Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema was born in Lyon, France on 19 December 1987 to a working class family originally from northern Algeria; roots that defined his mature yet simple character. The early days of his life as a footballer began at the age of 9 with Olympique Lyonnais, a club he had never left until signing for Real Madrid. He was one of the youth system’s most outstanding players and scored 38 goals in one season with the Under-16 side followed by the UEFA European Under-17 title with France in 2004. He debuted with Lyon’s first team on 15 January 2005 against Metz. Although he did not score, he did provide an assist to Bryan Bergougnoux, who scored the winning goal. Despite the fact that Benzema had been crowned champion of Europe, club staff didn’t want to rush the player’s development and only played him in six matches that season. He did however go on to score 12 goals in 14 matches with France’s Under-18 side.