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Original article from France Football, published in 2022.
Karim Benzema welcomes you into his home the same way he plays on the field: with a simple desire to adapt while remaining true to himself, ensuring the moment is shared. The Ballon d'Or he pursued has finally come to him, creating a solemn and suspended moment in time.
The setting is his kitchen, a place where all senses are heightened. Seated on elegant golden high chairs near a bay window that floods the room with light, the conversation flows for an hour and a half, composing a symphony of insights into his unique style of play.
What do you feel when you look at this Ballon d'Or?
Joy, pride... so many memories and images come flooding back. There is no greater individual award in any sport. Just the name: Ballon d'Or. It's something different, magnificent, all gold—the height of beauty. And you can't buy it. It's mine, and I went out and got it myself. It's insane.
It seems to suit you. And you, it. It almost looks like it's winking at you...
This meeting was written in the stars. It fits with my life, my career, my story. I couldn't see myself retiring from football without it. I had to go and get it. I wanted it and I did everything for it, but it wasn't an obsession, something in my head driving me crazy. I had to figure out how to get closer, and closer, and then—'tac'—grab it. When you have the Ballon d'Or, you've made history in your sport. And I play football to leave something behind, even if it's just one move, one emotion.
"In My Head, Football Is So Simple"
Who did you talk to about the Ballon d'Or?
My mother. It was her dream for me. She always told me, "You're the best, you're going to win it." It was special; she was convinced, certain. They weren't long discussions, but she had her words. When I was preparing for a new season and talking with my parents, my brother... my mother would say, "I hope you still have the Ballon d'Or in your head."
What does it taste like?
It's beyond everything. It's an individual trophy, but it is—and always will be—collective. It's for my teammates, of course, but also for the people on the outside. I share it with those where I come from, the neighborhoods, my fans, everyone. It's my Ballon d'Or, but really, it's the people's Ballon d'Or.
The last time we met, we described you as a "flavor enhancer" on the pitch, and you said you could be the "salt and pepper." Since we're in your kitchen, this Ballon d'Or must have a special flavor.
All the right ingredients are mixed together. It's the dish or dessert you've been waiting for. You go to a restaurant and say, "Today, I'm only here for this. No need to add anything. Just put it in front of me." And as a Frenchman, to win it after 'Zizou' is special, magnificent. He's important to me; he's my big brother. I learned football from him and R9 (Ronaldo Nazário).
Are you his successor?
You could say I'm his successor, even though we're not the same type of player. He's better at his game. (He smiles genuinely.)
"I'm Going to Sleep with It"
Is the Ballon d'Or the only ball you want to caress with your hands rather than your feet?
I'm going to sleep with it. I'll be like a little kid with his first teddy bear. Every time I see it, it will remind me of my childhood. Images of my younger self will flash through my mind. I don't know for how long; maybe it will never stop. This is my life... the evolution of a kid with a small leather ball that became a golden one. It's incredible.
Now, let's apply those senses to the pitch. What do you look at just before a match begins?
The opponent's goal and my direct opponent. I watch and analyze my defender in a few seconds: where he positions himself, his behavior, whether he's going to press me hard or give me time to control the ball. It all happens very quickly.
In an exclusive interview, the Real Madrid striker, named French Player of the Year for 2021, breaks down his unique approach to the game, where seeing is everything.
The Pre-Match Ritual
Does the battle of wits begin in the tunnel, with a look?
No. For me, it's just a little boost of concentration as I walk down the stairs. As captain, I turn to look at my team and send them a message: "This is it, let's go."
What goes through your mind when you step onto the Bernabeu pitch?
It's magnificent. I hear the fans, and the adrenaline starts to rise. We greet the opposition, and so on. I know where my family and friends are, we make eye contact—there's a connection. I have to do it; I need it. I can't start a match without that.
"I don't watch the ball, but who has it. From there, I know where to position myself. Through my movement, I try to anticipate where the ball might go."
Reading the Game
Once the game starts and your team has possession, where do your eyes focus?
I don't watch the ball, but who has it. From there, I know where to position myself. Through my movement, I try to anticipate where the ball might go. I focus on the tempo to get my movement right. But my eyes are always scanning everywhere.
Where on the field do you prefer to be?
Either in the box to finish the move and score, or at the start of it, just past the halfway line in the final thirty meters. I love getting the ball there and having the whole field, the whole stadium, in front of me to initiate the play. That's where I see and read the game.
So, to see is to know?
If you want to play fast, it's better to see before you receive the ball. You have to have looked around to know what you're going to do. That's something you learn. Control, hold, play one-touch, attack, slow it down—so many possibilities open up. So, I must have seen the situation to know what to do. But I try to see the next play. Not the one I'm about to make, but the one that could happen after. I've already seen what I need to do; I know. So I look around to think about the next move and gain that extra split-second advantage.
Do you see everything around you with perfect clarity?
Yes. But I don't focus all my visual attention on what's close to me, on my side. I focus more on what's happening on the opposite side, because that's where the space might be. If I see it, boom, I control the ball in a way that lets me switch play, hoping that my full-back has anticipated my visual cue. Or if one of our midfielders passes to me, I know: "Here, it will play out like this; on the other side, like that. It's all set." It sounds simple, I know.
Is it really that simple?
I used to discuss this with "Zizou" (Zinedine Zidane). We could both get frustrated by a misplaced pass because it seemed so simple to us. I'd say, "No, but that's an easy pass." He'd reply, "Okay, easy for you. But you have to consider the other player and put yourself in their shoes." In my head, I see football as such a simple sport: one-touch, involve your teammates, move, receive, pass, score, assist. So, what seems simple to me might be complicated for someone else. I am not them, and they are not me.
A Game of Eyes
Are your eyes constantly moving?
My eyes are what move continuously. I'm looking everywhere. In today's football, nobody talks about the eyes. It's no longer "I have the ball, what did I see to know what to do with it?" but rather "Who's passing, who's scoring, who's shooting, who's dribbling, who runs the fastest and jumps the highest?" To be a great player, it's important to have your head and your eyes working before your feet.
"With Modric, we communicate with our eyes. He looks at me, he knows how my body is positioned. I look at him, I know how his is. And we both know what's going to happen."
Do you speak with your teammates using just your eyes?
It depends on the player. With Modric, we don't need to talk; we communicate with our eyes. He looks at me, he knows how my body is positioned. I look at him, I know how his is. And we both know what's going to happen. Against PSG [in the Champions League round of 16 second leg, a 3-1 win], everyone thought he was going to play the ball wide, but I knew he was going to make that pass. And he knew it too, because I slowed down and dropped back, all while acting as if he was going to play it wide. For him, it's all about the eyes, the movement, the head—before the feet.
Among great players, a single glance is often enough to understand and interpret a situation on the field.
The 2022 Standings 1. Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), 549 points 2. Sadio Mané (Senegal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich), 193 pts 3. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City), 175 pts 4. Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona), 170 pts 5. Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool), 116 pts 6. Kylian Mbappé (France, Paris-SG), 85 pts 7. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid), 82 pts 8. Vinicius Jr. (Brazil, Real Madrid), 61 pts 9. Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid), 20 pts 10. Erling Haaland (Norway, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City), 18 pts 11. Son Heung-min (South Korea, Tottenham), 5 pts 12. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City), 4 pts 13. Sébastien Haller (Ivory Coast, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund), 2 pts 14. Fabinho (Brazil, Liverpool), 2 pts -. Rafael Leão (Portugal, AC Milan), 2 pts 16. Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool), 1 pt 17. Casemiro (Brazil, Real Madrid, Manchester United), 1 pt -. Luis Díaz (Colombia, FC Porto, Liverpool), 1 pt -. Dušan Vlahović (Serbia, Fiorentina, Juventus), 1 pt 20. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Juventus, Manchester United), 0 pts 21. Harry Kane (England, Tottenham), 0 pts 22. Trent Alexander-Arnold (England, Liverpool), 0 pts -. Phil Foden (England, Manchester City), 0 pts -. Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City), 0 pts 25. João Cancelo (Portugal, Manchester City), 0 pts -. Joshua Kimmich (Germany, Bayern Munich), 0 pts -. Mike Maignan (France, AC Milan), 0 pts -. Christopher Nkunku (France, RB Leipzig), 0 pts -. Darwin Núñez (Uruguay, Benfica, Liverpool), 0 pts -. Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Chelsea, Real Madrid), 0 ptsTie-Breaking Rules
In the event of a tie, players are separated by the number of first-place votes received, then second-place, and so on. If a tie still remains, the total number of Ballon d'Or nominations a player has received in their career is used as the final tie-breaker.
Benzema on Sizing Up the Opposition
The Ballon d'Or has already found its place in Karim Benzema's world. The striker offers insight into how he analyzes his opponents on the pitch.
Do you size up your opponents visually?
Always. With defenders, I take a minute to observe them, to see how they react to my movements and what their tendencies are. When I get the ball, I vary my first touch, and from there, I know where they might struggle. I analyze them. But there's no staring contest. That kind of thing exists, but I don't get involved in it.
Do some defenders try to intimidate you with their stare?
Yeah, often. It actually makes me laugh. It's true, it's funny. You come up against a defender who tries that stuff and then sees it's useless. So he'll tap my shoulder and basically say, "Alright, take it easy..." A defender might try to intimidate me. I tell him, "Listen, you can be physical, but play the ball." Let's play football. Going head-to-head isn't my thing. I don't like getting into that, and I don't want to. I've seen aggression in defenders' eyes, yeah, nasty looks. For no reason.
Have you ever seen fear in their eyes?
Yes. It doesn't necessarily make me more confident, but I try to exploit their weaknesses. When you see reluctance or hesitation, you have to take advantage of it.
Do you often keep an eye on the goalkeeper?
I watch him before the matches. I try to see where he's very good and where he's not so good. That can help.
You're at the edge of the box, the ball comes to you, and because you've already assessed the situation, you know you can take a shot. Have you already checked the keeper's position?
Not necessarily, it depends. Against Bilbao, there was a pass to Kroos, who passed it to me, and I hit it first-time—it was a top goal. I didn't look at his position because, in the previous plays, I had seen that the keeper was staying close to his near post. So I shot for the far post without looking. I already had the information. As for my teammates, I know where each of them is going and what they're going to do. It's easy for me because I know, it's in my head. With an opponent, it takes me a few minutes. The more the match goes on, the more I know.
Does your focus ever drift during a match?
Not to the point of becoming a spectator, no. But it has happened, due to fatigue or when things are difficult, that my gaze wanders a bit, but not for long. It might drift into the stands or somewhere else. It happens when you miss two or three chances, or you're caught offside twice in a row.
Do you ever tell yourself, "I'm going to eat this defender alive"?
In training, I ask Alaba, Militão, and Rüdiger to defend me like it's a real match. They're the best, so it gets intense. We're not going to break each other's legs, but I tell them, "Play hard, play fast, don't let me get past you." That's how I get ready for the game. But I don't think to myself, "I'm going to devour him." That "eating the defender" mentality was more for when I was younger. (He smiles mischievously.) No, I don't have that. All I'm looking for is to make a difference. When I step onto the pitch, I think: "I'm going to tear everything up today. I'm going to break the goal!"
How do you like to connect with the ball?
I use every part of my foot, but I get the most pleasure from using the outside of my boot. I watched and learned Ronaldo's ball control. But I can't do what he did; it's impossible. You can tell a player lives and breathes football by their touch. They caress the ball; their movement is fluid. I need that feeling. My vision isn't on the ball but further downfield. I can't just "push and run." I don't want to waste the ball or ruin it. I want it to be clean, beautiful. I caress it when I control it, I smash it when I shoot, or I'm more delicate when I want to place it. It all depends.
Are the sensations different with your left foot?
Yes. I have to be more deliberate; it's not as natural. And I tend to shoot harder. With my right, it's more precise, more surgical.
Let's run through a scenario. You have your back to goal near the center circle and you're about to lay the ball off to Modrić.
Most of the time, it will be with the inside of my foot. If the ball comes in slowly, I'll use the sole of my boot to pass it back to him. If it comes in hard, a quick touch with the inside. That's if he's right in front of me. If he's moving, I'm more likely to use the outside of my foot. My touch adapts to how I receive the ball and the position and movement of the player I'm passing to. And with the outside of my foot, I can set him up to change the direction of play, because I've already seen the next move.
Exactly. He plays a one-two, and the ball comes back to you. This time you're running at goal from 35 meters out, with Vinícius on your left.
I'll play it to "Vini" with my left foot if I need to pass it to his feet, or a little touch with the outside of my boot if he's really close. Or, I'll use the inside of my foot if I want to play him in behind, between the defenders, towards the goal.
He makes his run and finds you at the edge of the box, slightly to the left, half-turned and ready to make your next move.
(His fingers trace the action on the table.) I control it with the inside of my foot, turning my body to the right, take a small touch with the outside, and then I either shoot or cross.
"Instinct? That's all that matters. I'm an instinctive player. Everything I do, I've thought about it, but I haven't overthought it."
If you had to name a sixth sense, what would it be?
Instinct. That's the only thing that's real. I'm an instinctive player. I don't overthink. Everything I do, I've thought about it, but I haven't analyzed it. When the ball is there, it's instinctive.
How do you sense where to be to get into the best scoring position?
You always need a bit of luck. You have to position yourself and also trust the person who's going to serve you the ball. I always tell the player who wants to find me: "I move a lot, so just put the ball into a zone, don't look for me specifically. I'll take care of the rest." If he finds the right area, even if I'm up against three or four defenders, I can manage to score. It's all planned.
Is instinct a way of perceiving reality or anticipating it?
There's always a thought that tells you to do something. Then, you choose. I listen to my instinct and I just do it. The times I've hesitated with a "maybe," I've missed my chance. But my instinct is more about shooting, about finishing. The rest is more about feeling. I feel the play through movements, like when I anticipate my defender's move in order to make my own. The third goal against PSG was pure instinct. I run, clap, outside of the boot. I could have used the inside of my foot, my body was leaning a bit, but instinct told me to use the outside. I continued my run, and the ball wasn't even in the net yet, but I was already off celebrating. That's instinct.
Does inspiration and creativity come from that instinct?
Yes. And that's what has always guided my game. Creativity just comes out like that. What I do is creative, I'm convinced of it. These aren't things you see all the time. It's not just a pass for the sake of a pass. On the surface, it might seem that way, but it's more than that. Or with every touch, I always make sure the ball stays about a meter in front of me to open up all the possibilities.
Is every touch of the ball an opportunity to create?
Yes. I try to make it so. Someone watching a match might say, "a flick-on is just a flick-on, come on, don't exaggerate." But it depends on how the ball arrives, how you touch it, and what happens next. The play that follows is born from the way that flick-on was executed. It's not just the end result that's important; everything counts. If your outside-of-the-boot flick isn't in the path of your teammate's run, he has to slow down and everything changes. Everything is creative. The journey is creative.
Does this sixth sense, your creative instinct, turn technique into art?
It has to be art in the end. It is art.
Have you elevated your game to the level of art?
Yes. Sometimes I watch one of my matches and I say to myself, "That's insane!" (He laughs.)
So you've become an artist?
In what I do, yes. But that's just my own view. Everything I do, even a simple pass or a simple movement, is based on what could happen next. I grew up with the football of artists, "Zizou" and Ronaldo. Despite all the great players we've seen since, they are on another level. Through what they've done, Cristiano and Messi are also artists; you can't do what they do.
Where do you see yourself among them?
Right in the middle. We feel the same kind of football, we have some similarities, but I can't put myself in their category. It's not the same, and it's not a question of ranking. "Zizou," Ronaldo... I can't. I grew up with their football, I was inspired by them. I am unique, I'm in my own game, but you can't put me with them. Nobody, for that matter. Same with "Cris" and Messi. I am on my own. I've become the player I dreamed of being—one who creates goals and scores them, who makes decisions in big matches, who performs, who gets back up. I am unique in my style and in what I've accomplished.
Is this Ballon d'Or a life lesson?
Considering everything that has happened to me, and not just in football, I can't compare myself to any other player because it's too different. At times, what I went through was too hard. It's my life lesson, not for others, not a life example for people, no. I started from the very bottom and I reached the very top. It was a long road, with good times and sadder ones, with your family, your mother, your father crying. It's not just about football. It's more than a Ballon d'Or.
