Zidane On Benzema: “We Are Brothers Who Share The Same Algerian Origins”

Football legend Zinédine Zidane who presented the Ballon d’Or trophy to his compatriot Karim Benzema, spoke about the things they have in common, in particular their Algerian origins, they who hail from families originating from Béjaïa, in eastern Algeria.

*The Ballon d’Or: “When I was his coach, I told Karim that he was going to win the Ballon d’Or one day. I’m really happy for him. Yes, it’s true that 24 years later, I couldn’t dream of a better heir. We were very few in France to win this trophy: Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin and now Karim. He has a special place in the history of French football,” Zidane said in an interview with L’Equipe.

*His relationship with Benzema: “I’m almost a big brother to Karim. That’s what we both like to call each other: little brother and big brother. We have more or less the same background: he is from Lyon, I am from Marseille, but apart from that… We really have a lot of things in common, right down to our origins: our families come from nearby villages in Algeria, in little Kabylia, we talked about it several times”.

*His career at Real Madrid: “He arrived very young. Even when he struggled and people thought he was going to throw in the towel, he said to himself, “I want to win here and I’m going to be the best. And he managed to do it. Despite the criticism and the pressure, enormous in a club like this, he was never discouraged, it’s really strong. That’s what I love about him: he never gave up, he let people do the talking and today, his record and his statistics speak for him.

*The departure of CR7: “Everyone says that Cristiano’s departure changed everything for him at Real Madrid but I don’t find it. He was very good when there was Cristiano, he scored goals, he gave assists to Cristiano. I think he just evolved and took on a little more confidence.”

Zinédine Zidane on Karim Benzema, Ballon d’Or 2022: “I would have made him score a lot of goals”

The last two French Ballons d’Or, have built a brotherly bond, which Zinédine Zidane recounts with emotion. https://t.co/s3HD2xK8CE pic.twitter.com/cXsqyVhdKy

— THE TEAM (@lequipe) October 18, 2022

*Benzema’s quality: “His touch on the ball has always impressed me, he is of such finesse. Control is what makes it possible to launch actions and he does crazy controls. He never misses them, even from the chest. Its on-the-move controls are superb. It’s beautiful to see when you’re three meters away from him. We sometimes thought we would have liked to play together. I would have made him score a lot of goals, yes, really. It didn’t happen, but we made up for it as a coach and a player.”

*The best French striker in history? “I don’t like to say ‘he’s the best’, everyone has their favorite player. Some will tell you it’s Jean-Pierre Papin with his exceptional goals, others will talk about Michel Platini… For me, it’s Karim, yes, because I worked with him and I know his worth . In any case, he deserves to be very high. I wish him to continue for a long time to go for records and to shine on the ground, with Real Madrid and with the France team. He is capable of going even higher.”