Zidane, Real Madrid coach, has no doubts, Benzema is the best French striker of all time, he said after the double against Athletic Bilbao
Neither Just Fontaine, nor Thierry Henry, nor Eric Cantona, nor Antoine Griezmann, nor Jean Pierre Papin. For Zinedine Zidane, the best striker in the history of France is Karim Benzema. After the double he signed against Athletic, the Real Madrid player received this compliment from his coach. Does the data support the statement of the French coach?
Zidane, with a serious gesture (no kidding), was clear and forceful at the press conference after the 3-1 victory over Gaizka Garitano’s team. “For me, Benzema is the best striker in the history of France. It’s very clear.”.
What has Benzema done to receive such an honor from a man who is not just a Real Madrid coach? Zidane more than that, he is one of the best players in the history of his country with permission from Michel Platini.
For years, Zidane has been coming in as a man who does not get on the planes of his coach, Didier Deschamps, enters every day. Perhaps, for reasons unrelated to football still related to that matter between Valbuena and Benzema that condemned the Real Madrid player not to play with his country since October 2015, when his last match was played, a friendly against Armenia in which he scored two goals.
Statistics, data, and titles to compare all of the names cited above with Benzema can help corroborate Zidane’s claim. To begin the analysis, we must take the data of the Real Madrid striker: he has 17 seasons in the elite, 12 of them in the white club. In them, he has won 4 Leagues, 3 Super Cups and a Cup in France.
In Spain it has gained 3 titles of League, 3 Supercopas and 2 Copas of the King. To all these titles must be added 4 Champions Leagues, 3 European Super Cups, and 4 Club World Cups.. He has a total of 27 first-class titles with a total of 340 goals and an average of 0.49 goals per game.
Y con Francia, participated in the Euro 2008 and was eliminated in the group stage; was not cited by Raymond Domenech for the World Cup in South Africa; was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Spain in Euro 2012 and in Brazil 2014 did not pass the quarterfinals. In the end, he lost the title of his selection in Russia 2018.
FONTAINE, HISTORIC GOLDEN BALLOON OF THE 1958 WORLD SWEDEN
Focusing on time, his first rival for the trophy for best striker in the history of France is Fontaine. The number of titles of the player born in Marrakech (Morocco) in 1933 is not as spectacular as those added by Benzema: 4 Leagues, 2 Cups and 2 French Super Cups. However, in the selection, he performed at an excellent level.
Especially in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, which is proclaimed Golden Boot with 13 goals, a figure never equaled in history. Lead to its selection towards a third place that would only be surpassed after the France of Zidane, campaign of the world in 1998.
Fontaine completed an amazing World Cup. He scored more goals than top players like Garrincha, Pelé, Helmut Rahn or Vavá. Then no one came close to the figure of 13 goals in the same tournament and would still score another 8 goals in the 1960 European Championship, in which France was fourth. In 2003, the French Football Federation chose him as the best player in his country for the last 50 years.
PAPIN, THE ONLY FRENCH FRONT WITH A GOLDEN BALL
In 1991 Jean Pierre Papin won the Golden Ball ahead of Dejan Savicevic, Darko Pancev and Lothar Matthäus. After Raymond Kopa and Michel Platini, he became the third Frenchman to achieve this, but with the peculiarity: he is the only striker among the three. Then no other Gallic battering ram succeeded. Others like Griezmann, Cantona or Henry were looking to get it, but accumulated second and third places in different years.
In the name of titles, Papin does not even come close to those that Benzema has won. He has barely won a Belgian Cup with Club Brujas, 4 Leagues and a Cup with Olympique Marseille, 2 Leagues, 2 Champions Leagues and 2 Italian Super Cups with Milan and a UEFA Cup in the ranks of Bayern Munich. In total, 12 trophies for the 27 of Benzema.
Con Francia, he competed in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and tied for third place in Sweden in 1958. With his fragile appearance, without much scope (1’76), he was a precise executor who showed a brutal effectiveness throughout his career. . A very complete striker who, without being able to, could be the best in the history of France.
CANTONA, THE REBEL THAT BREAK MOLDS
Perhaps, over the years of French football, the most classy striker, courtesy of Henry, has been Eric Cantona. However, the genius he showed on the field, especially in the ranks of Manchester United in the 90s, sometimes threw him into reproach for other actions that perhaps overshadowed his football.
His expulsion for attacking Crystal Palace midfielder Richard Shaw with a kick included a young local fan who insulted him when he went to the locker room, will remain in the analysis of the history of English football.
However, Cantona’s elegance with a ball is indisputable. He scored some of the most memorable goals in Premier League history and amassed many titles – a total of 11 in England with the United States and 3 in France with Olympique Marseille.
Con Francia, participated in the 1992 European Championships and did not pass the group stage. He placed third in the 1993 Ballon d’Or and accumulated 165 goals over a 13-year career with an average of 0.38 goals per game. He was not a “killer”, but he was an unforgettable fine striker.
HENRY, UN LABEL SCORER
High, powerful, strong, with an exquisite technique and goleador, Henry is a legend of soccer of his country, to which he exalted with the consecration of World-wide of France 1998 and with Eurocopa of Belgium and the Netherlands of 2000. Along with Zidane, he was a key asset in the best era of French football, which was able to add a second World Cup in Germany 2006. Italy, in the end, prevailed.
Henry began his legend in the Arsenal of Arsene Wenger who was proclaimed Premier League champion in 2002 and 2004. At the English club he lived his best years, with spectacular seasons that will include four Premier League top scorer titles (2002, 2004), 2005 and 2006).
Then, at Barcelona, he increased his career and won the most important title at club level, the 2009 Champions League. Henry has won it all. World Cups, European Championships, Champions and Leagues. In total, he has 22 level titles between Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona and France. In total, he scored 365 goals in his clubs and 51 with his team and was second in the 2003 Golden Ball and third in the 2006 edition.
GRIEZMANN, THE HERO OF RUSSIA 2018
If there is any moment that characterizes the career of Antoine Griezmann, this is none other than the World Cup in Russia 2018. After losing a Champions League final in the ranks of Atletico with that penalty that fails in the final of Milan before Real Madrid, “the Prince” stands out with the most important title in the world.
Along with Henry, he is the only striker on the list of the best in France who has taken advantage of a World Cup. And he did so with an essential role in the final against Croatia, with a penalty and an assist to Paul Pogba. Throughout the tournament, Griezmann performed at an exceptional level and the bad taste he left behind after losing to Portugal in the 2016 European Championship final could be extinguished.
At the club level, Griezmann has barely won a European Super Cup and a Europa League with Atletico Madrid. His World Cup is the biggest trophy on display. Benzema does not have it, without embarking 24 more titles. In all his careers, Griezmann has scored 206 goals between Real Sociedad, Atlético and Barcelona. An average of 0’39 goals per game.
Fast, skilled in the dribble, a good player from behind and with an exceptional left leg, Griezmann is the last French striker to face Benzema in the debate that opened Zidane after the game he won at Athletic. Fontaine, Henry, Cantona and Papin are on the list. Who is the best French striker in history?