So now what happens to Karim Benzema? | Hat-tricks, lots of hat-tricks

kouroux said:
I standby what I said. There were clear mitigating factors explaining his performances the season before. All people needed to have is a little patience before writing off a player like him. It's ok though, we've all said stupid stuff on the caf once before. The man did show, albeit a long time ago, he could be the main guy up front for a good european team.
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Issue is 17/18 wasn't just an isolated, freak season. It was in the sense that he was bad, but as a scorer, he'd managed 19 goals in 16/17. Less than his backup, Morata. It was hard at that point to think he could go back to being a 25 goals a season player, and on top of that with Cristiano leaving, the idea was that he'd have to become a 30+ goals a season player. It's amazing that he did and honestly it does makes me wonder just how much he sacrificed for the team during the Cristiano years. A strange player to properly appreciate. He was obviously great, and at his very best you could make a case he was our best player outright, but then he'd follow those performances with stinkbombs, and between his languid style and big misses in front of goal(always loved those, even now. Probably unfair, but even now he doesn't give me confidence as a finisher :lol: ), plus Mourinho's nickname...

He's getting his due now though. As he deserves. Top 5 player in the club's history
 
giorno said:
Issue is 17/18 wasn't just an isolated, freak season. It was in the sense that he was bad, but as a scorer, he'd managed 19 goals in 16/17. Less than his backup, Morata. It was hard at that point to think he could go back to being a 25 goals a season player, and on top of that with Cristiano leaving, the idea was that he'd have to become a 30+ goals a season player. It's amazing that he did and honestly it does makes me wonder just how much he sacrificed for the team during the Cristiano years. A strange player to properly appreciate. He was obviously great, and at his very best you could make a case he was our best player outright, but then he'd follow those performances with stinkbombs, and between his languid style and big misses in front of goal(always loved those, even now. Probably unfair, but even now he doesn't give me confidence as a finisher :lol: ), plus Mourinho's nickname...

He's getting his due now though. As he deserves. Top 5 player in the club's history
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Who's in your top 5? Ronaldo, Di Stefano, Gento, Benzema and Puskas? Not in order.
 
giorno said:
He's getting his due now though. As he deserves. Top 5 player in the club's history
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No doubt. He’s going down as your all time assister and second top scorer. And probably a top 3 all time CL scorer if he can keep going longer than Lewandowski.
 
I think Benzema has benefited massively from Ramos not being there this season. He's not only their most important player, but their undisputed leader together with Modric. You can tell he's grown with the role and enjoying playing football.
 
RoyH1 said:
I think Benzema has benefited massively from Ramos not being there this season. He's not only their most important player, but their undisputed leader together with Modric. You can tell he's grown with the role and enjoying playing football.
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He was playing like Di Stefano yesterday; utterly game-breaking operating from deep and timing his runs into what he made look like acres of space. I think trust in him to just do his thing must be at an all-time high at Madrid, and with output like we're seeing, it's fully justified.
 
kouroux said:
The backheel he did to Valverde for the shot Vinicius hit the bar with was something else. The spatial awareness is ridiculous
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That was ridiculous indeed. He was unplayable last night.
 
He's an amazing footballer. Also technically so immaculate.
 
He has more goals than games this season so far. 37 goals in 36 games, 1.03 goals per game ratio. Also 13 assists, so 1.39 G+A per game.
 
giorno said:
Issue is 17/18 wasn't just an isolated, freak season. It was in the sense that he was bad, but as a scorer, he'd managed 19 goals in 16/17. Less than his backup, Morata. It was hard at that point to think he could go back to being a 25 goals a season player, and on top of that with Cristiano leaving, the idea was that he'd have to become a 30+ goals a season player. It's amazing that he did and honestly it does makes me wonder just how much he sacrificed for the team during the Cristiano years. A strange player to properly appreciate. He was obviously great, and at his very best you could make a case he was our best player outright, but then he'd follow those performances with stinkbombs, and between his languid style and big misses in front of goal(always loved those, even now. Probably unfair, but even now he doesn't give me confidence as a finisher :lol: ), plus Mourinho's nickname...

He's getting his due now though. As he deserves. Top 5 player in the club's history
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He didn't take PKs, even after Cristiano left, not until this season. PKs are a good portion of Cristiano/Lewa/almost any great scorer's tally.

He has consistently delivered in big matches during his career at Madrid.
 
he eclipsed Suarez in my book. very rarely useless in CL away games as Suarez was for Barca in recent seasons. same age as well, but you simply don't see it. power is still there, technique is still there, finishing is still there. all-around game on different level as well. and the best thing is - he could have another season like this next year. very few signs of him slowing down.
 
giorno said:
Issue is 17/18 wasn't just an isolated, freak season. It was in the sense that he was bad, but as a scorer, he'd managed 19 goals in 16/17. Less than his backup, Morata. It was hard at that point to think he could go back to being a 25 goals a season player, and on top of that with Cristiano leaving, the idea was that he'd have to become a 30+ goals a season player. It's amazing that he did and honestly it does makes me wonder just how much he sacrificed for the team during the Cristiano years. A strange player to properly appreciate. He was obviously great, and at his very best you could make a case he was our best player outright, but then he'd follow those performances with stinkbombs, and between his languid style and big misses in front of goal(always loved those, even now. Probably unfair, but even now he doesn't give me confidence as a finisher :lol: ), plus Mourinho's nickname...

He's getting his due now though. As he deserves. Top 5 player in the club's history
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Top 5 player in Madrid's history is quite a statement. I assume Di Stefano, Puskas and Cristiano are savely ahead of him which means you'd have him ahead of at least two of Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Ramos and Kroos?
 
kouroux said:
This. Despite that bad season by his standards, what he showed at Lyon and the few rare moments Ronaldo wasn't playing in his better seasons at Madrid were reasons enough for me to be patient.
However I never expected him to reach this season's level. He's been marvelous
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Even in his bad seasons in front of goalscoring I always felt the chemistry between him and Cristiano was too good to let go of. I can't remember thinking once I wanted him gone. At Benzema's worst he wasn't scoring much but still providing those incredible dynamics up front, at his best he was scoring 20-30 goals as the 2nd goalscorer in their team which was nothing short of amazing considering no team is honestly gonna have two 50 goal scoring players in the same season. I cannot tell how much I appreciated him, and even more so after Ronaldo went to Juventus and had Higuain and Morata alongside him.

In all honesty it makes me pretty happy to see him recognized even if only just now.
 
Zehner said:
Top 5 player in Madrid's history is quite a statement. I assume Di Stefano, Puskas and Cristiano are savely ahead of him which means you'd have him ahead of at least two of Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Ramos and Kroos?
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Benzema is a guy who has provided

- Longevity as a player and at the club, having spent 13 seasons at Madrid, with number 13 being his best.
- Elite link up play, among the best players in history, something coaches like Paco Jemez was remarking when Benzema was being criticized.
- Consistent clutch moments.
- Trophies.
- Phenomenal end product. Likely to end as second top scorer in spite of not taking penalties and first assister at the club ever.
- Versatility to adapt to different roles in the team, with Ronaldo and without Ronaldo in it.

While Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Roberto Carlos, Ramos, Kroos, Raul, Pirri, Michel, Hugo Sanchez are/were all phenomenal, they did not excell in so many departments.
 
Zehner said:
Top 5 player in Madrid's history is quite a statement. I assume Di Stefano, Puskas and Cristiano are savely ahead of him which means you'd have him ahead of at least two of Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Ramos and Kroos?
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He’s easily ahead of R9, Zidane, Kroos and Marcelo when comparing their Madrid careers in isolation.
 
Zehner said:
Top 5 player in Madrid's history is quite a statement. I assume Di Stefano, Puskas and Cristiano are savely ahead of him which means you'd have him ahead of at least two of Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Ramos and Kroos?
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I think Ronaldo Nazario, Butragueño or Kroos cannot be in the top 5.
Puskas is debatable. He scored almost as many goals and in less time.
It is very difficult to make a list .
1 Di Stefano 2 Cris is easy but from there I really don't know. What did you think @giorno .
Ramos in and Benzema out, Raúl in and Modric out? Raúl in Gento out?.
Beyond statistics (which modern players always win) some represent a moment of the club.
My father would surely want to include Amancio, Gento and Puskas
 
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I had a friend while on studies, a Madrid fan, he could not stop spouting bullshit about Benz back in the days of the Bale/Benzema/Ronaldo trio. He rated Higuain as better, imagine what a nutcase that guy was.
 
Benzema
carvajal said:
Puskas is debatable. He scored almost as many goals and in less time.
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Puskas never proved himself without Di Stefano like Benzema has done without Cristiano. Real Madrid were already a dominant force in 1950s and Puskas just went along for the ride.

And Puskas never had to sacrifice most of his prime to accomodate an another player because Di Stefano was an excellent playmaker to elevate his teammates. Which wasn't the case for Cristiano. So of course Puskas stats looks way better than Benzema with context added.

Benzema is clear ahead of Puskas.
 
GatoLoco said:
Benzema is a guy who has provided

- Longevity as a player and at the club, having spent 13 seasons at Madrid, with number 13 being his best.
- Elite link up play, among the best players in history, something coaches like Paco Jemez was remarking when Benzema was being criticized.
- Consistent clutch moments.
- Trophies.
- Phenomenal end product. Likely to end as second top scorer in spite of not taking penalties and first assister at the club ever.
- Versatility to adapt to different roles in the team, with Ronaldo and without Ronaldo in it.

While Butragueno, Zidane, Ronaldo, Modric, Marcelo, Roberto Carlos, Ramos, Kroos, Raul, Pirri, Michel, Hugo Sanchez are/were all phenomenal, they did not excell in so many departments.
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I think it's kind of a weird case. I think during the CL winning years 14-18, most people would have had Modric, Marcelo, Kroos and Ramos as more important than Benzema. Especially Modric who is still going strong and is arguably a top 3 midfielder of the last 20 years. It just feels a bit like a recency bias because he's so ridiculously good these days. I mean, it's clear that Benzema always had this in him and sacrificed much for the team and especially Cristiano but this doesn't change that during his most successful years in terms of titles, other players played more crucial roles while he was a supporting act.

On the other hand, there are a bunch of players who were most likely greater individuals - like Zidane and Ronaldo - but not with Madrid for a comparably long time, so I get that people have him ahead of them. Comparably to how Raul probably ranks ahead of a few better inidviduals.
 
Kostov said:
I had a friend while on studies, a Madrid fan, he could not stop spouting bullshit about Benz back in the days of the Bale/Benzema/Ronaldo trio. He rated Higuain as better, imagine what a nutcase that guy was.
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You could argue Higuain was better between 09-11. He certainly was performing more consistently and favoured by the coaches up until the back injury that kept him out for a season.
 
kouroux said:
Kroos has no business being a top 5 best ever Real Madrid player
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And they all forgot to mention a Ballon d'Or winner and annual contender while at Real Madrid. Plastic, the lot of them. :D
 
JPRouve said:
And they all forgot to mention a Ballon d'Or winner and annual contender while at Real Madrid. Plastic, the lot of them. :D
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Do you mean Kopa? :D He could be a candidate according to old fans but he wasn't enough time
 
carvajal said:
Do you mean Kopa? :D He could be a candidate according to old fans but he wasn't enough time
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While the lack of years should make sense, when you consider the importance of the trio Kopa, Puskas, Di Stefano in terms of Real Madrid's global aura, it's not right to not even mention him, they are the original galacticos.
 
JPRouve said:
While the lack of years should make sense, when you consider the importance of the trio Kopa, Puskas, Di Stefano in terms of Real Madrid's global aura, it's not right to not even mention him, they are the original galacticos.
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I once asked my father which player he thought was historically undervalued and the first player he told me was Kopa, but you know that it is easier and more obvious to choose recent players and more so with the Champions League string. It was said as well that he wasn't so open with his life like Di Stefano or Puskas.Less popular
 
carvajal said:
I once asked my father which player he thought was historically undervalued and the first player he told me was Kopa, but you know that it is easier and more obvious to choose recent players and more so with the Champions League string. It was said as well that he wasn't so open with his life like Di Stefano or Puskas.Less popular
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That's probably also true in France. Strangely enough when I look footages or the few full games available, Kopa is a typical fan favorite, an agile dribbler and great playmaker.

But regarding Benzema, for me he is in your top 10 for two reasons, he has the stats but as @GatoLoco said Benzema was consistent in every other part of his game outside of finishing. He has been a great player for Real Madrid for almost 10 years which is rare.
 
Di Stefano, Cristiano, Gento, Benzema, Sergio Ramos for me
 
giorno said:
Di Stefano, Cristiano, Gento, Benzema, Sergio Ramos for me
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It's hard to argue with any of those, but I find it hard to fathom no Raúl.

Is his legacy somewhat tarnished by the culture/dressing room mess that the club descended into (just as Barca became dominant)?

I know all these guys won everything as well, but Raúl won three CLs with rather different sides where he was a common denominator. Not the Galácticos, not Zidane or Ronaldo (which both got suggested here) it's Raúl that defines that period at the turn of the century.
 
Ahead of Platini no - would need a monster world cup winning tournament for that imo

Henry....let's just wait and see how this season and then the WC go....
 
giorno said:
Ahead of Platini no - would need a monster world cup winning tournament for that imo

Henry....let's just wait and see how this season and then the WC go....
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Nothing will put him above Platini.
 
Do you agree that Benzema, strictly on an individual level, didn't benefit anything playing 2nd fiddle to Cristiano ?

I feel like whole ordeal was a one-way affair with Cristiano taking all the credit. It was never a partnership were both mutually benefitted from it. The best duos of 2010s decade or even in football happened when the other half never had to sacrifice his game for someone else.

I'd say Benzema-Vinicius duo is much, MUCH, better duo than Cristiano-Benzema ever was. Vinicius is clearly better player than pre-2018 Benzema.
 
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