Fans read the papers and follow the rumors — that Benzema is unwanted at this time, in part, because of his Algerian ancestry.
Stories like that, fanned by the old French favorite Eric Cantona, are dangerously incendiary at a time when the country is trying to ensure that the 51-game tournament will be safe and secure.
Benzema doesn’t quite go along with the implication that racism is behind his exclusion from the team, but he lamented to a Spanish sports newspaper, Marca, last week that he feels unjustly victimized by the allegations without ever stepping foot in a court of law.
In the meantime, Giroud has his spot on the national team, and is doing the only thing he can do to keep his jersey: scoring goals.
Olivier Giroud’s Problem: He Is Not Karim Benzema
by Rob Hughes
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/06/sports/soccer/olivier-giroud-problem-not-karim-benzema.html
The French are booing Olivier Giroud.
As France gets ready to host the European Championship with warm-up matches throughout the country, whistles and jeers greet the very mention of the Frenchman’s name.
It happened last week in Nantes as France hosted Cameroon and again over the weekend as France beat Scotland in Metz. Giroud responded to the hostile treatment on each occasion by doing what he has to do: scoring once in the 3-2 win over Cameroon and twice in the 3-0 victory over the Scots.
Fine goals they were, too. A sublime volley against Cameroon and a classic back heel against Scotland won the respect of Coach Didier Deschamps but only grudging acceptance from the detractors in the crowd.
Giroud’s problem is that he is not Karim Benzema. Giroud publicly accepts that the jeers come from, in part, those who think that he was chosen only because Benzema was excluded while he remains under investigation over a blackmail plot involving a sex tape and a French teammate.
Life is complicated at the moment, Giroud told reporters in Metz on Saturday. Deschamps said that how fans are treating Giroud is unfair, but “people can be conditioned.”
Interesting. Giroud is on the hottest streak of his life. He ended a barren spell with Arsenal by finishing off the English season with three goals in his final game. He has scored seven times in his last seven appearances with Les Bleus. And while France has played only friendly games for the past couple of years, those are still the only opportunities he will get to impress or to score.
But when Giroud uses the word complicated, he means difficult.
It is difficult being the main striker for France in a tournament where the fans are expecting a title on home turf. It is difficult not being a winner of the Champions League, which Benzema has accomplished twice in the last three seasons with Real Madrid.
And it is complicated by the stories across the English Channel, where news reports are saying that Giroud’s club, Arsenal, is bidding to pry Jamie Vardy away from Leicester City.
Vardy is faster, by far, than Giroud. Both have come up the hard way, battling past the doubts of bigger clubs and toiling through the lower leagues to persuade top managers to give them a chance.
Why would Vardy even consider leaving Leicester after the wonderful season in which the Foxes rose from the bottom to the top of the Premier League? Why would he give up a team with exceptional spirit and friendship that allowed him to rise to the pinnacle of his career and a callup to the English roster for this Euro?
Two weeks ago, Vardy seemed settled. He was given time off from England’s training camp to marry. Leicester rewarded him with a salary increase to more than $5 million per year. However, Vardy’s representatives alerted bigger clubs to the fact that his Leicester contract included a clause that meant anybody willing to pay 20 million pounds, or about $30 million, could acquire him.
Thirty million isn’t much for a top goal scorer these days, especially one with the breathtaking speed of Vardy.
Jamie Vardy, right, in England’s warm-up match with Portugal. Arsenal would like to pry Vardy away from Leicester City. Credit Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Speed is what Giroud lacks. The Frenchman isn’t blessed with the eye-catching athleticism of the new generation of Les Bleus, particularly Paul Pogba, Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial.
What Giroud has is maturity, intelligence and a willingness to work for his chances and for the team. Arsenal fans don’t doubt he puts in the effort, but they, like some French followers, regard him as maybe more of a coach’s choice than as a potential hero for the nation.
Seven goals in seven games doesn’t seem to have convinced them that Giroud is the natural leader of an attack that will need to take a step up once the Euro starts.
Fans read the papers and follow the rumors — that Benzema is unwanted at this time, in part, because of his Algerian ancestry.
Stories like that, fanned by the old French favorite Eric Cantona, are dangerously incendiary at a time when the country is trying to ensure that the 51-game tournament will be safe and secure.
Benzema doesn’t quite go along with the implication that racism is behind his exclusion from the team, but he lamented to a Spanish sports newspaper, Marca, last week that he feels unjustly victimized by the allegations without ever stepping foot in a court of law.
In the meantime, Giroud has his spot on the national team, and is doing the only thing he can do to keep his jersey: scoring goals.
Giroud is 29, so this is the chance of his lifetime. Vardy is also 29, so the allure to trade Leicester for Arsenal might also be understandable.
Right now, England’s management wants no transfer talk to disturb its preparations for the tournament. But the Vardy-to-Arsenal story is out there, with implications for both Vardy and Giroud.
Arsenal is doing nothing to quiet the speculation. Its manager, Arsène Wenger, happens to be French and is highly likely to be visible in the media throughout the European Championship But he is too wise to comment one way or the other about speculative new purchases for his team.
However, when Arsenal faced Leicester last season, Wenger praised the speed, the hunger and the blossoming of Vardy.
“I don’t know how we stop him,” Wenger said on television. “The miracle of Vardy is not where he is now — the miracle is that he was at Fleetwood.”
He was referring to Fleetwood Town, a club way down the English soccer ladder that sold Vardy for £1 million in 2012. Arsenal might buy him for £20 million, even if by next month Giroud is the toast of France.