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That UEFA Champions League Goal King Karim Benzema’s star has shone so bright is all the more impressive considering the UCL shadows in which he stands.
The 28-year-old has come a long way since opening his UCL account just 33 minutes into his competition debut as he helped hometown club Lyon to a 2-1 victory over Rosenborg in December, 2005.
He has since added a further 45, leaving him ninth on the list of all-time Champions League goalscorers. No less than 34 of those have arrived for Real Madrid, the most successful club in the tournament’s history with 10 titles.
The France international’s return is all the more impressive considering he is being asked not only to carve out his personal UCL legacy alongside the competition’s all-time top scorer, team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, but to also drown out the echoes of the man who made the competition what it is: Afredo Di Stefano.
A club legend, Di Stefano led Madrid to the first five European Cups and is widely credited as the man who transformed what was initially an experimental competition into the worldwide phenomenon it is today.
The UEFA Champions League is now widely recognised as the highest standard of football found anywhere in the world and few have made an impact as lasting as Benzema’s. He reached 40 goals in just 67 UCL appearances, only UCL greats Lionel Messi and Ruud Van Nistelrooy reached that milestone in fewer outings.
11 years on from his debut goal as a 17-year-old, Benzema has proved time and again that he is a man for the big occasion and few come any bigger than European nights with Real Madrid, the team he supported as a boy. He dons the famous white jersey with pride and passion befitting the club which has defined the competition.
Benzema's most prolific UCL campaign arrived in 2011-12, when he notched seven goals but couldn’t save Madrid from penalty-shootout defeat to Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. He wouldn’t have to wait long to find vengeance, however, as one of his 12 knockout stage strikes secured a 1-0 victory over Bayern at the same stage in the 2013-14 season to help Madrid see off the Germans and seal their long-awaited tenth European crown.
Benzema has hit the ground running this term, netting four goals in just 357 minutes. He is yet to score away from home but, in this instance, history bodes well for the Frenchman: 21 of his UCL strikes have arrived on the road.
Strong, quick, and equally adept playing back-to-goal as he is running in behind, Benzema is the complete forward, he's hit 9 UCL goal off his 'weaker' left foot and headed five.
Having long been regarded among the best centre-forwards in the world, Benzema has taken the burden of history in his impressive stride. He may well be operating in the shadows, but few have lit up the Uefa Champions League like UEFA Champions League Goal King Karim Benzema.
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