[R_9-Ronaldo]

A supremely talented Frenchman of Algerian descent on the way to the top...Sound familiar?

Karim Benzema, ‘Les Gones’ latest superstar-in-the making has been drawing in scouts to the Gerland from all over Europe following his blistering start to the season.

Benzema, with 12 goals from 16 matches this season, is being tipped for great things and speculation is rife that he will soon be on his way to one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Comparisons with the great ‘Zizou’ seem inevitable, however it appears the young Olympique Lyonnais star is looking to follow in the footsteps of one of Zidane’s former teammates at the Bernabéu. “Since I was small, Ronaldo is my point of reference, my source of inspiration, to come back from soo many injuries and enjoy the successes he has is special in my opinion” he said.

Benzema, who is jokingly referred to by friends and teammates as an encyclopaedia of football due to the fact that he likes to spend his free time trawling through and ‘studying’ endless videos of matches, admits that he has followed the career of Ronaldo closely ever since ‘El Fenomeno’ moved to PSV.

He speaks in awe of the way that Ronaldo was able to combine ‘technique, power,speed, dribbling and goals’ into his game which made him, at his peak, almost unplayable, and as his early season performances indicate he is well on the way to emulating his world cup hero.

Early Years

Born in France to Algerian parents, Benzema was spotted by Lyon’s scouts playing for his youth team Bron Terraillon in 1996 at the tender age of nine and was quickly signed up to the club’s excellent youth academy. The huge potential earmarked by the scouts soon began to be realised.

Benzema scored goals for fun in the youth sides enjoying a smooth ascent to the first team squad, having been capped by France at U-16, U-17, and U-18 level, scoring an impressive 20 goals in 35 appearances for France’s youth teams.

Following France’s triumph at the Uefa U-17 European Championship in 2004, Benzema along with Lyon team mate Hatem Ben Arfa, Samir Nasri of Marseille, and Jérémy Menez of Monaco have been heralded as France’s new golden generation of future stars.

He did not have to wait too long before making the step up to the first team. Benzema came off the bench to make his debut in a league encounter with Metz and he made an instant impact. Coming on late in the game, he was able to make a difference when he played in Bryan Bergougnoux to score the winner with a superb assist.

This moment of magic did not lead to an immediate first team berth that season, he was only to feature 6 times for the first team that season, however he continued to bang in the goals for the U-18s scoring 12 in 14.

Claim To Fame

By May 2005, Benzema had emerged as one of the biggest hopes in French football and he signed a new 5 year deal with Lyon, declaring that he was looking forward to improving his game at one of the best clubs in Europe.

And he certainly continued to do so the following season (05-06) with 13 League appearances and a memorable debut in the Champions League against Norwegian side Rosenborg. Collecting a pass from the aforementioned Ben Arfa, he took on two defenders before dispatching the ball past a helpless keeper with a lovely finish to further cement his reputation as one-to-watch.

Last season, despite stiff competition for places from the likes of Wiltord, Govou, Fred, Carew and Baros in an imperious Lyon attack, the youngster took off from the previous season making even more appearances for the first team (21) and scoring 5 goals. His tally included a vital goal against Dynamo Kiev which secured his side passage to the last 16 of the Champions League.

National Team

It was here that Benzema had to make a potentially difficult decision. France or Algeria. Having been called up to the France squad for a friendly against Greece in November 2006 he was forced to pull out through injury.

It was then that an invitation to play for Algeria came through from the Algerian FA to which Benzema responded, ‘Algeria it is the country of my parents, it is in my heart, but as far as football is concerned, I will play for the French national team.”

Benzema had to wait nearly another six months before he could realize his dream, however the chance finally came in a friendly against Austria at the Stade de France in March 2007 and he was not to disappoint, firing home a powerful effort from a well worked free-kick to score the only goal of the game.

Only Getting Started

If Benzema’s story up until now had been one of slow but very steady progress, his explosive start to this season has made him one of the most talked about players in European football. The 19 year old Ronaldo wannabe has delighted Lyon supporters with his early season form, and 11 goals from 14 have helped propel his side to the summit of Le Ligue.

Those who wrote off Lyon following several big name departures over the summer had clearly not anticipated the rise to prominence of Karim Benzema. However, Alain Perrin seems determined to protect his young prodigy and following the return to fitness of Brazilian striker Fred it seems that Benzema may be used as more of an impact player, coming off the bench to influence games at crucial stages. Lyon have a long hard season ahead, Perrin is perhaps worried about Benzema burning out before the business end of the season arrives.

This may not, however, be Perrin’s biggest worry. Perhaps of more immediate concern should be the presence of Europe’s top clubs, led by AC Milan, The club that Benzema's world renowned hero plays for, Others in the race for Benzema's signature are Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, Internazionale, and Arsenal (if you believe the papers), circling around his top scorer and perhaps plotting a January move for the free-scoring Frenchman.

Benzema has moved to dampen speculation linking him with a move away, insisting that, though flattered by the interest being shown in him, he will not be going anywhere before his contract runs out in 2012.

One thing is for sure, if Benzema can continue his early season form it will not be long before Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has some very tempting offers to consider.



Currently he's on 26goals in all competitions, Fine addition to united come 6months time

[toonmagic9]

from what i've seen he is a fantastic player wether utd need him is debatable but if he does come to the prem it will be to one of the top four