Benzema thrashes prejudice, his most fearsome rival

Karim Benzema controls a ball against Getafe, last Saturday at the Bernabéu. PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)

Explaining declines is a classic exercise in sports journalism, sometimes because the decline is abrupt and other times because the trail of decline is slight but steady.

The narrative of decline is as old as football.

Much rarer is the opposite story: how do you interpret the apotheosis of a player at an age that can invite retirement?

That is, how is explained to Benzema.

At the age of 34, Benzema is going through the best moment of his long career, four years at Olympique de Lyon and 13 at Real Madrid.

It is such a high and sharp peak of performance that it allows him to be included in the most popular of debates. Is Benzema the best footballer in the world?

It is possible and, of course, nothing ruled out.

Even the statistics accompany him: 37 goals in 37 games, the mythical average of one goal per game that generally marks the line of the Ballon d'Or. Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewandowski can prove it.

Benzema was fourth in the last vote for the best-known award in football.

He was overtaken by Messi, Lewandowski and Jorginho.

Once again, Benzema was denied indisputable merit, a lack of appreciation that he has endured since the beginning of his career at Real Madrid.

In that quartet, he could only challenge Lewandowski, evidence that has been confirmed this season, in which Messi and Jorginho are not relevant factors.

Forgetting Benzema has always been easy.

Before the last edition, he had never been in the top 15 in Ballon d'Or voting. He wasn't just any player on a minor team, but he was one who fueled perception problems.

When it was intended to downplay him, he resorted to statistics, or a biased interpretation of numbers.

Before becoming Real Madrid's undisputed leading scorer, Benzema's figures were comparable to those of most good strikers: 0.42 goals per game.

The comparison with Messi and Cristiano was not possible neither for him, nor for anyone.

In any case, Benzema is the third top scorer (316) in the history of Real Madrid, one step behind Raúl (323), and the fourth in the history of the Champions League, with 82 goals, three behind Lewandowski, who has spent fame as an infallible gunner since he appeared at Borussia Dortmund.

The accusation in the European Championship

His goalscoring production underestimated, Benzema has always escaped statistical scrutiny.

He was an excellent striker who knew how to play football wonderfully.

Around him the things that are usually associated with great talents happened, yes, without demagoguery, fierce face and sins of selfishness.

The statistics dig poorly into the intangible issues of the game, which have been the ones that Benzema has dominated like few others in the last 15 years.

His naturalness was confused with indolence;

his generosity, with detachment;

his intelligence, softly.

With Benzema, everything seemed insufficient.

He was the perfect recipient of criticism, a walking alibi for the evils of Real Madrid and the French team.

His great matches were immediately forgotten.

Only the bad guys weighed in, so he has gone most of his way against the wind.

Still yesterday -July 2021-, Olivier Giroud considered that Benzema's return to the national team had been the main cause of France's early elimination from the European Championship, an opinion shared by a large sector of the press.

If anything explains his belated recognition, it's not his current statistical brilliance, nor the sudden emergence of hidden talent.

Benzema is enjoying the best years of his career because he has defeated the most fearsome of rivals: the prejudices that hurt him so much.

Released and admired at last, he enjoys and plays like the gods.

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