Cyrille De la Morinerie, edited by Manon Fossat 10:56 a.m., September 07, 2021

The Blues face Finland in Lyon this Tuesday in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Among the players lined up, Karim Benzema who made his comeback with the France team.

And he will be particularly awaited by the supporters who have seen him evolve since childhood.

The France team, escorted by doubts and physical glitches, ends its return to September by hosting Finland on Tuesday (8:45 p.m.) in Lyon, an appointment not to be missed for Didier Deschamps who skates on the road to the 2022 World Cup. And among the players probably aligned by the coach, Karim Benzema.

After his return with the Blues, the latter returns this evening to his land to graze 12 years after his departure for Real Madrid the lawn of the Groupama Stadium of Lyon-Décines.

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A happiness for his supporters and for those who saw him since childhood, in Bron, where he grew up.

"He was hitting the wall of the house all day with his ball and his club was there, just behind."

Jacky still remembers it.

It is here, on this modest ground surrounded by building bars, that Karim Benzema started football.

So seeing him return to Lyon with the blue jersey is necessarily moving.

"It's true that when you have a leading player in football like that, it's nice. And if he could resign here in Lyon, it would please everyone," said this resident.

"It's like my son"

A few meters from Jean-Moulin primary school, where the star of the Blues did part of his education, Louisa, the mother of his best childhood friend, still lives there.

"It's like my son. He always came home. I'm his second mom," she laughs.

The footballer indeed regularly came to eat an escalope and fries at her place, and she remembers a well-behaved young boy.

"He is a reserved person, very modest. We are very proud of him," she continues.

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But if she is delighted to see Karim Benzema play in Lyon on Tuesday night, she also has a little idea behind her head. "We must call our friend Zizou, because he is all the same the spiritual father of Karim", she launches. So while waiting who knows maybe a Zidane-Benzema association among the Blues, the inhabitants of the Terraillon district hope that the native child will score at least one goal tonight in the stadium of his training club.