Former coach at the Olympique Lyonnais academy between 1989 and 2019, Armand Garrido was one of Karim Benzema’s trainers. For RFI, he remembers a young man ” discreet ” and ” worker “.
Armand Garrido is a fulfilled man. One of his foals was elected this October 17 Ballon d’Or, the Grail for a player. ” It is a great pride to see him where he is. It is an exemplary career and I am happy to have participated in it », Congratulates with humility Armand Garrido.
The first time he saw Benzema play, Armand Garrido had immediately found talent in him without being completely thrilled. ” I said to myself : “He has talent, but he will have to work”. KB9, his nickname, was then 14 years old.
An observant boy
” I get it back at 15, he says. He was discreet and he observed a lot. He was active, had the desire and got to work very quickly. He was a football freak. It was built little by little. The technical sequences, the controls oriented in the right direction, he already had that in his palette from an early age. He scored 38 goals for OL’s under-16 team. Under the orders of Paul Le Guen, he entered the game for the first time on January 15, 2005 in Ligue 1 against FC Metz.
Armand Garrido does not forget to highlight the role of the Benzema family, and especially the father during his formative years at OL. ” He was never far away and went my way. He trusted me. His dad was a partner in training. During a match against Sochaux where we won 4-0, Karim scored all four goals. We shouldn’t have been nicked. But he remained faithful to the club thanks to his father. We protected him at the request of his parents. It was exceptional, but he stayed to sleep at the training center when he lived in the suburbs of Lyon. With him, there was never a problem. Neither at school, nor at the training center, nor during matches. »
Benzema’s generation is exceptional and he has progressed with it, especially alongside a certain Atem Ben Arfa. “ Competition, he integrated it very young. She will always have served him. Today he is the boss at Real, but he has always been an exceptional partner, he has also made others shine a lot. I was afraid that he would be “eat” at Real, but he knew how to manage, to wait his turn. He worked in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. Very observant, he learned from Cristiano Ronaldo “. Altruism has always been one of Benzema’s qualities, recognized by his various coaches.
” When he was young, I wanted him to be able to multiply the effortsremembers the coach. He learned the taste of effort, of surpassing oneself. I wanted him to gain self-confidence and realize his qualities. Sometimes, when I finished training, I was more tired than him! Karim is a boy who always seeks confidence “.
” He lacks an international title. »
In 2004, Karim Benzema won the Montaigu tournament, where he was voted best player and top scorer. Thanks to this performance, he joined the French team. Six months later, he is European U17 champion like Samir Nasri, Jérémy Ménez and Ben Arfa. At 20, he is top scorer in the French Championship.
At 35, the center forward of Real still plays at the highest level. In the 2021-2022 season, he won a fifth Champions League and a fourth Spanish league title. He finished top scorer in the C1 and La Liga. ” You have to have an exceptional lifestyle to be the captain of Real. It’s not just any club “, concedes Armand Garrido. ” It’s a rocket, loose Armand Garrido. He has an incredible track record, he lacks an international title. “And to add about his career in Blue: ” He missed a World Cup (2018 in Russia) and his career is marred by six years without the France team. It’s like that. He still has Qatar to shine “.
” It’s not easy to train Champions League level players. This is a success for us as a training center. Benzema is a very long career without a red card. It’s a sign. Especially at this level, with the pressure he has. Karim Benzema is someone who has learned not to tremble concludes Armand Garrido.