Two figures, 374 and 18 goals, say a lot about two players, Karim Benzema and Sergio Busquets, but explain very little of their true significance. With them, who have just closed their careers at Real Madrid and Barça, the most important cycle of Spanish football closes, defined by the titanic struggle they began to maintain in 2009. As is the law in players difficult to match, his absence causes a deep vacuum, which will force both Barça and Madrid to a delicate choice of successors.
Benzema arrived at Madrid in 2009, embedded in the frantic transfer operation entrusted to Florentino Perez in the summer of his return to the club's presidency. It was the answer to the triumphant season of Barça, winner of the three great titles – League, European Cup, Copa del Rey – and the appetizing small change they leave: the two Super Cups and the Club World Cup. It was directed by Pep Guardiola, barely equipped with a year of experience in Barça B, which played in the old Third Division, and you did not have to be a lynx to guess that that team was willing to settle at the top of football.
Madrid responded with a salvo of signings: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema and Xabi Alonso among others. The best money could acquire. Benzema, 21, was the player Florentino Perez most wanted, who took the signing as strictly personal. So long after, he can boast of his good eye. Benzema leaves Real Madrid loaded with titles, goals – the second gunner in the history of the team, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and ahead of Raúl and Di Stéfano – and an influence as strong as difficult to measure in numbers.
In this chapter, much closer to the subtleties of the game than to the statistical data, the harmony of Busquets and Benzema is total. Rarely has two players with such significant strategic ability been seen in football. With Busquets the canon of the midfielder in Barça was defined. He has been the all-seeing eye, a minimalist sage who has found no comparison, no substitute, for 15 years. Those who saw the need for replacement or succession were mistaken. A multitude of midfielders have passed through Barça, many of them destined to compete and snatch the position from Busquets, without any of them getting it. De Jong, Arthur, Pjanic, and less specifically André Gomes, Paulinho and Arturo Vidal, arrived, tried and failed. Busquets prevailed over everyone.
Barça will have to fine-tune a lot and spend little, there is no choice in these times, to minimize the damage caused by the departure of Busquets. De Jong is the main contender, but his characteristics are radically contrary. Busquets has been characterized by concreteness. In the Dutch player highlights the dispersion. It is surprising that Barça has been reactivated with players from the quarry – Araújo, Gavi, Balde and, above all, Ansu Fati – in all positions, but it does not find Busquets to replace Busquets. This is what happens with unique footballers. When they leave, they provoke the horror of emptiness.
Together with veterans Modric and Kroos, Benzema has articulated Real Madrid with admirable efficiency and intelligence. Perhaps more than his goals, he leaves in the memory the delicious aroma that his game has given off, of a singular subtlety, essential striker and brilliant point guard in a team that has enjoyed its second golden age. Unlike Barça, Madrid has the financial resources to find the striker to produce Benzema's goals. There won't be enough money, however, to hire a similar strategist.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
Read more
I'm already a subscriber