I don't think he can solely judged by his goal output, given that he has Ronaldo next to him, who will attempt a lot of shots on goal himself, something those other Players don't have to that degree on their teams.
So now what happens to Karim Benzema? | Hat-tricks, lots of hat-tricks
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But the point is now Ronaldo is gone he doesn’t seem to have enough in goals to compensate! The solution is either to find a winger who will directly take Ronaldo’s spot and contribute a similar level of goals (super unlikely) or replace Benzema with an out-and-out goalscoring no.9.
You mean if Madrid buys Lukaku?Would he be content being a backup for Lukaku?
And that I don't necessarily agree with. He will most likely not have Ronaldo's output, but I'm Pretty sure Benzema's output will increase and that the likes of Kane or Icardi wouldn't produce significantly more than Benzema. Add a good winger to replace Ronaldo, and Real should still be in good shape.
Benzema has shown he has the potential for 30+ goals seasons, IF he could go back to that form (let's say 20 goals more to reach 32 instead the 12 he scored this season), Bale fit (say, 7 goals increase) their new player would only have to score 17 goals for Real Madrid to not miss Ronaldo's output.
But I don't think Benzema can turn back the clock to that form, I'd say Real could do better signing Icardi and Hazard for example. With Icardi on 30+ goals, Bale on ~30 and Hazard on ~20 they'd outscore the 77 goals scored by the BBC this year, and I think that could be possible.
Shameless bump, but I think he is on his way this season. He is capable and now he doesn't have the huge clout of Ronaldo to provide service to. It's very early but he leads La Liga and he's been playing very well beyond just the goals.
What really surprised me about Benzema is how great a header of the ball he is. Pristine goals vs Bayern in the return leg last season, the super cup vs Atletico and today. Next to header monsters like Cristiano, Bale, Ramos or Varane one could easily overlook him but not only is he the best playing striker in the world but also one of the best in the air.
Incredible. Did the football world miss out on something, with him in his prime always in the shadow of Ronaldo and his exclusion from the French NT?
He could have had a much higher profile.
He could have had a much higher profile.
He didn't play for France anymore because of the controversy with him and Valbuena.
It really surprises me that he seems to have found the desire to be Real's top scorer at this stage of his career. I thought he'd let go this season and that Real Madrid would really need a hungry striker.
He's won everything at club level, he's seen his best partner leave and yet he might find himself with a new found confidence to score, I'm curious to see how he does this season with this attitude, instead of the lethargic player I've seen for a couple years.
Honestly that was the start but I have zero doubt that if he kept it shut about Deschamps (and him succombing to the pressure of a racist part of France) he would have been called up after Euro 2016. Benzema fecked up big time when it comes to international football.
Sometimes a little bit of hypocrisy is needed and he said terrible things about Deschamps. The Valbuena story got him indeed suspended but he was eligible after that
He was a really good player at 21 years old when he went to Madrid, but if you play next to CR7 your game is going to suffer. He was solid with Lyon in the Champion's league and was scoring for fun there, I still have a good memory of his amazing goal against a Manchester United side that was dominating Lyon when he was just 19-20 years old. It's probably a serious period of adaptation to now, all of the sudden, not have to feed CR7 and be much more involved but he also hasn't been involved in international competitions for a few years now so he's more fresh than almost all of his teammates as well. I'm just happy to see him without CR7, they were a great combination together but I always believed Benzema is a much better player than what people rightfully thought of him while playing with Cristiano.
It's a trade off at the end, he probably would have a much higher profile had he never played with CR7, but I don't think he'd have anywhere near as many trophies either.
No wonder SAF wanted him so badly, would have been interesting to see him here. Dude had Vidic bouncing off him.
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He has been the main striker for a one of the best team in Europe for 8 years. The football world missed nothing, there is a reason why Ronaldo wanted to play with him and no other striker, no manager actually pushed for a new striker either. The only people that missed something are the ones that focus on Whoscored instead of games.
Edit: And even for people that like stats, he is 4th best CL goalscorer.
But Benzema adapted his game and scored less than he could have (selfless game, many assists, no penalties). Just theoretically, imagine if he would have been the guy who had scored 30 goals every season and played in the 2018 World Cup as the starting striker, scoring 4 goals on the way to the title (not unrealistic considering he scored 3 in 4 at the 2014 edition). With these achievements in the face of the whole world, he could have been regarded much higher. Maybe RM would not have won 4 CLs, but look at how people say players like Lewandowski are better than Benzema, despite the latter doing nothing in CL either.
Football is a team sport, when you play with someone like Ronaldo you have to make sure to put him in the perfect context, that's what most managers did and what Benzema also did, personally I think that it was a perfect match because Benzema was also put in a role where he could use almost all of his tools, he is great off the ball, he probably has the highest technical level out of all strikers in the last 10 years and he has a great vision. It's true that in the last years he lost confidence in his finishing but the rest of his game has always been at a top level. If you watch an highlight of Ronaldo's goals Benzema will often be an important player in the build up.
That summer we sold Ronaldo, I was desperate for Benzema. Would've been a great partner for Rooney.
Still remember the rumour he did the FIFA advert in a Lyon shirt and a United shirt just in case. Then the actual advert he was just wearing a plain white tee.
Still remember the rumour he did the FIFA advert in a Lyon shirt and a United shirt just in case. Then the actual advert he was just wearing a plain white tee.
Along with 3rd best in the history of Real Madrid. Not bad.
He was good 4-4 years ago. Now Benzecrap is just a pivot for Ronaldo, and with him at Juventus, he has no uses. Kane and Lewandowski are miles better, even Icardi will score more goals.
Died inside when we ended up with Owen instead of Benzema.
Benzema's real problem was never the perceived lack of goals, it's the fact he's inconsistent as feck. He'll be a machine for 5 games, then the next 5, a cardboard cutout would be more useful than him. And when things aren't working, he tends to sulk, which makes it worse because like Ozil he has poor body language and can look lazy and uninterested even when he plays well. He'd have been much more appreciated if he played with the energy and hunger of a Cavani
Lack of killer instinct is an issue only because of that
Lack of killer instinct is an issue only because of that
The lack of goals was somewhat diminished because of CR7, but fair point about his inconsistency. We will this season if he can maintain his form, right now he's on fire and I hope to see more consistency out of him. He's pretty much out of France for good, so he will be in better shape than most.
Benzema chose to be a team player and increase his title winning chances rather than be the main man at another club.
Some of the early shouts in this thread are looking a bit silly now. He’s always been a very good player and now that he’ll be able to stay central more often, and his teammates won’t be looking to get the ball to Ronaldo all the time, he’ll score a lot of goals.
I think you strike home in your last paragraph. No player ever was destined to reach levels higher than Benzema has. A lot has to come together for that to happen, regardless of talent.
A curious comparison, though, following your argumentation, Hazard and Benzema could hardly be more dissimilar.
I am sad about Hazard not pushing for a move to Real, but he upped his reputation big time in the summer. He was arguably the best player at a World Cup (2nd best at worst), where he also was the best player for his country in a campaign where they managed their best ever international result. This put his legacy beyond just being a very good player in the Premier League, he proved himself at the biggest stage. It may not appear as a big deal right now, but look at how fans of other small countries still celebrate occasions like that (Poland 3rd in 1974 with Lato Top Scorer, Portugal 3rd in 1966 with Eusebio Top Scorer etc.).
Spoken too early again
0 shots in last 5 games
0 shots in last 5 games
For the media it was always about Benzema being the one enabling Ronaldo rather than both improving one another.
As great as Benzema was, it was beyond obvious that the only reason he got to play for Real Madrid as long as he did was because of Ronaldo. He was always a bit inconsistent but in the past few years there is a great game for every 3 poor ones.
He’s still a good player and he’s clearly good enough to play a part for a top team but the circumstances need to be right. I think it won’t take long until he starts getting whistled at the Bernabeu again although it’s not really his fault Perez didn’t buy a striker to compete with him.
As great as Benzema was, it was beyond obvious that the only reason he got to play for Real Madrid as long as he did was because of Ronaldo. He was always a bit inconsistent but in the past few years there is a great game for every 3 poor ones.
He’s still a good player and he’s clearly good enough to play a part for a top team but the circumstances need to be right. I think it won’t take long until he starts getting whistled at the Bernabeu again although it’s not really his fault Perez didn’t buy a striker to compete with him.
The fact Real haven't replaced him I think shows how sparse the striker options are in the market right now.
Yep, the strikers have died a death recently. All goals seem to come from wide forwards these days. Hazard / Sanchez / Mane / Salah / Sterling / Martial etc.
The game is changing with more teams looking towards fluid attacks, I remember Andy Cole saying a while ago that when he was a kid all the kids in training wanted to be #9's, but when he visits training camps now most of the kids want to be wide forwards or #10's.
To be fair the classic 10's these days are more like 8's, inverted wingers or second forwards.
Call me crazy, but I'd totally buy him in Jan for us.
Could see him going to Inter next year with Icardi going the other way.
I'll always remember Bezema for being the only player I saw beat Rio for pace and skill and then turn around and beat Vidic for strength. He took on the two best central defenders in the world, one of the all time great partnerships, and beat them both at their respective strengths.
He's had a great career, but I always find myself thinking he could have been better. He had the potential to be the best striker since Ronaldo (the Brazilian version) IMO. But I guess it may not have been possible to reach that level while also playing with Cristiano, and Cristiano was even better.
He's had a great career, but I always find myself thinking he could have been better. He had the potential to be the best striker since Ronaldo (the Brazilian version) IMO. But I guess it may not have been possible to reach that level while also playing with Cristiano, and Cristiano was even better.
Mimics Rooney in a way, both supremely talented and have had great careers, but overshadowed by Ronaldo who has everything they have and a little bit more.
He was awesome in that tie, and I wanted United to buy him so badly!
United sack Mourinho > hire Zidane > sign him in January for Coutinho money
Sums it up perfectly.
Similar impact to Mandzukic, huge asset next to an out and out goalscorer but not (or no longer) a reliable go to goal machine.
that is highly offensive to Mandzukic