Enlarge image
Karim Benzema in the jersey of the team: return after six years
Photo:
imago sports photo service / imago / Richard Wareham
Now they reappear, the old pictures.
Benzema and Deschamps, Deschamps and Benzema.
In animated tactical discussions, even in a deep embrace.
It's not like that it never happened.
Just seemed so damn long ago.
Until Tuesday evening.
If world champion France was not already the logical favorite for the upcoming European Football Championship, it is now at the latest, after all, national coach Didier Deschamps surprisingly brought back Karim Benzema, who had been excluded since 2015.
Over the years, people have wondered how good this team, with such excellent players in all other positions, would only be if it also had the uniquely strong center forward from Real Madrid in its ranks.
The Germans, among others, will be able to see it up close in their opening match on June 15.
A “reflection” in the past few months and “long discussions” with the player preceded the decision, Deschamps justified the news, which electrified all of France.
And no: the subject of return was "never a taboo".
Oh well. The truth is that Deschamps has jumped far beyond his shadow. The prehistory does not only consist of the sextape affair, which is still relevant in court - Benzema's alleged involvement in the blackmailing of his former national team colleague Mathieu Valbuena - because of which Deschamps initially renounced him. At first, it was all about team harmony before the 2016 European Championship. Shortly before the tournament, however, Benzema accused the coach of having "bowed to the pressure of the racist part of France". And so the whole thing became a political issue.
Deschamps house was smeared at the time, the great Éric Cantona assumed ethnic motives for not considering Benzemas, a French with North African roots, and blasphemed: "Deschamps is probably the only one in France with an authentically French name." It had to be as credible as Lilian Thuram come to take Deschamps - captain of the 1998 world champions celebrated as a multicultural role model - out of the line of fire: "If Benzema is not there, it's only because of the affair with Valbuena." His excuses are irresponsible and discredited the real fight against racism.
A lot of time has passed since 2016, but the schism seemed to be getting deeper and deeper.
Deschamps never concealed that the allegation further hurt him.
Benzema, attacked by right-wing populists during his 81 international matches before and even more after his disembarkation, never asked for an apology.
Meanwhile, Association President Noël Le Graët kept closing the door.
This February he said: "Benzema no longer need Les Bleus."
What has happened since then?
Sometimes it's very simple: soccer.
Three international matches in March against Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bosnia, with a total of just four goals. Less and less playing time for Olivier Giroud, the now 34-year-old center forward of the World Cup, at his club Chelsea. Week after week, Benzema performed again at Real Madrid. Talks by Deschamps with Le Graët, but also, according to »Le Parisien«, with the leading players Hugo Lloris, Raphaël Varane and Paul Pogba. No objections from anyone, not even Giroud. Then the conversations with Benzema. And a realization by Leader Deschamps: "The national team does not belong to me."
Le Graët is now celebrating an "excellent decision" as if he had never said anything else. Deschamps speaks of a mature Benzema. "All sides have shown intelligence," praised ex-grandee Alain Giresse. The teammates are "very happy to be able to play with Benzema" (Bayern's Corentin Tolisso) and are convinced that "every football fan" is too (Bayern's Kingsley Coman). Two thirds welcome the comeback in an online vote by “L'Équipe”. Sports minister Roxana Maracineanu is also
enchanté
: "I'm sure that this is an additional trump card for the EM". Only Le Pen's Rassemblement National party is again polemic that he should play for Algeria. The old fronts.
You will have to get used to him again: the jersey that Benzema wore on social media to celebrate the day was definitely blue. "I am very proud of this return," he wrote, and there is no question that this is one of the starting XI. "We're talking about Karim Benzema!" Said Deschamps. His former confidante, at the 2014 World Cup, when he played his last tournament game to date against Germany in the quarter-finals and Manuel Neuer screwed up the equalizer in the final minute with a brilliant save.
At that time, the young Antoine Griezmann, now a great player in world football, stormed next to him. Then there is Kylian Mbappé, and the sum total is an absurdly good storm trio, for which one should find an equivalent in football history at best in the largest Brazilian teams. At least on paper. Everything else will be seen at a European Championship, which France has been looking forward to with increased anticipation since Tuesday evening.
