Why Karim Benzema is more than just a striker at Real Madrid

Karim Benzema is more than just a striker at Real Madrid

“Karim Benzema, bloody hell,” must have been the words that ran through the mind of Sir Alex Ferguson when he had just scored a stunner to equalize against Manchester United in one of the most emphatic fashions. Jérémy Toulalan played in a simple 3-yard pass to the Frenchman and with his back was facing goal, Benzema received it with his left foot, turned towards the goal, got past a defender with a touch using his right, and blasted it between two onrushing defenders with his left foot from 25 yards out.

The ball found its way to the bottom right corner, echoing his name among the elite-level talents of the football fraternity. Sir Alex was so impressed that he reportedly made a £30 million bid to sign him, but Real Madrid got in the way and snapped him up.

“I don’t have a striker,” complained Jose Mourinho when he had to play Cristiano Ronaldo as a number 9. This comment came after Gonzalo Higuain was out injured and Karim Benzema was the only fit striker in the first team. From being one of the most coveted strikers in the world, Karim Benzema become a striker who wasn’t thought of as one by his own manager – all this within a space of a couple of years. It was a damning change.

And then it happened. A goal that changed everything, a goal that took Madrid through to the next round of the Copa del Rey. A goal against Sevilla from out of absolutely nothing. A goal that perfectly depicted what he is capable of.

It was a turning point that became the nadir of his indispensable status at the biggest club in the world.

Benzema is more than just a striker

Since then, he has been a different man. The same player, but a different man. He has had on and off patches, like every other player, but one thing has been consistent: his ability to bring team-mates into the fray.

He was no longer the young, shy introvert that joined Real Madrid. He was a man who wasn’t afraid to stand up and take responsibility – he was the Todd Anderson of Real Madrid. oLike the character from Dead Poets Society, he broke free only when real pressure was applied.

And now, he has completed six years at Madrid and is the fifth in line for the captaincy of this prestigious club. Only a handful of people thought that he would make it this far, and even fewer predicted his current stature within the club.

What makes the former Lyon starlet special is his ability to create chances for his team-mates in the final third. Strikers are judged mainly for their goal-scoring exploits. In this regard, Benzema comes out with a goal in every two games. Nothing sensational, nothing exceptional. But he is sensational, and he is definitely exceptional. He is a unique striker, perhaps the only one of his breed.

Benzema is an unselfish striker who brings teammates into play

With Benzema, there is a knack of missing easy chances and hence infuriating fans to a level of beyond comprehension. However, the very next moment, he pushes them further into the well of perplexity with an astonishingly slick move to create a goal. He is a forward with a brain of a midfielder and the heart of a striker.

He is what Zinedine Zidane would have been had the French maestro played as a striker. Operating in the final third is a like battling at the forefront of the phalanx of an army. Space and time cease to become friends at that point; making it exceedingly hard to create opportunity within that juncture.

Perhaps it is easier to score than assist in the final third given that the goal posts are fixed while assisting requires choosing from numerous targets that aren’t static. Yet when one watches the France international within the final third, it feels like he is weaving Universes out of his boots and the ever-flowing time has ceased its tide just to watch him do so.

How Benzema gets the best out of his teammates

When he plays well, his teammates do too. Especially the ones that operate the closest to him – Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Isco and/or James Rodriguez. His cunning movements allows all three aforementioned players to attack from the wings and midfield respectively. The Frenchman is often seen making runs sideways in order to allow his teammates run into the middle.

Such a selfless playing style makes him the heartbeat of the Galacticos’ attack. It is no coincidence that Los Blancos’ best ever winning run of 22 games was parallel to his best form in the Whites of Madrid.

The Frenchman of Algerian descent is one of the very few players who can build a play entirely on a series of flicks and back heels. Along with Lionel Messi, he is one of the best flickers of the ball as he can release the ball in tight situations in the least amount of time.

Benzema – One of Europe’s great strikers?

This ability of his opens up packets of spaces for his team-mates to exploit. At times, there is an eerie feeling that his abilities would have been used to the maximum had he played in a team like Barca, where Lionel Messi and him alone would devastate defenses with quick series of one-touch passes.

He holds the record for the joint most assists in the Champions League in the last six seasons with 17. In his last 58 starts in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, he has scored 42 goals and has provided 18 assists in the process.

When mentioning the best strikers in the world, many would name Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero and so on. Karim Benzema wouldn’t make it to many lists and he probably shouldn’t because, in terms of goal-scoring, he is not up there with the aforementioned names.

But in terms of a playmaking striker, there is none better.