French striker Karim Benzema, the star of Real Madrid and the winner of the Best Player in the World award, considers the remainder of the current season as a "revenge mission" against Didier Deschamps, the coach of the French national team, who excluded him from the World Cup just before the tournament started. Deschamps excluded his compatriot Benzema (35 years old) from the squad that reached the World Cup final, eventually losing to Argentina in a penalty shootout, due to his injury without calling up a replacement. However, many news reports indicated that the injury Benzema was suffering from was not significant and that he could have played in the Round of 16.
On Wednesday, the Spanish newspaper "AS" reported: "Benzema returned to Real Madrid after his exclusion and the end of his granted leave with one goal in mind: to show himself in the best shape in the second half of the season, as he intends to take revenge on coach Deschamps after the latter excluded him from the World Cup." The report added that "Benzema is determined to carry Real Madrid on his shoulders, with one goal: to prove that Deschamps made a huge mistake by excluding him from the World Cup squad."
