Mandzukic mainly played on the left at Juve last season, though.
So now what happens to Karim Benzema? | Hat-tricks, lots of hat-tricks
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Look, when he's feeling himself he's unplayable, at his absolute best i'd say only the usual two, robben, suarez and neymar have been capable of being better in the last 5-6 years. Problem is, when he's not feeling himself, he's also unplayable.
It's always been a balancing act with him. And over the last 2-3 seasons, that balance is tending more and more towards off...
It's always been a balancing act with him. And over the last 2-3 seasons, that balance is tending more and more towards off...
One of the most underrated forwards in modern times.
Strangely underrated player.
You are not actually surprised?
Benzema was the perfect partner for Ronaldo.You are not actually surprised?
I remember him playing for Lyon and scoring against us and I was desperate for him to sign for us (along with Ben Arfa, though not so much).
He sacrificed a lot of his game for Ronaldo, I still think he is the most naturally talented striker of his era.
I don't think that there has been a player with better off the ball movement in the last decade, if you look at Ronaldo goals compilation and try to find Benzema you will see him make runs that are designed to take defenders away from Ronaldo's area. They both had an incredible understanding of each other. The only issue with Benzema is when he feels that he needs to be the main goalscorer, he stops playing naturally and you lose most of his qualities, that's what mainly happened with France, if only we had a decent team before 2016.
That goal was just incredible. He somehow was the focus of the whole backline, had Ferdinand and Vidic on his back getting the ball, and he turns and shoots in almost one motion to squeeze it past van der Sar.
Me too, him and Rooney would have been unbelievable together.
World class. Not many better over the past decade
I think I remember reading that he turned us down several times, to the point were it became a bit irritating
For a 21 year old kid from Lyon, to still be the starting striker at a club like Madrid that's always looking for the next best thing is a testament to his professionalism and ability. I will always have a certain regret that Deschamps never brought him back for France.
I was totally spot-off in the first two pages. Underestimated Benzema massively (though I did still see him as an elite player).
Geezer is a serious gunslinger. Only Raul, Cristiano, and Messi have more than him in the CL too.
Geezer is a serious gunslinger. Only Raul, Cristiano, and Messi have more than him in the CL too.
In the end he can only blame himself for his actions, but it’s a serious blemish that his fantastic career will go down without a WC — and potentially a Euro in 2020.
He is also 6th in assists behind Ronaldo, Messi, Giggs, Xavi and Iniesta.
There were people on the 1st page talking about him being a back-up to Lukaku
Benzema Is still a fantastic player. Forced international retirement has helped prolong his club career.
His background is tough one. Which is also why got dragged in to nonsense with Valbuena.
A lot of the best footballers come from similar tough backgrounds. Especially in South America.
I can't recall him ever really having a really bad spell. Just been in the shadow of Ronaldo for a long period.
He'll retire at Madrid a club legend.
His background is tough one. Which is also why got dragged in to nonsense with Valbuena.
A lot of the best footballers come from similar tough backgrounds. Especially in South America.
I can't recall him ever really having a really bad spell. Just been in the shadow of Ronaldo for a long period.
He'll retire at Madrid a club legend.
Type of player I see Spurs going for especially with Jose now their manager and Levy being a tight cnut. The idea of Life in London probably appeals to Benzema too..
First time I seen was scoring against the huns at ibrox for Lyon scored 2 if I remember to pap then out
Its fair to say that he lived up to expectations. He was somewhat of a prodigy at Lyon and his record speaks for itself at Real.
I have always had a bit of a soft spot for him too, after meeting him at barcelona airport following an el classico game. There were maybe 50 or so fans who had been put behind a gate while the Real Madrid team were ushered through the airport, but Benzema stopped to sign autographs for every single person (most of the team did not)
I have always had a bit of a soft spot for him too, after meeting him at barcelona airport following an el classico game. There were maybe 50 or so fans who had been put behind a gate while the Real Madrid team were ushered through the airport, but Benzema stopped to sign autographs for every single person (most of the team did not)
Remember thinking we would sign him just to end up with Owen.
Absolute baller.
Underrated af. World class in every sense. Link up play is unreal.
He's been amazing for so long people sometimes forget how good he is when talking about the best strikers in the world.
Classy player who as others correctly point out has been severely underrated for over a decade.
"No value in the market."
I think he always gets a bit overlooked because he doesn't score the same amount as CR, Messi or Lewa but he certainly is and has been for years an absolutely vital part of this Real Madrid team especially because he does so much more than just score goals.
He paid the price for playing next to Cristiano instead of being the main man all that time. Collectively, he can't complain, because he won everything, but he could have so much better numbers and individual titles as a striker.
Yeah, what a poor career choice, should've come to us.
Under Fergie, yes, but then leave again.
“We miss David Gill”, apparently.
No wonder SAF loved him so dearly. At United he would've been a monster. Not that he isn't now of course. It's just that Cristiano was the main man at the time. Given his pedigree and scoring capacity in the CL we would've had a lot more CL titles I wager.
"The Glazers were just honest businessmen, we are a business company, not a football club, duh", as well.
Technically elite footballers tend to age better than pacy ones. No surprise he's held up better than Bale (on top of that his professionalism is quite impeccable)
Would get even better numbers if he had wingers who could finish and were better at crossing.
Would get even better numbers if he had wingers who could finish and were better at crossing.
Seriously this one. This guy sacrificed a lot for Cristiano and the betterment of the team. Despite all those negative stories that popped out in his private life, this guy is just THE consummate professional that is out there in European football. He's gonna be a huge icon at Madrid when he retires. Underrated as feck but when time comes he will get the glory and praise he deserves.
Your transfers back then were very weird.
The fact that he's playing 90 minutes every single game at 33 and hardly looks tired is very impressive too.
Some French journalist that is a good friend of Zidane has said that Benzema basically copied Cristiano's training routine/diet in the past few years. I'd tend to believe that given how fit he looks at an age where most players usually slow down.
We never stood a chance once Zidane spoke to him.