He assures him.
Before 8:20 pm and a few minutes, he was not sure that he would appear in the list of 26 players who will defend the colors of France at Euro 2021. But the day of May 18 was very special for Karim Benzema.
This time, the attacker believed in it.
And his phone did not stop vibrating, all day, as the rumor of a return, finally confirmed by Le Parisien, rose.
Read also Karim Benzema in Blue: behind the scenes of an improbable return
And then the coach Didier Deschamps ended up pronouncing his name.
"It was a great feeling of joy and pride," he said on Monday evening in an interview with L'Équipe.
Very quickly I thought back to all those moments when I had never given up.
It was a little shock, it's been a long time!
".
Almost six years later, Karim Benzema is preparing to don the tricolor jersey, now adorned with two stars.
“I had hope, yes.
I've always had it, because I never give up, but even more so.
I have always been ready.
There, it was for a big competition, I was very attentive, especially in view of my season with Real Madrid ”, he explains.
“We saw each other.
It was really a quiet moment ”
Another element, then ignored by all, fueled his hope even more. His famous interview with coach Didier Deschamps, obviously decisive in the latter's choice to recall the former Lyonnais. Karim Benzema gives some details on this exchange. “We saw each other. It was really a quiet moment, he says. We haven't seen each other since my last selection, in 2015… It did us good to discuss, exchange and see that we had a lot to say to each other ”. Everything happened as naturally as possible, continues Zinédine Zidane's protégé. “I always got along well with him and after three minutes everything was back to normal. While it had been over five years since we had crossed paths. "
VIDEO.
"Everyone has the right to make mistakes", explains Deschamps on the return of Benzema
Deschamps and Benzema talked about “everything”.
From "of life, the family".
From this discussion "between men", the prospect of participating in the Euro on the other hand would not have been addressed.
“The only thing I said to myself after this discussion was that we had taken a big step together, and that it was positive.
I told myself that I had to continue to work hard, without giving up, setting myself ever higher goals.
And then we see what happens.
"
The striker, who will wear number 19 during the competition, abandoning number 9 to Olivier Giroud, says he has returned to the world champion group with humility. He has come a long way, after six years of absence. “It was difficult because, at each international meeting, 25 players out of 26 went for selection. And I trained with the reserve, with the young people, he says. But I couldn't give up. It didn't want to enter my head, I knew it was going to turn out. I always think this way. It was in those moments that I became even stronger mentally, physically. I started to do more than the others. “At the Euro too, maybe we will ask him a little more. The potential is so great.