(With Baptiste Desprez)
This is one of the big questions about Karim Benzema's return to the France team.
Will he manage to blend in with the group, and especially with Olivier Giroud?
Often opposed in debates over the best striker for the Blues, the two men may not have a good relationship.
Especially since the Madrilenian has referred to himself as "F1", and the Chelsea player as "karting".
Which is not the case.
In a long interview with
L'Equipe
this Tuesday, Benzema approaches with confidence his reunion with Giroud. “Olive, I saw him in the match against Chelsea (in the Champions League semi-finals, 1-1, 0-2, April 27 and May 5). We talked, quiet. He congratulated me on my goal. It was good spirit, it was cool. I've already played with him, now it's going to be the same as before, ”he explains. According to our information, the second top scorer in the history of the France team, happy to be in the list of 26 and eager to win the Euro with the Blues, does not take offense to the return of Benzema in Blue. And will not make a bad impression during their reunion at Clairefontaine in a few days (Benzema will arrive on Wednesday, Giroud after the Champions League final scheduled for Saturday).
"READ ALSO - Joys, tears, religion," rivalry "with Benzema… Olivier Giroud unveils his souvenir album
Olivier Giroud and Karim Benzema with the Blues in 2014
Asked last October in our columns in Le Figaro on his supposed rivalry with Madrid, Olivier Giroud conceded this: "When I score in Nantes against Cameroon before Euro 2016, a small part of the stadium whistled to me when I was got out. Still against the backdrop of this supposed rivalry with Karim (Benzema). Some people blamed me for being the cause of his absence, as if I had stolen his place when it had nothing to do with it. I never did anything like this and I never had a dispute with him, but history wanted us to be opposed. You can see it as a mess. The next day, L'Équipe headlines “Le mal aime” about me in one. It all hurt me. Afterwards, my friends in Blue had fun and messed me up, they sang the title of Claude François ... But deep inside me,it was really a complicated time. I will never be unanimous and it must be accepted. It's been four years but I haven't forgotten. ”
“I have the chance to play with Raphaël Varane in Madrid and he told me that everyone was waiting for me, that everyone was happy.
I have no apprehension about my integration, I'm sure it will go really well ”
In his interview with
L'Equipe
this Tuesday, the former Lyonnais was also able to discuss his future integration into the world champion group. Even if the lights are rather green: “I have the chance to play with Raphaël Varane in Madrid and he told me that everyone was waiting for me, that everyone was happy. I have no apprehension about my integration, I'm sure it will go really well ”. An integration that will also have to take place in the field. “I followed the Blues a lot, I watched all their matches. So I know very well how it plays and I think it will be very easy. I'm going to try to do what I'm doing in Madrid: give when you have to give, move when you have to move. Orchestrate, give speed, movement, play in one touch ... What the game calls for, in fact, ”he says.Something to make your mouth water when he should put on the blue jersey on June 2 in Nice against Wales, the first preparation match.
Read also
"In 3 minutes, everything is back to normal": Benzema's confidences on his reconciliation with Deschamps