• Karim Benzema has been recalled by Didier Deschamps for Euro 2021

  • The Real Madrid striker last appeared in Blue in early October 2015

  • A last-minute choice entirely justified from a sporting point of view but a little more risky in terms of group logic

Until the end, the return of Karim Benzema to the France team seemed too good, too fantasized to be true. Yet it is real. Didier Deschamps announced Tuesday evening his list of 26 players summoned for Euro 2021, and the name of the Real Madrid striker is still there even after rubbing his eyes. For the first time since October 2015 and a 4-0 victory against Armenia, to whom he, despite himself, offered posterity, KB9 "so proud" will once again don the jersey of the Blues. And, a little novelty, he will have two stars, as if to remind that the team he is reintegrating has adapted very well to his departure and that he is expected at the turn to rise to the occasion.

"Karim is intelligent, he knows that he comes in a group which has a background and benchmarks", tempers DD.

“It's a risk-taking for everyone because the France team was already performing well.

His return does not guarantee anything (in terms of results) ", warns Alain Perrin, his former coach at OL," very happy "like everyone else in the news, but cautious about the guarantees offered by the grandiose level of the Real Madrid striker.

“The club and the selection are two different things.

A player like Messi, with Argentina, he has never been too radiant while he is indisputable at Barcelona.

"

The France team stronger than the quarrels

The return of Karim Benzema in Blue is not only the story of a sporting risk-taking, it is also that of an unexpected change of direction, which the boss of the Blues says he did not try to hide, even if his press conferences often said the opposite. DD may well hammer that he “does not like surprises”, Tuesday, he caught colds all those who claimed to know his way of thinking as well as the alleged extent of his pride. Contacted by

20 Minutes

, the ephemeral international Steve Savidan abounds. “It is Deschamps' strength to question himself. When we talk about a club or a selection, the institution is above relations between men. "

Chance or gift of foreknowledge of the former Valenciennois, the coach will use more or less the same words to justify his choice. “I consider that the France team goes above all else. It doesn't belong to me. Perfect for story-telling, but institution or not, the founding act remains the long discussion between the two men whom DD swears to keep quiet and whose genesis remains unclear. Without talks, no comeback. “It was the most important step [in the reconciliation process]. After that, I had a long reflection to come to this decision. "

Unanimously validated by the staff, the return of Karim Benzema is salivating in advance who likes to pile up the big names on a scoresheet.

Benzema, Mbappé, Griezmann?

The favorite attack of your favorite Fifa player.

But in real life, we will still ask ourselves the question of cohabitation, to which DD responds with the well-known cliché about exceptional players who all speak the language of football: "With quality and talent, it is 'it's easier to achieve beautiful things'.

“We will have to reorganize this team, find a place in Karim with Griezmann and Mbappé, theorizes Alain Perrin.

Social balance inside a locker room is also very important to be able to perform.

And Karim will take up space, perhaps to the detriment of others like Griezmann and Pogba.

"

F1 and karting in the same team

Not to mention Olivier Giroud.

What place in the paddock for karting now that Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes is back in business?

DD refuses to oppose them, brushing aside the idea of ​​"specific competition" with the Chelsea striker.

But an antagonism ended up being created, if only among the supporters, according to the frustrations of each other during this vacuum of five years and it will be necessary to undo it.

Deschamps, Secretary General of the United Nations: “During all this time, we have held Giroud responsible [for the absence of Benzema], but we must not forget that they played three years together [before 2015].

One did not prevent the other [from playing].

“This may be less true in 2021, where the offensive sector is much better stocked, but we have grasped the idea.

Everyone is ready to bury the hatchet to go get a new trophy.

“Otherwise, I wouldn't have made this choice.

"

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Euro 2021: Benzema back, Koundé makes his appearance ... Relive the DD list with us

  • Karim Benzema

  • Euro 2021

  • Soccer

  • Didier Deschamps

  • Sport

  • French football team