Last Tuesday, a few hours before the official list unveiled by Didier Deschamps, it was the excitement in Terraillon, a popular district of Bron, a city of 40,000 inhabitants which touches Lyon.
The information published in Le Parisien at the end of the morning went around the neighborhood.
"Karim is back", shout the kids, OL jersey on their backs.
“Some even thought he was coming back to OL.
For many here, Karim Benzema back, that means back to Bron and therefore to OL, ”laughs a local shopkeeper.
But it is in blue that Benzema, 33, will make his comeback.
Him, the child of Terraillon.
Where he grew up, where he touched his first balloons.
After the thunderclap, the euphoria did not fade away.
“It's the king here, a real idol.
There isn't a kid here who doesn't know that Karim Benzema is from Terraillon, ”smiles Yacine in front of the neighborhood tobacco shop.
“He deserved to come back, water has flowed under the bridges.
Obviously the best player in Europe currently has his place in the France team, ”he analyzes alongside a friend, Mohamed.
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Yohann and Momo are already eager to watch the Euro.
"He started at the same stadium where we play today," they exclaim, referring to the Léo-Lagrange stadium, a little further.
And now, he has been at Real Madrid, the best club in the world, for ten years.
It is immense what he does.
You have to say it, sir, repeat it ”.
"Karim lived with his parents right next to the stadium, it is thanks to his first training here that he was able to become the star he is today", continues Momo.
At 9 years old, it was during a match between Bron-Terraillon and OL that Benzema forced his destiny.
He scored two goals against the big neighbor.
Before taking the road to Gerland.
Yacine and Mohamed, inhabitants of the Terraillon district, in Bron, are full of praise for Karim Benzema, the native of the country.
LP / Anthony Faure
Often, he is passing through Bron, where his parents still live (they now live in another part of the city).
"It's obviously nice to have such a player from our club," notes Tahar Ounnas, the current president of SC Bron-Terraillon.
“He's a child of the Terraillon.
I also know members of his family, who are traders in Bron.
I even married his sister four or five months ago, ”blows the mayor of the city, Jérémie Bréaud (LR).
Read also Karim Benzema in Blue: behind the scenes of an improbable return
At 33, Benzema is no longer a kid, but he is still the local star. There remains a gone. “Well, Karim the France team is good, but we would like him to come back to OL to finish his career. It would be nice to bring a title back to Lyon, ”exclaims Yacine. The Brondillant was crowned four times champion of France with OL, in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 ... the last four titles of the Rhone. On a wall of the Léo-Lagrange stadium, a beautiful photo is engraved in honor of Maradona "Adios Diego" with the acronym of the SCBT club (Sporting club de Bron-Terraillon). But these coming weeks, during the Euro, all the eyes of the children of Bron will be on the child of the country. Finally back.
