred
Gonzalo
Higuaín in the lead striker role. To coincide with his benching, the
striker was also being criticized by the Spanish media for his under-performance
and difficulties settling in the country as he had not yet begun learning the
Spanish
language.
[87][88]
He was even declared the "new
Anelka"
by a Spanish newspaper
Marca blogger, referring to former Real
Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka who had a tumultuous year at the club before
being sold.
[89]
Benzema was defended by his compatriot Zidane who admitted "after two
months, I was also criticized" and that Benzema was "a talented
player and talented players in Madrid must win".
[90]
On 5 December, Benzema appeared as a substitute for
Rafael van der Vaart and scored the third goal
in a 6–0 romp of
Almería.
[91]
The day after the match against Almería, Benzema responded to the criticism by
stating "I am totally integrated and very happy at Real Madrid" and
"Yes, I have improved my adaptation. I have a new home and I'm learning
Spanish to understand myself better with my teammates".
[92]
After nearly a month coming off of the bench, he started alongside Higuaín away
to
Valencia
on 12 December and responded by assisting on one of Higuaín's two goals.
[93] A
week later, Benzema returned to the bench. On his 22nd birthday, he scored in a
6–0 home win against
Real Zaragoza.
[94][95]
Following an injury to Higuaín in early January 2010, Pellegrini inserted
Benzema back into the starting lineup.
[96]
After failing to score in his first two starts in the absence of Higuaín,
against Deportivo La Coruña on 30 January, he scored a double in an important
3–1 away win.
[97][98] Following
the return of Higuaín, Benzema was relegated back to a substitute's role and
finished the campaign by making eight consecutive appearances off the bench.
Included in one of the those appearances was his final goal of the season
against
Athletic Bilbao in a 5–1 win.
[99]
2010–11 season
Benzema playing in a league match against Villarreal.
Ahead of the
2010–11 season, Benzema switched to the number nine
shirt as Real Madrid were under the tutelage of new incoming manager
José
Mourinho. The striker immediately drew the ire of Mourinho who declared to
reporters during a pre-season media session that "Benzema must understand
that he is extremely talented, but that in itself is not enough", while also
stating that "[Madrid] need a striker who is sparky, not one that is
listless".
[100]
Mourinho sentiments were later echoed by incoming France national team coach
Laurent
Blanc who acknowledged that Benzema was "not used to working".
[101]
Blanc also stated that the striker needed to shed weight in order to fulfill
his potential.
[102]
Due to Mourinho preferring Ronaldo and Higuaín as his forwards,
[101]
Benzema began the campaign as a substitute coming off the bench in the team's
opening league match of the season against
Mallorca.
[103]
Following the September international break, he made his first start in a 1–0
win over
Osasuna.
[104]
On 21 September, Benzema made a substitute appearance and scored his first goal
of the season in a 3–0 home win against
Espanyol.
[105]
Afterwards, the striker failed to score a domestic goal for nearly two months.
The striker did assist on goals in back-to-back weeks against
Hércules
in the league and Milan in the Champions League.
[106][107]
Benzema celebrating a goal against Espanyol.
On 10 November, Benzema scored his second goal of the campaign against
Real Murcia
in the
2010–11 edition of the
Copa del
Rey.
[108]
In late November, Benzema was inserted into the starting eleven following a
severe back injury to Higuaín, along with the team's lack of senior strikers.
In his first match since being inserted into the starting lineup permanently,
he scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a group stage
fixture against
Dutch club
Ajax.
[109]
In Madrid's final group stage tie against French outfit
Auxerre,
Benzema scored his first
hat trick for the club in a 4–0 win. The first goal he
scored was Real Madrid's 300th goal in the Champions League era.
[110][111]
Two weeks later, Benzema converted another hat trick, this time in an 8–0
thrashing of
Levante in the Copa del Rey.
[112]
In the team's first fixture of the 2011 calendar year, he assisted on the
game-winning goal scored by Ronaldo in a 3–2 win over
Getafe.
[113]
In late January, for the first time in his Real Madrid career, Benzema scored
goals in back-to-back matches. On 23 January, he scored the only goal in a 1–0
win at home against Mallorca.
[114]
Three days later, Benzema repeated his efforts scoring the only goal in a win
over
Sevilla
in the first leg of the team's Copa del Rey semi-final tie.
[115]
Real Madrid later advanced to its 37th Copa del Rey final in club history after
beating Sevilla 2–0 in the second leg.
[116]
Following the arrival of
Emmanuel
Adebayor on loan, Benzema went unused in two consecutive league matches in
February 2011. He returned to the starting lineup on 19 February and embarked
on a run in which he scored ten goals in eight matches. Included in those ten
goals were doubles in three straight matches against Málaga,
Racing
Santander, and Hércules, as well as a goal in the first leg of Madrid's
Round of 16 tie against his former club Lyon.
[117][118][119]
The strike against his hometown club was the 100th goal of his professional
career, and also the first goal for Real Madrid at the Stade de Gerland in six
years, however, despite the honours associated with netting the goal, Benzema
did not celebrate out of respect for his former club.
[120]
Benzema playing in a league match against Almería.
On 19 March, he scored the opener in the
El Derbi madrileño as Real
Madrid went on to win the match 2–1.
[121]
Despite his form, Benzema appeared in only one of the four highly-anticipated
matches against
El Clásico rivals
Barcelona,
in which the two clubs met in the league, the
2011 Copa del Rey Final, and the Champions
League knockout stage. In between those clashes, on 23 April 2011, Benzema
scored a goal and assisted on another in a 6–3 win over Valencia.
[122]
On 30 April, he scored a goal in the team's 3–2 loss to Real Zaragoza.
[123]
It was the only match of the campaign that Real Madrid loss, in which Benzema
scored. To close out the campaign, Benzema scored another double in a 8–1 win
over Almería.
[124]
He finished the campaign second on the team behind Ronaldo with 26 goals as
Real Madrid captured the Copa del Rey giving Benzema his first honour with the
club.
[125]
For his performances during the campaign, particularly during the second half,
Benzema was praised by Mourinho, club officials
Florentino Pérez and
Emilio Butragueño, as well as national team
manager Laurent Blanc.
[126][127][128]
2011–12 season
Benzema lining up before a match in 2012.
Prior to the start of the
2011–12 season, Benzema, taking the advice of
compatriots Blanc and Zidane,
[129][130]
ventured to
Merano,
Italy to attend a high performance clinic where he underwent treatment to
reduce his weight.
[131]
The spell at the clinic was ultimately a success after the striker arrived at
pre-season 8 kilograms (18 lb) lighter.
[131]
While at the clinic, Benzema also underwent physical training to build up his
muscle mass.
[131]
The striker was impressive in the pre-season scoring eight goals in seven
matches.
[132]
His performances during the pre-season resulted in Mourinho naming him the
starting lead striker for the new campaign. Mourinho was later credited with
Benzema's transformation,
[133]
but denied full responsibility and, instead, gave credit to the striker himself.
[134]
Benzema made his 2011–12 competitive debut for Madrid in the first leg of
the
2011 Supercopa de España against
Barcelona. In the match, he started and assisted on the opening goal of the
match, scored by
Mesut Özil.
[135]
In the second leg, with Madrid trailing 4–3 on aggregate late in the match,
Benzema scored the equalizing goal to even the tie at 4–4. However, six minutes
later, a
Lionel Messi strike gave Barcelona the supercup.
[136]
Benzema made his league debut for Madrid in the team's 6–0 away win over Real
Zaragoza.
[137]
In the team's next league match two weeks later against Getafe, Benzema scored
a double in a 4–2 victory.
[138]
After going scoreless in three consecutive league matches, he scored his third
league goal of the campaign against
Rayo
Vallecano in a 4–2 win.
[139]
In the team's ensuing match against Ajax in the Champions League, Benzema
scored Madrid's third goal in a 3–0 home win.
[140]
He also assisted on the opener, which was scored by Ronaldo.
[141]
In the club's next Champions League match against Lyon, Benzema scored again
netting the opener. He also turned provider for the second consecutive match
assisting on a goal by
Sami Khedira.
[142]
Madrid won the match 4–0.
[143]
"Benzema
deserves full credit for his transformation. He had some help from me, from his
teammates and from Zizou, but he deserves the credit."
In November 2011, Benzema scored five goals; three in the league and two in
Europe. In the league, he converted his three goals in wins over Osasuna and Valencia,
while he scored his two Champions League goals in a 6–2 group stage win over
Croatian club
Dinamo
Zagreb.
[144][145][146]
On 10 December 2011, Benzema scored the opener in Madrid's 3–1 defeat to
Barcelona in the
El Clásico.
[147]
The goal, scored just 21 seconds into the match, was the fastest goal ever
scored in a match between the two rivals.
[148]
Three days after his record-breaking goal, for his performances during the 2011
calendar year, Benzema was named the
France
Football French Player of the Year beating out Barcelona
defender
Éric Abidal and
Lyon goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris.
[149]
He became only the second French player based in Spain to win the award and,
also. the second Real Madrid player to capture it. Zidane was the first to
achieve both honorable mentions. Benzema expressed gratitude at winning the
award stating "It is a pleasure to win an individual trophy. When I see
the previous winners — Zidane,
Henry
and other major players — it makes me proud to join them on the list".
[150]
In the team's next match after winning the award against Sevilla, Benzema
assisted on two goals in a 6–2 triumph.
[151]
Benzema training ahead of a Champions League match in 2012.
Benzema opened the 2012 portion of the campaign in positive form. He scored
goals against
Granada and Málaga.
[152]
Benzema scored against the latter club in the Copa del Rey in each leg of the
Round of 16.
[153][154]
The 4–2 aggregate win advanced Real Madrid to the quarter-finals where the club
faced Barcelona. After failing to score in the first leg, which ended 2–1 in
favor of
Barça,
[155]
in the second leg on 25 January 2012, Benzema scored his third goal of the
season against the
Blaugrana, but Madrid failed to win the tie losing
4–3 on aggregate.
[156]
On 12 February, Benzema scored his first league goal in over a month against
Levante.
[157]
A week later, he scored a double in a 4–0 shutout of Racing Santander.
[158]
On 24 March, Benzema scored two goals in a league win over Real Sociedad.
[159]
The two goals made him the top French scorer in La Liga history surpassing
Zidane.
[160]
Three days later, Benzema scored another double in a 3–0 first leg away win
over
Cypriot
club
APOEL
in the Champions League quarter-finals.
[161]
On 29 April, Benzema put in a masterpiece performance scoring two goals and
assisting on another in a 3–0 win over Sevilla. The double was his seventh of
the season and allowed Madrid to close in on its first
Primera Division
title in four years.
[162]
Los Blancos captured their 32nd league title the following week cruising
to a 3–0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
[163]
Benzema appeared as a second-half substitute in the match.
[164]
2012–13 season
On the first matchday of the UEFA Champions League, Benzema scored an
equalizer against
Manchester City in 3–2 win at Santiago Bernabéu. On
4 October 2012, assisted by
Kaká, he scored a bicycle kick goal against
Ajax in 4–1
win at Amsterdam.
[165]
On 18 December 2012, one day before his 25th birthday, his fine form saw him
earn best French footballer of 2012, for the second year running.
[166]
On 2 March 2013, Benzema opened the scoring against Barcelona in the league
game at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real went on to win the game 2–1, the second
time they beat Barcelona in a week. On 30 April 2013 Benzema scored one goal
and give one assis to
Sergio Ramos against Dortmund.
[167]
International
career
Youth
Benzema is a former
France youth international
having earned caps at all levels for which he was eligible, excluding the
under-16 team. He is a
member of the group, commonly known in France as the
Génération 1987, a
youth class that produced current internationals
Hatem
Ben Arfa,
Jérémy Menez, and
Samir Nasri,
alongside himself.
[168]
Benzema was the last of the four to make his youth international debut under
coach
Philippe Bergeroo and officially joined the team
ahead of the
2004 UEFA European
Under-17 Football Championship that was played on home soil. In the
competition, he appeared in two matches. On his tournament debut, Benzema
scored the opening goal in a 3–1 win over
Northern Ireland.
[169]
His lone other appearance in the competition was in a 1–0 group stage win over
Spain as France went on to
win the tournament defeated the same team in the final.
[170][171]
Benzema was a regular starter in the team at
under-18 level. He made his
debut with the team at a local tournament in the
Czech
Republic. Benzema scored his first goal at under-18 level in the
competition against
Poland in the team's final
group stage match.
[172]
In the final against
the
hosts, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win as France were declared
champions of the competition.
[173]
On 30 September 2004, Benzema was one of three goalscorers in France's 3–0 away
win over
Norway.
[174]
In the team's next match against
Russia,
he scored a double in a 3–1 victory.
[175]
Due to France winning the 2004 U17 European title, the under-18 team was
allowed participation in the
2005 edition of the
UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup. Benzema was called up
to the team for the competition and played in all four matches scoring a
tournament-high five goals as France were crowned champions of the tournament.
[176]
He opened the tournament by scoring two goals in a 7–0 victory over
Cameroon.
[177]
After going scoreless in the team's next match against
Sierra Leone, Benzema
responded by scoring a goal in a shutout victory over
Nigeria and netting another
double in a 4–1 win against
Egypt.
[178][179]
On 19 May 2005, in the team's final match of the season against
Slovakia, Benzema scored
all four goals in a 4–1 victory.
[180]
He finished the under-18 campaign with 18 appearances and a team-high 14 goals
and was, subsequently, praised by Bergeroo who, following the campaign,
declared that Benzema was "quite efficient".
[181]
The foursome of Benzema, Ben Arfa, Menez, Nasri returned to international
play together for
under-19 duty. The four were
joined by
Issiar
Dia,
Blaise Matuidi, and
Serge
Gakpé with the objective of winning the
2006 UEFA European
Under-19 Football Championship. The team opened the campaign with two
friendly matches against
Norway. Over the course of
the two matches, Benzema scored one goal, which came in the first match, a 4–0
win.
[182]
In the first round of qualification for the UEFA-sanctioned tournament, he
scored his only goal in the final group match against
Austria.
[183]
France won the match 2–0, which resulted in the team progressing to the Elite
Round.
[184]
In the ensuing round, France were placed in a relatively easy group alongside
Scotland,
Bulgaria, and
Belarus.
In the opening group game against Bulgaria, Benzema scored a double converting
a penalty and scoring in play as France won 4–0.
[185]
Both of his goals were scored within a minute of each other.
[186]
After surprisingly drawing 0–0 with Belarus, France faced Scotland in the final
group stage match. Benzema opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but his goal
was cancelled out by
Steven Fletcher in the second half.
[187]
The match ultimately finished 1–1 and, despite finishing the round undefeated,
France were eliminated after being beaten on points by the
Scots.
[188]
Benzema made his
under-21 debut for
Les
Espoirs under coach
René Girard in the team's first match
following the
2006 UEFA European
Under-21 Football Championship against
Belgium. He started the
match and was replaced at half-time by
Yoann
Gourcuff.
[189]
He featured in
qualification
matches for the
2007 UEFA European
Under-21 Football Championship and appeared as a starter and substitute in
the first leg and second leg, respectively, of the team's surprising defeat to
Israel in the qualifying playoffs.
[190][191][192][193]
Despite still being eligible to represent the under-21 team until 2009, his
appearance in the second leg defeat to Israel was Benzema's last with the team
and he finished his under-21 career with five appearances and no goals. Prior
to representing France at senior international level, Benzema was courted by
the
Algerian Football Federation (FAF) who
sought for the player to represent
Algeria at senior international
level. In December 2006, the striker was approached by former federation
president Hamid Haddadj and then-national team coach
Jean-Michel Cavalli, but turned down the invite
citing his desire to continue his international career with France.
[194]
Benzema later told French
radio station Radio
Monte Carlo "Algeria is my parents’ country and it is in my heart,
but football-wise, I will only play for the French national team".
[195]
Senior
Benzema playing for France in 2008
Benzema was called up for the first time to the senior national team by
Raymond
Domenech on 9 November 2006 for the team's friendly match against
Greece that would be played on 15
November. Benzema described the call-up as "a reward", while also
stating "I am pleased, of course, me and my family. A (the senior national
team), is the national team's highest honor".
[196]
Two days before the match, he was forced to withdraw from the team due to a
thigh injury, which he suffered why playing domestically for Lyon.
[197]
After failing to make the squad for the team's February 2007 match against
Argentina, Benzema returned to the
team in March for a
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against
Lithuania and a friendly against
Austria.
[198]
After failing to appear in the qualifier, he made his international debut on 28
March 2007 against Austria. Benzema appeared as a half-time substitute for
Djibril
Cissé and scored the only goal of the match after a free-kick from Nasri.
[199]
On 13 October, Benzema scored a double in a 6–0 win against the
Faroe Islands.
[200]
After appearing regularly in the team for the rest of the 2007–08 season, he
was named to the 23-man squad to participate in
UEFA
Euro 2008.
Benzema made his debut in the competition on 9 June 2008 in the team's
opening match against
Romania. Benzema started the match,
but was substituted out for Nasri in the second half after a frustrating
performance.
[201]
The match finished 0–0 and Benzema was, subsequently, criticized by the French
media for his performance with newspaper
Le Point
declaring that Benzema was "unrecognizable" and that he
"symbolized the impotence of France in the attack".
[202]
The newspaper also cited his lack of international experience for his subdued
performance. In the team's next group game against the
Netherlands, Benzema played no
part in the 4–1 defeat.
[203]
He returned to the team in its final group game against
Italy and was given a place in the
starting lineup.
[204]
However, France lost 2–0 and were eliminated from the competition.
[205]
In November 2008, Benzema, among several other young players in the team,
was accused of being insolent during the team's campaign at the European
Championship. The accusation came from international teammate
William
Gallas who inserted the charge in his autobiography. Though most of Gallas'
accusations were directed at Nasri,
[206][207][208]
during the competition, it was reported by newspaper
Le Parisien
that several of the national team players described Benzema as
"arrogant" and that the striker was scolded by
midfielder Claude Makélélé following the team's loss to the
Netherlands.
[209]
Despite the reports, Benzema remained a regular in the team and, ahead of
qualification for the
2010 FIFA World Cup, switched to the number ten
shirt after previously wearing the number nine.
[210]
In the team's first match following its elimination from Euro 2008, Benzema
scored a goal in a 3–2 friendly win over
Sweden in
Göteborg.
[211]
Two months later, he scored another goal in a 3–1 victory against
Tunisia at the
Stade
de France.
[212]
On 5 June 2009, Benzema converted the only goal of the match, a penalty shot,
in a 1–0 win over
Turkey at the
Stade
de Gerland, his home stadium.
[213]
He scored his first World Cup qualification goals in victories over the Faroe
Islands and Austria in October 2009. His cap against Austria would be his last
of the Domenech era as he failed to make France's preliminary 30-man squad for
the World Cup. Domenech cited Benzema's struggle for form with his new club
Real Madrid, rather than his alleged involvement in a sex scandal as his reason
for leaving the striker out.
[214]
Prior to the list being unveiled, Benzema informed
Radio Monte Carlo
that if he wasn't selected he would by "very disappointed, but not
killed" and "I will support the France team no matter what".
[215]
Following the World Cup, Benzema returned to the national team under the
reign of new coach
Laurent Blanc. Blanc, an admirer of Benzema, sought
to build the attack around the striker and, after going almost a year without
representing France, Benzema made his return to the team in its 2–1 defeat to
Norway in
Oslo.
[216][217]
Alongside Gourcuff, Benzema led the team in scoring in
qualifying for
UEFA
Euro 2012 netting three. He scored his three goals in wins over
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Luxembourg, and
Albania.
[218][219][220]
On 17 November 2010, Benzema scored the opening goal in France's 2–1 win over
England at
Wembley
Stadium.
[221]
In the team's next match against
Brazil in February 2011, he scored
the only goal for France in a 1–0 win.
[222]
After appearing regularly in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012, on 29 May 2012,
Benzema was named to the squad to participate in the competition.
[223]
On 5 June, in the team's final warm-up friendly ahead of the European
Championship, Benzema scored two goals in a 4–0 shutout win over
Estonia.
[224]
At UEFA Euro 2012, Benzema started the team's opening match against England,
which ended in a 1–1 draw.
[225]
In the team's ensuing group stage match against the Ukraine, he assisted on
both team goals in a 2–0 win.
[226]
