Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho: I did not expect Karim Benzema to reach the level he is at now
The former Inter man has praised his striker who has been awarded with the prestigious accolade while the player himself has spoken of his ambitions
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has admitted he has been surprised by the improvement of Karim Benzema in 2011 after the forward was voted French Player of the Year by France Football magazine.
After an indifferent start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, the former Lyon striker has gone from strength to strength this year and already has 13 goals for the 2011-12 campaign.
Benzema scored the fastest goal in Clasico history in Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Barcelona at the weekend, and Mourinho believes his charge deserves his award.
"At the start of the year, we couldn't imagine Karim would reach the level he's at today," the Portuguese coach told France Football.
"But thanks to his hard work, his efforts, his character, he's managed to achieve this new status."
The forward himself also had a few words to say on winning the prestigious title and confirmed he already has his next award in mind.
"When I see the former winners, the likes of [Zinedine] Zidane, [Thierry] Henry and other great players, it makes me proud," he added.
"Every year I try and get closer to [winning] the Ballon d'Or. I want to walk in Zizou's [Zidane's] footsteps." - http://www.goal.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment