Hungry Benzema aiming to upset the odds
Monday, May 2, 2011
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José Mourinho may have suggested Real Madrid CF were chasing a lost cause against FC Barcelona but Karim Benzema has other ideas ahead of the second leg, stressing: "We can win this match."
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Normally it is unwise for any top-level footballer to disagree publicly with his coach – particularly if he carries the pedigree of a certain José Mourinho.
But when Karim Benzema heard the Portuguese say last week that he considered Real Madrid CF were virtually out of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, following their 2-0 first-leg home defeat by FC Barcelona, the striker clearly did not agree. And with another monumental tussle to follow at the Camp Nou on Tuesday, it is likely that Mourinho, and the club's fans, are actually delighted that one of the players who might just be capable of helping produce the improbable still believes that the cause is not lost.
Benzema, who scored his 23rd goal for Madrid this term in Saturday's loss to Real Zaragoza, explained: "I think this match is a great one for everyone. We know Barcelona are tremendous opponents but tomorrow we will attack and it is my intention to score important goals. Clearly we have a difficult result from the first leg which goes against us but we can win this match and we will give our best. There are 90 minutes left and we can win the match. If we defend well, we can then score lots of goals."
Whether his sentiments are fantasy or a prelude to something fantastic remains to be seen. Benzema, an unused substitute in the first leg, may prefer to think positive but he is not naive. "We lost two successive games and that's tough, we're in a difficult moment. However, we have 90 minutes to turn the tie around and I believe we will have our chances to do so," said the Frenchman, who has an exceptional scoring record in the UEFA Champions League with 19 goals from 32 appearances, six of them this season.
At 23, Benzema would love to win through to his first final in the competition and is not ruling out the prospect of proving his coach wrong – not that he is not a confirmed fan of the Portuguese. "Mou is a great coach and I think he's good because we won the cup and we're in the semi-finals," he said, adding: "I hope we can win this match."
