Karim Benzema Cannot Complain About Being Substituted by Benitez at Real Madrid
Life is never simple and straightforward at Real Madrid; even when the team is doing well, winning games and has plenty of reason to be optimistic, the star names and big egos—on and off the field—mean there always seems to be someone who feels slighted, wronged or unjustly treated.
Striker and top goalscorer Karim Benzema is the latest to voice an opinion that he might be getting less than he deserves, displaying unhappiness at being continually substituted by new boss Rafael Benitez.
When asked about being subbed in the recent derby against Atletico Madrid, Benzema responded, per AS: "You need to ask the coach on that point. I’m a relaxed person and will keeping work hard so I’m not the player who gets taken off. Today I was subbed to make the team more defensive given the result."
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ESPN FC added that he was pressed on the matter by AS, with the forward saying it was "true" he was tired of being the one selected to leave the field for tactical matters.
So is Benzema right to be annoyed at being hauled off, or is this such a minor concern it shouldn't even be a factor in Benitez's—and Benzema's, for that matter—thinking?
Substitutions and Minutes
Let's lay out the facts first. After all, it's what Benitez would want.
Benzema was injured at the end of pre-season, overlapping into the start of the new campaign. As a result, he missed the 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon on the opening day. He was straight back in for the next match and has started all eight of Real Madrid's matches since; only two other players in Real's squad can match that run: central midfielder Luka Modric and star man Cristiano Ronaldo.
Two others, Raphael Varane and Isco, have featured in every game, but both have made an appearance off the bench in that time rather than starting each one.
During these eight games, Benzema has been substituted six times, playing the full 90 against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and Malaga in La Liga. All told, he has missed 126 minutes by being subbed six times, while his total game time on the pitch is 588 minutes, per Transfermarkt.
That puts Benzema eighth in the squad for minutes this season so far—not bad considering he missed one entire game, was being eased back in and unlikely to play 90 minutes for at least one or two matches after that injury and some of the players ahead of him include the mainstay centre-back, first-choice goalkeeper, the indispensable Modric and Ronaldo.
Benzema is the first-choice striker at Real, so comparisons with Jese are not overly helpful, but for a reference point, the 22-year-old has played 132 minutes thus far.
Turn Back Time
That's this season—but what about beforehand? Does Benzema feel his game time and importance is being eroded by Benitez?
If he does, the Frenchman either has a short memory or is rather mistaken. Last season under Carlo Ancelotti, Benzema, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale—the so-called BBC strike force—were something close to untouchable, always in the team when fit and always the first three picks in attack.
That said, Benzema still played around 3,600 minutes—far less than Bale's 4,000 and a full 1,000 minutes less than Ronaldo. Benzema's overall position in the squad for minutes played across 2014-15 was seventh. He was just ahead of Sergio Ramos, who if not for injuries would also have surpassed the No. 9's game time.
Ancelotti substituted Benzema a whopping 30 times from 46 appearances—that's 65 per cent, or just about two-thirds of the time he featured. No other Real player came close to being subbed that much, with Isco (20) and James Rodriguez (23) the next in line.
We could go further back: 2013-14 saw Benzema play 52 games and be subbed off 32 times, while the great time-sharing season of 2012-13 saw Real's No. 9 make 50 appearances and be subbed 26 times—but he also come on as a sub 17 times, racking up just 2,855 minutes as he shared strike duties with Gonzalo Higuain (44 games, 17 as sub, subbed 13 times, 2,489 minutes).
Being used as player who is called upon to change the game, either with his presence off the bench or by removing him to reshape the team, is absolutely nothing new for Karim Benzema.
Benitez
What about the Real Madrid manager himself, then. Benitez has long been a polarising figure, with some viewers convinced he can do any job with the right tools and others seeing him as a second-tier manager: good, but not of the standard of Mourinho, Ancelotti or Guardiola.
Two Liga titles and plenty of success in the Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League points to silverware to support the former opinion, but at Napoli, he ended with just a Coppa Italia and Supercoppa to his name after three years. That is success, but it is not the endless, top-end success that Real fans demand from every single manager who walks through the door at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Even so, now back "home" in Madrid, Benitez has quickly set about showing he can fashion the talented squad at his disposal into a team that is at times devastating in attack and difficult to break down in defence. Luck has played a part too, but that's simply part of football and shouldn't be used to negate the obvious qualities shown by the team since he arrived.
The other side of Benitez's management, though, the non-tactical aspects, have also been used as a stick to beat him with at times.
His personal relationships with players, his man management, his demeanour and willingness to see players as people rather than just assets, have all been called into question at times.
Benzema's words on "asking the coach" hint at no explanation being offered to him as to why he is being subbed, while former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's also suggested Benitez "didn't like him" as a person and was frosty in his latest book, My Story (h/t the Daily Mail).
Even more recently, Sergio Ramos and Benitez had words to say about each other after the 1-1 draw with Atleti, with ESPN FC reporting the two had a clear-the-air chat at training afterward. Marca (h/t the Mirror) has reported he has fallen out with five first-team players.
A divisive figure, then, but one who gets results—and if the La Liga title returns to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season, nobody inside the core part of the team will be complaining much.
Deschamps
A new wrinkle, or perhaps just mischievous smile at the situation, came when Benzema was recently called up as usual for international duty with France.
The following press conference inevitably saw boss Didier Deschamps asked for his reaction to the fact his striker is regularly substituted at club level, with Marca reporting France's manager stated a full 90 minutes was in the offing: "I won't substitute him. He always wants to score goals for us, but scoring isn't everything for him, he also likes to get involved in the team's play. He's a very important player for France."
It wasn't all positive, though, with L'Equipe reporting (h/t Football365) further quotes from Deschamps, who says he wants to see more from the striker.
"There is the matter of Karim’s efficiency but it also depends on the players that are around him. He still remains the best scorer in the French team. He wants to do better of course and he can do it. But we have 11 players in the team and everyone has the responsibility to help in attack.
"
France are guaranteed to feature at Euro 2016 as hosts, of course, so it's natural Benzema—with 25 goals in 80 caps so far—wants to be in top form heading into next summer. That means plenty of game time at Real Madrid, yes, but if there is anything to take from previous major tournaments, it also means plenty of rest.
An injury, or fatigue, will not help Benzema shine or his team achieve success.
Benzema
Ultimately, players want what is best for themselves, save for a very few, select cases—and while he certainly isn't selfish in playing style or what he gives the team on the pitch, there's no tremendous reason to think Benzema isn't one of the many.
He wants to play and star as the centre-forward and to score plenty of goals for club and country.
What Benzema has to realise this season is he has a chance to do both in a winning environment. France's World Cup 1998 success on home soil isn't forgotten, and they have an extremely able squad to call upon.
Indeed, up front is arguably where the greatest strength in depth lies, with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Antoine Griezmann, Anthony Martial and others all vying for spots in the squad.
Benzema will lead that group, but Benitez can also give him the platform to head into Euro 2016 on the back of a very successful season. If that means substituting Benzema once in a while or even two out of every three games to ensure Real still clock up the points needed, then so be it.
He's not as untouchable as Ronaldo, and unlike James, Bale, Isco, Modric or Mateo Kovacic, Benzema only plays in one position or role.
It's natural the most offensive players are changed more regularly, and the striker himself has already given the best advice he could hope to receive elsewhere: "I will keeping work hard so I’m not the player who gets taken off."
If there's one top coach anywhere who will appreciate that outlook the most, it's Benitez.
Game time, substitution and appearance stats via Transfermarkt.
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