Karim is Such a Dream
By: Inara | December 13th, 2007
Boy oh boy, is Karim Benzema on fire or what?
Scoring left and right, assisting right and left, all the while managing to stay centered and grounded. His goal tally for Lyon is up to 18 (in all competitions), he’s scored another two for France, and he’s also notched numerous assists. Beyond the statistics, his overall game play - technique, strength, poise, speed, etc - have drawn admiration from all over Europe.
Lyon have already declared that Benzema, a product of their youth academy, isn’t going anywhere until Lyon win the Champions League. However, that hasn’t stopped the interest, and now everyone’s asking him: “How much, when, and where?” Word on the street is that Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Inter are prepared to offer €30m for Benzema (which is only half of Aulas’s initial €60m asking price). Overpriced? Not at all when you consider that Lyon don’t want or need to sell.
Psst. Karim. Don’t trust guys who try to pick you up on a street corner.
Fortunately, Benzema is taking my advice (or more likely, he got Laurie’s Christmas gift with a healthy dose of Raymond Domench’s wisdom), because this morning on RTL, Benzema reaffirmed his desire to stay at Lyon.
“I have a contract with Lyon until 2012, and I’ve always told the president I will stay with the club at least until we win the Champions League…There are still a lot of things I want to achieve at Lyon. Afterwards, we’ll see.”
I’m sure there are those jealous cynical people out there who will undoubtedly say that Benzema is just being political. And there are those jealous skeptical people out there who think that Aulas would sell his own mother for extra cash.
But whatever. Benzema is ours. For him, wearing the shirt is not about a paycheck or about whoring himself to bigger clubs. We know he’s being truthful because he’s shown us over and over again just how much he loves his club. How proud he is to be Lyonnais. How confident he is of OL’s qualities.
Even as a 17 year old he impressed.
Unlike the older and more experienced Lyon players, who had given up on the Champions League after the loss to Rangers, Benzema had never doubted that Lyon would prevail. From the outset he had announced that the UEFA Cup wasn’t good enough, and by golly, he’d do everything in his power to make sure Lyon got the rewards they deserved.
So it was with a great deal with youthful glee - and perhaps with a touch of irony directed at Alain Perrin and Juninho - when in last night’s post-match interview, he said:
“It doesn’t matter who we get in the last 16 - we are there and we are a great team. Lyon are frightening teams again, and we have a squad that can do something major in this Champions League. Against Rangers, everyone saw that Lyon are one of the best in Europe…I am delighted because we gained our revenge for our calamitous start to the Champions League. We have demonstrated that we are still there, that in difficult moments great teams always come through.”
And when Benzema says it like that…well, he’s made a believer out of me!
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Comments
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I said a few weeks ago that if Lyon goes through they may have their best European run yet. I still believ it. And this is when you guys get Manchester in the next roud or something.
As for Benzema, I never really worried about him nor nasri leaving their respective teams. The only one to really have me worried was Benarfa because he doesn’t seem to have the same strong familial background as the other two and already threatened many times to leave Lyon. Karim will stay. Maybe not until 2012 but I wouldn’t worry about him.Posted from
France
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Karim Benzema is a football wonderkid.
Posted from
Australia -
I don’t get to see many of these weekday games live - I’m a teacher - but I did get to see part of this one, including both of Benzema’s goals. It was a fun game to see and watching play like his is what makes football such a great sport. OL has a real gem.
Posted from
United States -
Yes, I have to say that until recently, I valued Fred more than Benzema as a striker (I mean Fred before the injury obviously), but this game made me change my mind. Benzema is probably one of the best players in Europe right now. I don’t think aulas will sell him even for a huge amount, because Benzema will make the club earn much more on image and shirt sells.
I really hope Lyon will fall on a very very big fish. I would like us to avoid sevilla, because they play the same type of football as Lyon. But I would be happy for Lyon to take on Manchester, Chelsea or Milan.We shouldn’t be praying for a smaller fish (if we can really say there is a smaller fish… porto maybe), because if Lyon wants to become an even bigger club, they need to beat bigger clubs than them. And we all know they can.
Posted from
Japan -
I agree with pride of Lyon, they need to play “popular” and well established teams like Chelsea, Inter, Man U.
Posted from
United States -
The problem is since they finished second, the secong leg match will be away and you know how those matches usually end. That’s why they lost to Milan two years ago.
Posted from
France -
And Karim Benzema just made the cover of L’equipe two days in a row. This is special enough to report.
Posted from
France -
i can’t say that ALL the players had that CL attitude, but i know for a fact that hatem and sidney ALWAYS talked that talk; the most adamant was always HBA.
juni was quoted in l’équipe as saying that “no one” believed in qualification except the players… and locker rooms being what they are, my guess is that everyone signed on to that dream; probably the minute the words “UEFA cup” came out of JMA’s mouth. that’s why he said them!
Posted from
France -
so they have to play a group winner, big deal. HBA is a little kid with a big mouth but when he said more or less, “it doesn’t matter who we play, we’ll kick anybody’s ass”, he made points in the locker room, i know they feel that way and they’re right to do so. quartefinals, been there done that, these men are hungry, confident… in a way it’s a shame the KO’s don’t start until feb, because what they have right now is worth cris, coupet… plus messi and fabregas! if only they could play milan tomorrow instead of nice!
Posted from
France -
Hopefully Lyon can make it through the winter intact. For some reason this time of the year is always fatal for them.
Posted from
United States -
When I was at the game in Metz, I was amazed at the number of kids/teens with Benzema jerseys. (It was funny — the Metz home crowd was all adult men. The Lyon away crowd was very family oriented — women and kids included.)
Pride of Lyon is completely right about Benzema’s image value to the team.
Posted from
United States -
If they dont stumble out of the winter layoff I think we can beat any team in the next round of the CL. The problem is, when have we not stumbled after the winter break? We usually recover (pipping Monaco for the title is a fond memory) but the CL knock round usually comes to quickly for the players to get back into first gear. I saw give them a week or so off, then make them lightly traing and play 45 minute friendles over the break. The goal is to keep the players in a rhythm but certainly not to tire them, it is a delicate balance indeed.
Posted from
United States -
is defenitely in top form right now..hopefully that stays throughout the knockout stages..lyon seems like a team on a mission right now. benzema right now reminds me of a young henry which is awesome. if we make it through the round of 16 without cris then watch out europe
Posted from
United States -
KARIM I LOVE YOU.
(I know he’s yours, but still)
I hope he’s like truly magical in the knockout stage (but if Lyon wins, it might mean Karim might leave D: )Posted from
United States
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