Former Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka has explained how Karim Benzema emerged from Cristiano Ronaldo ’s shadow to become the club’s natural leader.
The Frenchman netted a stunning hat-trick as Madrid stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. A quickfire second half hat-trick from Benzema turned the tie in the hosts' favour with a comeback described as "magic" by boss Ancelotti. Now 34, the former Lyon striker has found the best form of his career with Karanka describing him as having “aged like a fine wine”.
Karanka, now working as a pundit on LaLigaTV and as a technical analyst for UEFA, coached the two attacking superstar and club legends during his tenure as assistant to Jose Mourinho between 2010 and 2013. The peak was the 2011-12 campaign when Madrid won the league title by breaking multiple records including 100 points in a single season, a record 121 goals scored and goal difference of +89, a record 16 away wins and 32 overall wins.
Ronaldo was the superstar among superstars – the Portuguese forward netted a scarcely believable 450 goals in just 438 first-team appearances for Real Madrid. Benzema – whose Madrid career has spanned 13 seasons – has now moved up to 311 goals, third on the top scorers list and just 12 behind second-placed Raul.
The Frenchman was always a prolific scorer but has come into his own in terms of goals and leading the line since Ronaldo’s exit. Four of Benzema’s best six goalscoring seasons have come since Ronaldo’s exit to Juventus in 2018 – he had bagged just 12 goals in the 2017/18 campaign, but his numbers for the season since have been 30, 27 and 30 – while this time round he is on 32 and counting.
Karanka coached both Ronaldo and Benzema during his time in the dugout of Los Blancos, and he has now spoken of the Frenchman’s character and has claimed that he now has the status and quality to be crowned as the world’s best player this year.
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Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football ahead of Sunday’s El Clasico, which you can watch on LaLigaTV, Karanka said: “I think Karim definitely can win the Ballon d’Or because of what he has achieved and continues to achieve at Real Madrid. He has almost scored more goals than anyone else.
“Karim is a real character – he is a little bit shy and sometimes you do not realise that he is there. He will be thinking of himself, but not in a selfish way, but in terms of how he can improve. He was criticised a lot when he was young that he did not score enough goals and he had a lot of pressure – plus he was playing alongside Cristiano.
“The key moment for Karim was when Cristiano left. His body language can fool you when you do not know him, but I knew that he would replace Cristiano as the leader of that team. He has aged like a fine wine. His presence alone on the pitch is important for his teammates and he can win any individual award.”
Benzema went almost four years without a goal against Barcelona before netting in Real Madrid’s home league win over the Blaugrana late last season and netted against the same opposition in the Spanish Supercopa semi-final earlier this month. He will be hoping to spearhead another Madrid triumph over their fierce rivals in Sunday’s league clash in the Spanish capital.
Don’t miss ElClásico this Sunday exclusively on LaLigaTV, available in the UK via Premier Sports and Amazon Prime Video Channels.
