Following a successful season, Benzema has taken stock and looked back over his career so far.
Benzema plays by instinct
Karim Benzema has spoken about his style of play, his beginnings at Real Madrid and the small problem he once had with Jose Mourinho. Following a successful season, Benzema has taken stock and looked back over his career so far. “I play by instinct; I’m an instinctive player, and whatever comes into my head, I do it on the pitch,” Benzema said in an interview when asked about his approach on the football pitch. “I never say to myself, ‘I’m going to play against this defender; I have to do this or that’.” Benzema also elaborated on his early days at Real Madrid and the difficulties he faced at the beginning. “My first season, the first six months, were tough, as I was alone and I didn’t speak the language, so everything was complicated,” Benzema explained.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the players Karim has always been inspired by
“I had arrived in a new world, with a new team, a different type of football. Luckily I didn’t give up. I remember I had a little problem with Jose Mourinho at one point. We met at the hotel, and we had a conversation the day before a match against Real Mallorca. I wasn’t supposed to play the game, and as we were arguing, I told him, ‘Tomorrow you start me, and I’ll score, and I’ll make you win the game’. The next day I scored, and we won 1-0.” Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the players Benzema has always been inspired by, and he discussed this in the interview. “When I watched what he did, I tried to concentrate on his movements: the dribbling, the finishing, the passing, his ball-handling, I dissected everything about him,” Benzema said. “But, then it’s impossible to achieve the same thing.”
Benzema still dreams of winning a few more, especially the World Cup, despite a trophy-laden trophy cabinet since he wasn’t part of France’s 2018 squad. “I still have a lot of things in my head,” Benzema stated. “I want to win more titles, more Champions Leagues. And with the national team, the World Cup. That’s all I have as a dream.”