How Karim Benzema created a history in Real Madrid (Part III)

Therefore, Jose, on the one hand, released Karim at the start (there was no choice), on the other, he monstrously pressed and forced the atmosphere. Because of this, by the end of December 2010, disappointment with the Frenchman at Real Madrid reached a peak.

 

Mourinho’s attacks helped resurrect Karim

And what happened next? After a tense November-December, the long-awaited detente occurred. Perez and Valdano surrendered. In January, center forward Emmanuel Adebayor moved from Manchester City. Under the terms – rent until the end of the season. At the same time, Benzema has also changed. During the season, he was silent, but a few years later he admitted that Jose’s attacks angered him and gave him additional motivation: “Mourinho spoke in such a way as to stimulate me to work and play more aggressively. I had a hard time, especially in the first season. I didn’t play and felt miserable. However, Mourinho gave me back the desire to play and win.”

In a Canal documentary (released in 2013), Karim recalled how angry he was when compared to a cat: “We have always had a good relationship. But he did not think these words through. I thought he was funny. If I respected him, then after these words my respect began to disappear.  We talked with him for about an hour. I told him that I respect Mourinho as a manager. And please be respectful in return. Since then, no dogs, cats, or anything like that.”

 

Mourinho gave a second life to Karim’s career

The transfer of Adebayor also helped. He not only charged Karim with a thirst for competition, but also untied his hands on the field: Mourinho often released both forwards at once, and if Adebayor played on the edge, then Benzema could move to his favorite left flank. The performance of the Frenchman immediately jumped, he began to score important goals.

 

January 23 – the winning goal of Mallorca (1:0).

January 26 – the victorious year of Sevilla in the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup (1:0).

February 19 (Adebayor has joined the game since February) – the winning goal for Levante (2:0).

February 22 – the only goal of Madrid against Lyon in 1/8 of the Champions League (1:1).

 

Three doubles in a row!

After that, there were three doubles in a row – Malaga, Racing and Hercules. In total, Benzema scored 16 goals for Real Madrid in the second half of the season. “Now he even returns to his box when taking corners,” José joked at a press conference after Lyon.

That very goal against the French team finally fixed the revival of Benzema. “When Kareem scored, the normally cool-headed Perez jumped up in the stands and shook his fists,” writes Sid Lowe. – It is unlikely that anyone can remember such a stormy reaction of Perez to the goal – and this is an indicator of his great desire to see the success of Benzema. An indicator of how much pressure the president felt on himself.”

What happened next, you know very well yourself. Mourinho nevertheless won the conflict with Valdano, in 2011 the general director left the club. Benzema continued to progress and won the competition from Higuain (in 2013, the Argentinean left Real Madrid and moved to Napoli), then became the best partner in Ronaldo’s career, and by 2021 claims to be the best striker in the history of Real Madrid .