Karim Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French football player who currently plays as astriker for the La Liga club Real Madrid and internationally represents the French national team.
Benzema came through the youth academy at Lyon and has been capped at senior level for France. He played in UEFA Euro 2008 and was the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 for the 2007–08 season, just three seasons after making his professional debut. This was also his breakthrough season which saw him earn many awards and a new contract which resulted in him becoming one of the highest-paid footballers in France. He signed for Real Madrid in July 2009, on a six year contract.
[edit]Personal life
Benzema was born in Lyon, to parents of Algerian descent.[2][3][4] Benzema grew up with ninesiblings and his father Hafid in the nearby town of Bron.[5] His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tighzert, located in the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s.[6]
On 18 April 2010, it was first reported by French television service M6 that four members of the French national team were being investigated for their roles as clients of a prostitution ring that was being operated inside of a Paris nightclub with some of the women possibly being underage. The report also stated that two of the players were already questioned as witnesses by judgeAndré Dando and a group of magistrates. The report described the two players as being one who “is a major player in a big foreign club” and that the other “plays in the championship of France Ligue 1".[7] Later that day, the players were discovered to be Franck Ribéry and Sidney Govou.[8] The other two players were later discovered to be Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa. Benzema was alleged to have had a sexual rendezvous with a prostitute when she was 16 years of age, an act Benzema has denied through his lawyer.[9] On 29 April, the country's Secretary of State for Sports Rama Yade, after refusing to publicly comment on the case in its infancy, declared that any player placed under investigation should not represent the France national team.[10] The following day, a judicial source confirmed that Benzema would not be questioned, if at all, before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[11] On 20 July, Benzema was questioned by Paris police and, following questioning, was indicted by judge Dando on the charge of "solicitation of a minor prostitute".[12][13]
[edit]Club career
[edit]Early career
Benzema is a graduate of the Lyon academy. Before joining Lyon, he trained at local Rhône-Alpes club Bron Terraillon SC in the communeBron, a suburb of Lyon. His performances with Bron's youth team caught the attention of Lyon scouts and he joined the academy in 1996 at the age of 9.[14] Benzema quickly ascended up the ranks scoring 38 goals in one season with Lyon's under-16 team[15] and scoring 12 goals in 14 matches with the under-18 team before earning a call up to the senior squad by manager Paul Le Guen.
He made his league debut for Lyon on 15 January 2005 during the 2004–05 season in a match against FC Metz, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute. Lyon won the match 2–0 with Benzema providing the assist on the second goal scored by Bryan Bergougnoux.[16] Five days later, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year deal.[17] Over the next two seasons, his play was limited making a total of 34 appearances and scoring six goals, including his first ever against AC Ajaccio in a 3–1 win,[18] as well as his first UEFA Champions League goal against Norwegian club Rosenborg BK in a 2–1 victory.[19]
[edit]Breakthrough season
For the 2007–08 season, with the likes of Florent Malouda, John Carew, and Sylvain Wiltord all departing from the club, Benzema, despite being 19 at the time, switched to the number 10 shirt and was inserted into the lead striker role. After forming a special relationship with new manager Alain Perrin, he responded with 31 goals in 51 games. He topped the league with 20 goals, scored four goals in the UEFA Champions League, one in the Coupe de la Ligue, and totaled six goals in six Coupe de France matches, helping Lyon win their first everdouble.[20] Some of his more dazzling performances that season included a hat trick against Metz on 15 September,[21] an equalizing goal in the 90th minute from a free kick against Derby du Rhône rivals Saint-Étienne,[22] and a goal against RC Lens that was nominated for goal of the season by fans.[23]
In the Champions League, Benzema scored an important double against Rangers at Ibrox Park on the last match day of the group stage. The 3–0 victory assured Lyon progression to the knockout rounds.[24] In the knockout rounds, Lyon faced Manchester United and Benzema continued to score, this time it was from outside the penalty box in the first leg match which ended in a 1–1 draw[25] and United eventually won the tie 1–2 on aggregate. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and players praised Benzema for his performance.[26] Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas later accused Ferguson of tapping-up Benzema.[27][28]
"It's a compliment to be compared to Zinedine Zidane, but we are different players."
On 13 March 2008, Benzema extended his contract with Lyon until 2013 with a one year extension option.[30] After signing his new contract, Benzema became one of the highest paid footballers in France.[31] For his efforts that season, he was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, selected to the Team of the Year, and awarded the Trophée du Meilleur Buteur for being the league's top scorer.[32][33] He was also shortlisted by the French magazine France Football for the 2008 Ballon d'Or award,[34] won by Cristiano Ronaldo.
[edit]2008–09 season
Benzema got off to a good start for the 2008–09 season scoring twice in Lyon's opening league match against Toulouse.[35] The following three weeks, he scored goals against Rhône-Alpes rivals Grenoble[36] and Saint-Étienne[37] and scored a goal against OGC Nice, converting a penalty in the dying seconds.[38] Lyon won all three matches. As a result of his early goals, Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas quelled the many transfer rumors surrounding Benzema by placing a €100 million price tag on the striker. He was also nominated alongside Franck Ribéry to be featured on the French cover of the video game FIFA 09.[39]
Benzema during a training session with Lyon
He scored his seventh goal of the league on 29 October, scoring in the 2–0 win over Sochaux. Benzema scored again the following weekend in a 2–0 win over Le Mans.[40] He was among the top scorers in the UEFA Champions League group stage, scoring five goals,[41] a double against Steaua Bucureşti,[42] two goals in two matches against Fiorentina,[43][44] and a goal against the eventual group winners Bayern Munich on the final match day.[45]
Following the winter break, Benzema endured a rough patch going scoreless the first three games before recording his 11th goal of the season against Nice in a 3–1 victory.[46] Two weeks later, he scored his 12th goal against Nancy in a 2–0 victory.[47] The next nine matches, both Benzema and Lyon's form dwindled losing four matches, drawing three, and winning only two with Benzema scoring only two goals in that stretch, both of them against Le Mans in a 3–1 victory.[48] The bad form resulted in Lyon losing their grip on first place position and eventually falling out of the title race, thus ending their streak of seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles.[49] Benzema was a part of four of those title runs.
Despite losing the title, Benzema got back on track scoring his 15th and 16th goals of the season on 17 May in a 3–1 away victory over rivalsMarseille, the first goal being a penalty.[50] He scored his 17th goal the following weekend against Caen in a 3–1 victory moving him into third place among Ligue 1 top scorers.[51]
[edit]Real Madrid
On 1 July 2009, it was announced that Lyon had reached an agreement with Spanish club Real Madrid for the transfer of Benzema. The transfer fee was priced at €35 million with the fee rising to as much as €41 million based on incentives.[52] On 9 July, Benzema successfully passed his medical and signed his contract, a six-year deal, later that afternoon.[53] He was presented officially as a Real Madrid player later that night at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, similarly to the previous signings of Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo.[54] Benzema made his Real Madrid debut on 20 July in the club's opening pre-season friendlyagainst Irish club Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, appearing as a halftime substitute.[55] He scored the lone goal in the club's 1–0 win, scoring in the 87th minute.[56] On 24 August, Benzema netted two goals in Real Madrid's 4–0 victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg in an annual friendly tournament organized for theSantiago Bernabeu Trophy.[57] The goals brought his total tally in the preseason with Real Madrid to five, making him the joint top scorer alongside fellow striker Raúl.[58]
He made his La Liga debut on 29 August against Deportivo La Coruña.[59] Benzema scored his first official goal for Madrid on 20 September 2009 at home against newly promoted side Xerez in a 5–0 victory.[60] Six days later, he scored his first brace for the club in a 3–0 home victory over Tenerife.[61] On 3 November, Benzema netted his first European goal for Madrid in a 1–1 draw against Milan at the San Siro.[62] He scored his second brace on 30 January 2010 for the club against Deportivo.[63] On 4 December, Benzema netted a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory against Auxerre, the first goal being Real Madrid's 300th goal in the Champions League.[64] His second hat–trick came on 22 December 2010 in a 8–0 thrashing in a Copa del Rey match against Levante.[65]On 22 February 2011, at the Stade de Gerland the result was between Lyon and Real Madrid a goalless draw when he entered Benzema on 62 minutes, after 40 seconds dodge three players passed the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his scored first goal for Real Madrid at Stade de Gerland in history to end node as long 6 years However, Benzema did not celebrate the goal of respect for his former club. The match ended 1-1.
