Why did the "warrior" Djamel Benlamri take so long to break through?

Surprise recruit of OL at the end of the transfer window, the Algerian central defender, who will soon be celebrating his 31st birthday, has long been chomping at the bit while dreaming of Europe and the selection of the Fennecs

Djamel Benlamri quickly established himself as an indisputable holder of Djamel Belmadi's Fennecs during CAN 2019. -

Ulrik Pedersen / CSM / REX / SIPA

Djamel Benlamri fully succeeded in his debut in Lille on Sunday, allowing OL to preserve a draw (1-1) after the expulsion of Marcelo.
Renowned for his "sense of sacrifice", the central defender had until then had to settle for the Algerian and Saudi championships, in the absence of a proposal in Europe.
Before the derby against ASSE on Sunday (9 p.m.),

20 Minutes
looked at the chaotic course of Djamel Benlamri, in the light since his coronation at the African Cup of Nations last year with the Fennecs.

Burak Yilmaz suddenly muzzled, two angry tackles against Yusuf Yazici, 100% of duels won and successful passes… In forty minutes outnumbered Sunday in Lille (1-1), Djamel Benlamri revealed himself to the eyes of OL supporters, hardly spoiled as central defenders for ten years.

Before the derby on Sunday (9 p.m.),

20 Minutes

looked into the story of the man who bought the end of his contract in Saudi Arabia and made a Paris-Lyon on October 4… by taxi to be able to join OL before the end of the transfer window.

With a central question: how can an Algerian international, who will celebrate his 31 years on Christmas day, only now discover a European championship?

“It is certain that after his huge African Cup of Nations last year, we imagined him signing in the wake of a club even more upscale than OL, says Ishaq Chebli, journalist for DZfoot, a reference site devoted to Algerian football.

But Djamel has a rare career, because even if he had long played very big matches in Algeria and then in Saudi Arabia [at Al-Shabab Riyadh from 2016 to 2020], he was on a blacklist of the Algerian federation since l Vahid Halilhodzic era [2011-2014], supposedly for disciplinary reasons.

"He was ready to give a try in any French club"

A dead end confirmed by Azzedine Aït Djoudi, who trained Djamel Benlamri in the Algerian U23 selection (from 2009 to 2011) then to JS Kabylie (2013-2014): “Many people have conveyed an image of a hothead and a lacking player. discipline for Djamel, as for his entire generation [Youcef Belaïli, Mehdi Abeid…] who was severely condemned after missing the qualification for the 2012 Olympics in London.

This delayed the outbreak of Djamel at the highest level.

To try his luck earlier in Europe, he even happened to ask his partners, such as the Franco-Algerian Kamel Yesli, who worked with him at the JSK from 2013 to 2015.

📺 #beINCENTER

⚽ Djamel Benlamri spoke exclusively to beIN SPORTS!

🇩🇿 The Algerian looks back on his arrival in Lyon, his state of mind, his relationship with Belmadi ...

🎙 “Belmadi advised me to go to Europe” pic.twitter.com/uNUsREWFfp

- beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) October 25, 2020

"Djamel asked me if I did not know an agent who could bring him to France," says the former midfielder trained at PSG.

He was ready to give it a try in any French club, even in the National, just to find out if he would have the level or not.

At that time, he was stripping himself on the field, he was voted the best defender of this underestimated championship and he also did not understand why he was never among the Algerian selection.

"Extremely affected by the death of Albert Ebossé"

According to Walid Bencherifa, another player who played with him for two seasons at JSK, "Djamel may have paid for the fact that he was above all talented and intelligent in the field, but without working a lot in training".

Deprived of the exposure offered by the selection of the Fennecs, where he did not experience his first cape until November 2018 with Djamel Belmadi, Benlamri was built the hard way.

“He grew up in a very hot district of El Arrach, near Algiers, and I remember that he was really in difficulty socially, says Azzedine Aït Djoudi.

It played in his career, just like the death of his teammate Albert Ebossé [Cameroonian striker who died at the age of 24 in still mysterious conditions involving supporters, at the end of a match against USM Algiers], which marked all the JSK in 2014. "

Djamel Benlamri (on the left), here alongside his former teammates at JSK Kamel Yesli and the late Albert Ebossé, during the presentation of the Algerian championship trophies in 2014. - Credit Kamel Yesli

Kamel Yesli was on the ground on August 23, 2014, fatal for all Algerian football.

"I still remember Djamel's tears that day, I saw how much he had heart," says the former professional footballer.

Like some of us, he didn't want to go back to training for about a month.

We were extremely affected, to the point of considering quitting football.

Djamel Benlamri will recover and change air by joining the Saudi championship in 2016, still lacking Europe.

"He is the perfect flag bearer for Algeria"

His profile "very appreciated by the supporters" completely changes dimension in 2019 with the conquest of his first career trophy, a CAN disputed in the skin of holder, only seven months after his real debut with the Fennecs.

“He was simply monstrous by establishing himself as the boss of this defense, appreciates Bilel, who maintains the Algerian Players Twitter account.

With his character and his commitment, he brought a defensive serenity that we lacked for several years, and we ended the CAN by conceding only two goals.

It is not certain that Ligue 1 attackers often dare to rub shoulders with Djamel Benlamri.

- Khaled DESOUKI / AFP

"He is the perfect flag bearer for Algeria," summarizes Abderaouf Zerarka, journalist collaborating with the La Gazette du Fennec site.

He is technical, aggressive and he plays with passion and without the slightest complex.

We have seen that in Lille, he was already haranguing his new teammates.

"Even if our various interlocutors have often praised" his quality of recovery "and" his vision of the game ", Djamel Benlamri clearly does not have an aesthetic profile.

"He is ready to sacrifice his life on the pitch, he is the old-fashioned defender par excellence," smiles Ishaq Chebli.

He will always catch either the ball or the attacker.

"He begged us to let him continue despite his injury"

From Anthony Lopes to Rudi Garcia, the Lyonnais have also all hammered on Sunday evening the qualifier of "warrior" which has stuck to his skin for a very long time.

"He's a little shy guy but as soon as the match starts, he gets tough and he is ready to do anything to defend his team, which he sees as his family," explains Kamel Yesli.

He is a real leader who is better to have on his side.

I have the impression that each derby, he ended with the arcade or the mouth bleeding.

Despite a bleeding cheekbone, which his partner Youcef Belaïli tried to clean, Djamel Benlamri was keen to play until the end of the last CAN final against Senegal.

- JAVIER SORIANO / AFP

While the suspension of Marcelo could precisely allow him to continue Sunday with OL against the Saint-Etienne rival, the image of his open cheekbone after an air shock with Sadio Mané has become symbolic of this CAN final against Senegal.

As always or almost, Djamel Benlamri ended this historic meeting on the field after having to change his blood red jersey.

Azzedine Aït Djoudi confirms that this gift of self does not date from yesterday in the Lyon recruit.

In 2011, during the decisive match against Nigeria for the 2012 Olympics, he injured his knee.

He begged us to let him continue despite the pain.

That's all Djamel, he always fights to the end.

I had him play side, mid, and even attacker once.

If you ask him, he might even be a goalie.

You can only love this kind of player when you are a coach, and I considered him to be my son.

"Believe me, he's not going to let go"

We ended up finding someone expressing reservations about the arrival in Lyon of Djamel Benlamri.

The former coach Nour Benzekri had however been seduced by his profile, when he recruited him at 20 years old to the NA Hussein Dey.

"But he was much sharper then," he reveals.

I find that with his explosiveness and his technique above the rest, he was much stronger than today.

But Algerian football is disorganized and it has not been able to develop all of Djamel's qualities.

"Kamel Yesli nuances:" Djamel has become stronger and I find him even better than before, especially because he has learned to channel himself on the ground ".

Long ignored by the Algerian coaches, Djamel Benlamri fully enjoyed the second CAN in the history of the Fennecs, in June 2019. - Fadel Senna / AFP

What to see him adapt at full speed to Ligue 1 and OL, where he only signed for one season (plus an optional year)?

"I knew that Djamel would explode everything as soon as he was given a chance at the highest level," said Walid Bencherifa.

If he had been entitled to the selection and a transfer to Europe earlier, he would now be one of the best defenders in the world.

Between CAN 2019 and his arrival in Lyon, he finally has what he deserves, so believe me, he will not let go.

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