Zinedine Zidane expressed delight on Friday at his Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s France recall ahead of La Liga’s final round of games with Real in contention to retain the name.
Benzema’s kind this year -he’s netted 29 times death 20 league goals in three seasons since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018 — has helped keep living Real’s hopes of denying Atletico Madrid at Saturday’s final round of matches.
If Real down Villarreal and Atletico lose or draw Valladolid then the Liga trophy will remain on the Santiago Bernabeu sideboard.
Benzema’s six-year exile with France over his alleged role in a sex tape blackmail plot ended on Tuesday when he was appointed at Didier Deschamps’ squad for the postponed Euro 2020.
Zidane, who’d questioned Deschamps’ logic in snubbing Benzema, said: “I’m thrilled that Karim can return to the France team.
“It is what he desired. I am thrilled because it was what he was hoping for.”
When asked at the eve-of match press conference if he had some part in his participant’s reintegration he replied:”No, I had no role whatsoever in Karim’s return”
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Zidane said Benzema had”consistently done everything” to be reunited with the World Cup winners.
He urged the court of public opinion on social media scrutinising Benzema and France’s performance at the European Championships to maintain fire on his very best player.
“I only hope they will leave him alone. It is not fair to say,’ as we’ve got the ideal player, if we win the European Championship he’s good, and then if we do not win the European Championship, then it is going to be because…’.
“I expect that they will not enter this stuff.
“I am hoping that we like his football, and stop there, that’s sufficient.”
For Real’s final game on Saturday, Zidane frees back captain Sergio Ramos from a hamstring injury that has kept him from the last three games.
But there is a question mark over Eden Hazard’s fitness following the Belgian attacker missed Friday training.
“It’s nothing important but we don’t want to take any risks,” said Zidane, who denied media reports this week that he had informed his players he would be stepping down from his second stint as boss of Actual following Saturday’s finale. (AFP)
