Real Madrid: 3 reasons why Karim Benzema merits POTY consideration in LaLiga
3. His value to Real Madrid
In my opinion, a player’s value to their club, rather than an over-the-top individual record, should be a determining factor in assessing the POTY in any league. And, undoubtedly Karim Benzema has been Real Madrid’s most valuable player this season. As stated earlier, his goals haven’t only been about the quantity but about how crucial they were and what they have meant in terms of the points table.
Outside his traditional job of scoring goals as a forward, it is key to note that Benzema has been trusted with few other responsibilities and has proven himself in them. The first is the absence of El Capitan Sergio Ramos. Benzema has appeared time and again with the Captain’s armband on his arm and time and again Real Madrid has succeeded under his leadership. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Benzema has been more important than the captain himself for the club this season.
The second would be his job of partnering up with young forwards and leading a relatively under-experienced attack. Real Madrid’s second top scorer in the league is Carlos Casemiro with five goals that just goes on to say how underperforming the Real Madrid attack has been this season.
As such, Benzema’s job as an experienced fox upfront has been commendable. He has created openings for the likes of Vinicius and Asensio and has linked up pretty well, he has trusted Vini’s movement down the flanks and waited patiently for the ball to be released. He has made a few interesting comments about this role of his, too, saying he is setting the young guns up for the responsibility.
Next. Ranking Real Madrid's Best Forwards Of The 2010's. dark
Last but not the least, he has been a great asset to Zinedine Zidane who evidently has great affection for the Frenchman. Benzema considers Zidane to be his elder brother more than his manager and he, in turn, has been Zidane’s blue-eyed boy. Every single time he was entrusted with any job, Benz has stepped up. His all-around performance this season makes his candidature for the POTY award stronger. Additionally, eight matchdays are remaining, and he would be expected to give a decent competition to Lionel Messi in the Pichichi race and further substantiate his case.