Benzema named Ligue 1’s Player of the Year

Like there was any doubt.

I love Benzema.

Benzema comes off cocky and mildy arrogant in his acceptance of the award. What he lacks is Zidane’s class and humility. Ribery coming out and saying he would like to be the next Zidane should not be interpreted that way however. There is nothing wrong with a player having his eyes on the prize and focusing on just that. Ribery and Benzema are both off to great starts in their respective careers. I’m not sure how heated this discussion will get because I personally have no problems with either of these guys lighting things up this summer. Maybe because Ribery is more of an attacking midfielder hybrid is why I’m slightly favoring him over Benzema. His long runs from midfield into the box are always exciting to watch.

Jean-Michel, what do you see as “cocky and mildly arrogant”? I’m not doubting you, just not seeing it in the linked article. Things like this:

Comment vivez-vous cette nouvelle notoriété ?
Ça se passe bien. J’ai un bon entourage, et une famille derrière moi qui me permettent de garder les pieds sur terre. Ce n’est que le début pour moi. J’ai encore beaucoup de choses à apprendre et à faire. C’est pour ça que je suis toujours à l’écoute des plus anciens dans mon équipe. Aussi bien à Lyon qu’en équipe de France.

Votre statut en club a tout de même dépassé celui de la plupart de vos équipiers ?
C’est vrai, mais je n’ai que vingt ans. Il faut toujours être à l’écoute des plus anciens. Juninho, Cris, Coupet, Govou, ils sont quand même installés au club depuis un certain nombre d’années. Ils sont toujours aussi importants au sein de l’OL.

Can you tell me what you’re seeing that I’m not?

I think Ribery will be considered the best player of France. Benzema though will not fail to impress in this tournament. As long as both players bring their A game we can expect some great goals. I’m surprised Anelka hasn’t been mentioned. I mean how many goals did he score in qualifying? And though he doesn’t play much for Chelsea everytime he is put in he either makes an assist or puts a goal himself. I would watch for Anelka too.

I like Benzema, he’s young & ambitious… and the best : not afraid. But i’ll wait the see really what he can do with the french squad.

For the time, Ribéry is my favorite, with no doubt. Four years ago, he was in National Division, and he never ceased to grow since that period. It’s really impressive.

By the way, I like the person. He’s funny, not too serious with himself. You can see it takes a great pleasure to play. That’s the football we need nowadays.

Laurie,
The comments you posted that Benzema made were not the ones he made at the podium. Those are very much so “I’ve still got a lot to learn” and “I look to the veterans of the squad for help and guidance” type comments. When he accepted the award it was more like “I hope to keep making people dream because its important for the kids”. I personally felt like it was getting to his head a bit. Maybe I’m looking too much into it but in comparison to Ribery I’m more in line with what Yaz posted about him: not too serious about himself.

I watched the awards over on Inara’s blog after I posted that, and you may be right.

It has to be difficult being a twenty-year-old god who has everybody wanting to spend millions on you. At the beginning of the year I remember thinking, “This kid is so grounded!” And now I’m not thinking that so frequently.

Like any player, though, all it will take is one bad season, to help him get his priorities back. I also think that it helps that he’s at Lyon, as opposed to, say, ManU. And that he’s close to his family. I still think our Karim can make it through life without a melon énorme.

The thing with Benzema is that he’s so confident in himself. He has immense self belief. And he’s always been that way. Even when he was a 17 year old, back when he first got promoted to the senior team, he knew what he was capable of. When he was first introduced to the older players, they had some jokes at his expense, and he shot back with, “You can laugh all you want now, but just remember that I’m here to take your place.” And then last year, during Lyon’s hunt for the big striker, he said that there was no need to look somewhere else for a good attacker, because there was one right at the club. And that eventually, he would displace Fred and Baros. So to a lot of people who don’t follow him week in and week out, that does seem like arrogance.

But he was right. He said all that back when he hadn’t accomplished anything. So it’s his confidence that has him playing so maturely like a 28 year old striker. He’s not timid or afraid because he believes that he can compete against the best players at the highest levels. So he isn’t going to play the false modesty card or the fake, “oh but it was nothing.” Benzema isn’t afraid to take credit, but more importantly, the responsibility. Even though he’s only 20, he knew he was Lyon’s only hope for salvaging something from their joke of a season. And it’s because of him that Lyon are still in line for a double.

It’s a fine line to walk. But the difference between Benzema and those with a melon enorme is that he knows that it’s not just about him. He openly admits that it’s his job to score, but the people that allow him to do his job are his teammates. And he’s very grateful to them. And he knows that he still has a lot to learn and a lot to improve on.

Benzema GO TO REAL MADRID OR CHELSEA

mhd – A lot of people would agree with you. People like to see top players playing for top clubs. A counter-argument is that Lyon could become a top club, on a par with Real Madrid and Chelsea, IF they can hold on to players like Benzema and Essien.