The early rounds of the Copa del Rey are usually a chance for the usual benchwarmers from the big guns in Spain to come out and prove their worth and state a case for themselves for the rest of the season.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid traditionally field some of their young and fringe players, not just to give them a run-out and keep them happy, but to assess how they would perform in a competitive environment.
Two high-profile players, Karim Benzema and Bojan Krkic, were meant to use this competition as their life-saver to set their current campaign alight. But both performed miserably on Tuesday in their team’s respective Copa ties. It’s a tale of two strikers in two big clubs finding themselves in one very similar boat.
The difference is that Barca didn’t pay £30 million for Bojan while Madrid did for Benzema, and Los Blancos would not hesitate to offload the struggling Frenchman if an appropriate offer comes along, or if coach Jose Mourinho decides that he simply can’t do anymore with the 22-year-old.
Madrid's director-general Jorge Valdano has backed Benz to shine eventually and demonstrate his true talent. Anyone who has seen him play for Lyon will know that he has a bag full of tricks in his locker room. Those who haven’t, here’s just a snippet of his handywork.
So far at Madrid, Benzema has shown none of that speed, agility, skill, lethal finishing and that ability to effortlessly ghost in behind defenders. He looks too timid when he’s on the field in the famous white shirt and there’s simply no confidence when he’s on the ball or taking a shot at goal.
Unlike ex-Madrid strikers like Roberto Soldado, Javier Saviola, and Alvaro Negredo, all of whom were given very limited opportunities to shine, Benzema has been afforded his fair share of chances. He made 33 appearances last term in all competitions but only managed nine goals. But his performances didn’t capture anyone’s imagination.
He has made only cameo appearances so far this season, largely brought on in the final phases of matches where Madrid are already on cruise control. He has scored just once, but more critically, he has missed a few sitters.
Tuesday night’s Copa del Rey clash against Real Murcia was to be his one chance to convince Mourinho and prove to his detractors that he is ready to lead the Blancos frontline. Not only did he fail miserably, but he has shown non-existent improvement from 12 months ago when he was panned for his dire display against Alcorcon in the same competition.
Taking a full year to adapt, learn and adjust is simply not acceptable. He has already been sounded out by Mourinho for not working hard enough in training and he has vowed to use every single minute of game time he has to impress the gaffer. So far, it doesn’t look promising.
Bojan’s case is a bit more perplexing. Despite playing in the same squad and working with the same team-mates, the 20-year-old striker’s career has been going backwards. Unlike Benzema, Bojan has had no need to adapt to a new environment, or an unfamiliar playing style. Even the coaching change from Frank Rijkaard to Pep Guardiola should have posed little problems having spent a brief stint under Pep in the B’ team.
Touted as one of Spanish football’s hottest prospects two years ago, Bojan has now been overtaken by a host of other young sensations, not just across Spain but at Barca.
Pedro Rodriguez was an unknown player when the then-17-year-old Bojan burst into the scene in the 2007/08 campaign, yet the former is now considered a key player with the Blaugrana and he boasts a World Cup winner's medal. Fellow La Masia graduates Jeffren, Thiago Alcantara, Jonathan Dos Santos are beginning to show their true potential, and even late-comer Nolito is now starting to look like he’s ready to break into the first team.
What is strange is that Bojan is a player who fits perfectly into Barca’s football system and philosophy. He’s small and agile, he is fleet-footed, he’s versatile, and he’s a great dribbler. But infront of goal, he just seems to have lost the confidence of a typical predator.
He missed from an open goal in the shock defeat to Hercules and against Ceuta in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, he again spurned a glorious goalscoring chance. But it’s not just those two glaring misses. He doesn’t look like the livewire he once was, someone who’s not afraid of taking on defenders and attempting the audacious, as you can see from the clip below.
There will be endless discussions by the cules around the water cooler in offices around Catalunya as to why the babyface striker has not been able to live up to his early-career promise.
Barca may not have paid £30m for Bojan, so there’s no real urgency or desperation for the Camp Nou head honchos to offload him. But it could cost the club that much money if if Guardiola, Zubizaretta and co. feel the need to dip into the transfer market to sign a new world class striker because young Bojan is not up to scratch.
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