But what could have been going through Karim Benzema’s head when he shot his now legendary panenka in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester City? The mystery of science is finally solved, thanks to the testimony of the king himself in the columns of France Soccer. And for KB9, it is above all a matter of course.
“If we take the panenka against City, when I talk about it with my little brother, he says to me: ‘You’re crazy!’ But why ? “Before, you missed two penalties in the same match, already, you must not shoot, and there you are in the semis, 4-2, and you make a panenka.” It was not flame. For me, it was simple, so I had to do that. »
“To stink of football is to achieve simple things”
For Benzema, the choice of the panenka was imposed by its recent liabilities in the exercise. He remained on two failures on the same side and therefore wondered how he should hit his penalty this time. “Retreat to the right? It’s hot. To the left ? He [Ederson] went left. In truth, I’m going to make a “Zizou”! That was it in my head. To stink of football is to succeed in simple things that seem complicated » And KB9 certainly stinks of football.