Domenech on Benzema in Blues: “He let himself get carried away by the ease”

Raymond Domenech is well placed to decipher the career of Karim Benzema. Indeed, it was he who launched the Madrilenian in the Blues in March 2007 during the France-Austria match (1-0, with a goal from Benzema). The former technician had summoned him during Euro 2008 before removing him from his first list of 30 players before the 2010 World Cup. A decade later, Raymond Domenech returned to the story between Karim Benzema (81 selections and 27 goals) and the Blues, stopped abruptly after the revelation of the “sex-tape affair” in the fall of 2015.

“The only problem I had with Karim was that he wasn’t playing, he told France Football. The period that I lived with him was rather his slow regression compared to what I knew of his potential, of his immense talent. He was not on the right track. He had to change things. He had this intelligence to get back in the right direction. He has a good background, he is nice, kind, there is not a bit of meanness or calculation in him. He had let himself be taken in by the ease and then he understood that it was necessary to do otherwise. It’s to his credit.”

Raymond Domenech also explains why Karim Benzema failed to win unanimity in Blues. “He was in this register just with the ball: “I don’t make any effort, I’m the best, that’s all.” People quickly see those who invest themselves, make the effort, work for others .He had bursts of brilliance, but for the rest, he was content with little“Says the former coach of the France team.

Ten years after his departure, the former coach of the Blues commented on the evolution of the one who carries the offensive hopes of Real Madrid. “Am I surprised? Not at all. I found the one I saw in Lyon, assure Raymond Domenech. He was capable of it. He simply had to purify his mind and say to himself: ‘To score goals for Real, and stay there, you have to be on top’. At Real, there is no average player“. Since the departure of CR7 in 2018, Karim Benzema has become the major player of the Merengue with Sergio Ramos.