Abu Dhabi: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he would defend misfiring Karim Benzema to the death ahead of Saturday’s Fifa Club World Cup final against Gremio in Abu Dhabi.
The France striker had been criticised for his lack of aim in Wednesday’s 2-1 semi-final win over UAE-side Al Jazira.
But fellow French-Algerian Zidane said the criticism of his player was unfair. “I don’t agree with the way he has been criticised,” he said. “There’s no problem, what is important for me is not only goals.
“Karim is a different player, he’s not going to score 50 or 60 — we know that. But he has scored a lot for us and also does other things.
“I like what Karim does for the team, in the end it’s a team game and, for me, Karim is one of the best in this sense as a team player and I value this, a lot. I’m going to defend him to the death because there is no problem with him. Sometimes I defend players even when they are not doing well, which is not the case with Karim.”
After the Club World Cup semi-final win over Al Jazira, Zidane said he wouldn’t be splashing the cash on a striker in the January transfer window on account of Benzema’s lack of goals.
“No, not at all. Karim in OK. He didn’t score but he is doing fine. Some people think a striker has to always score but Karim had a good match, moved and created a lot, but the ball just didn’t want to go in.
“I’m a little disappointed for him because, as always, he really wanted to score. But we have to continue, recover and I hope Saturday will be a happy match for them all.”
Despite denials that he is on the lookout for new strikers, Zidane didn’t shy away from praising Liverpool forward Mohammad Saleh when asked to comment on the Egyptian player by the Arabic media.
“He’s a great player and has shown it for Roma and is now showing it with Liverpool. I think he’s an important player on the team and every time he keeps on growing and getting better. He’s still young and is a player who can give more to football. I wouldn’t normally talk about other players but you asked me and I appreciate him a lot.”
These comments won’t do anything to stem the rumour mill and Real captain Sergio Ramos, who isn’t a fan of too many changes in the squad, had this to say: “We are not the ones to make decisions. Other people have to realise if the team needs reinforcing. As always I say we have a very good group of players in order to play any match, but I am open to the decisions made by people upstairs.”
