Karim Benzema has responded to those who criticized him for his perceived lack attitude, claiming those reproaches are unfair and insisting he does run enough.
Benzema has not scored in five games for Madrid and a section of the fans have jeered him, urging Carlo Ancelotti to replace him for youngster Alvaro Morata. Morover, the 25-year-old last scored for the French national team on June 2012.
The striker spoke about this matter after France training session today. “It troubles me not to be able to help the team more and score more goals. It’s the longest barren spell of my career. It won’t last ten years. I think it will be over soon. As soon as I score one, I think many more will follow,” Benzema stated.
“I’m a forward so it’s up to me to track back first. That’s important. But you can’t ask a striker to run as much as a right-back. I’m not going to run all the way back to goal. There was an article recently that showed I run ten kilometres a match. I move a lot. In any case, it’s not a problem of attitude,” he claimed.
“People can judge me on goals because I have the number nine on my back. But I don’t just have scoring in mind, I want the team to win. Things are a bit more difficult than in previous years, but that’s part of a career at the highest level,” he added.
Benzema is likely to lose the starting striker spot in the next game of France against Australia to Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud. At Real Madrid, Caro Ancelotti has backed him and doesn’t seem keen on sitting him on the bench, at least for now.
