According to the Sun
26 years ago, KARIM BENZEMA left the troubled streets of Bron-Terraillon.
But he still called the beauty of this sprawling Lyon suburban home a mess.
Benzema has had an incredible season, scoring 39 goals in 40 games
SunSport travels to Lyon to visit where Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema grew up
Benzema grew up in the house of Blontreyon, a suburb of Lyon
Benzema was a child
SunSport travels to Benzema's first football club and the house where he grew up to see where the 34-year-old Real Madrid striker's all started.
The French star, a "timid and skinny" kid, was drowned out by the screeching of 50cc motorcycle engines, boy racers and sirens on the streets of his neighbors.
Benzema lives 50 metres from his first club, SC Bron-Terraillon, where his four sisters, three brothers and their parents are nestled in a mess of social housing.
Like many "suburbs" in France, the area — built in the 1960s primarily for North African migrant workers and their families — is seen as a hotbed of crime.
However, these same suburbs provide all the ingredients for footballers like Benzema to age like fine wine to become some of the most powerful strikers in the world.
Frederic Rigolet, Benzema's first coach in 1995 and now teaches his nephews, said: "He was small and thin, and his brother was muscular and taller.
"He doesn't speak, very timid. He had always been like this, didn't talk much, and still didn't speak.
"When he was young, he just played football and always had a ball in his hand.
"He played in front of the wall and then a man passed it to himself.
"Even if he's a little older in Lyon around 14, 15, he'll come back and train alone in front of the wall when he's not training.
"He was very loyal, he always had the same friends as Brown and now he does."
Benzema no longer lives around the corner of the club, but for many families, it remains a mecca within them.
His sisters stood on the sidelines, dressed in understated clothes, and looked like any mom watching their kids in soccer training.
But it's easy to spot the striker's niece and nephew training in a brand new Real Madrid shirt with the words "Benzema 9" printed on the back of the shirt, which their uncle gave them and they hope to one day follow in his footsteps.
Rigolet added: "They're just ordinary people. His family came here because they knew people wouldn't bother them.
"We knew Karim before he became a star and we didn't care about their charms.
"He's just one guy in our area. Honestly, we can't imagine him becoming a player like he is now. I love coaching him, but I didn't know he was going to be his current star. ”
Benzema (back left) in the Lyon youth team
Frederic Rigolet, who coached Benzema in 1995, has dozens of old photographs
Benzema's mother, Vahida, was born and raised in Lyon, but his father, Hafid, immigrated to France from the same region in northeastern Algeria as Zidadin Zidane's parents.
They settled in socially and economically neglected suburbs outside of the Lyon metro line – but they kept Benzema straight and narrow.
When he joined Lyon in 1997, they made sure the French side offered him the opportunity to dig at the club and keep him off the streets.
Rigolet said: "It's called the priority area, so it's very dangerous, so we've been staying here and there's never been a problem.
"His parents took care of him. His mother asked Leon to let him stay with them forever, so he stayed at the training ground and didn't come back.
"He couldn't stay at Brown, they did it to protect him.
"Normally, Lyon doesn't do that because they prefer to provide rooms for people from afar, but they provide rooms for Karim."
Former Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas described Benzema as "Spider-Man" and "Wolverine," while Rio Ferdinand said the Ballon d'Or would soon be engraved with his name.
The striker has matured by the time he turns 34 and will make his 600th appearance against Manchester City on Tuesday.
He was just one person in our area. Honestly, we can't imagine him becoming a player like he is now. I love coaching him, but I didn't know he was going to be his current star.
Youth coach Frederick Rigley
True fans will want to repeat his Champions League masterclass against Chelsea.
Rigollet said: "All the Browns are on real and tomorrow if he leaves the club we will automatically join the new team.
"Karim's brother-in-law has a snack bar so we could go there and watch the game or we could watch the game on the club's TV together."
Benzema has scored 13 goals in his last seven games and 37 this season, his best return ever.
He has never even finished in the top three of the Ballon d'Or, but at least this year he will be in the World Cup. Years lost in France after the Mathieu Valbuena pornographic video extortion scandal tarnished his career.
It seems he has finally shaken off the shadow of his past, having scored nine goals since returning to the field before Euro 2020.
Although Bron-Terraillon's extremely loyal citizen will never forget his axe.
Benzema made his debut for the local Lyon team
Rigolet said: "We can't imagine the French team not accepting him.
"When Karim is not in the national team, The people of Bronn do not watch the France game. They don't care.
"When he came back, we didn't talk about it, he didn't want to talk about it, so we just called him and congratulated him.
"He was happy to go back, but he said, 'I have no problem with Didier Deschamps or the choice'.
"No one understands why he can't play with France. It's outside of football and has nothing to do with the sport.
"That's why his family no longer talks to reporters."
SunSport's Isabelle Barker (centre) and SC Bron-Teraillon's current players
At the end of the season, Benzema is expected to lift his fourth La Liga trophy before flying back to Brown on a private jet.
But he was still the quiet street kid who let his feet talk.
Rigolet added: "He came back cautiously and did what he had to do. Sometimes he would give us boots and ask us to give them to the person who needed them or sign some shirts.
"When he has free time, you can be sure he'll come back to Brown to visit his mother and family and spend time with us."
"All the kids want to be him, he's their hero."
This article was edited by Perfect Sports
Note: This article is from the translation of the original text of the Sun newspaper modification, more or less reading is not very smooth, even if the translation is smooth is also half a bottle of water, thank you for understanding, Xiaobian just want to give friends real-time original football information.