How Carlo Ancelotti Built Around Karim Benzema
When Carlo Ancelotti returned to the Bernabéu in the summer of 2021, Karim Benzema was already 33 and, according to ...
When Carlo Ancelotti returned to the Bernabéu in the summer of 2021, Karim Benzema was already 33 and, according to some, past his peak. What happened next still feels slightly unreal. Rather than treating the Frenchman as a senior pro who needed managing, Ancelotti essentially constructed the entire Real Madrid side around him. The results were ridiculous: a La Liga title, Champions League glory, and Benzema finally winning the Ballon d’Or. But how exactly did it work? This isn’t just another tactical breakdown. It’s the story of a very particular kind of trust.
Benzema Role Under Ancelotti: More Than Just a Striker
The Benzema role under Ancelotti in that second spell was genuinely fascinating. He wasn’t asked to be a classic number nine who’d stay high and wait for crosses. Instead, he became this fluid central figure who dropped deep, created angles, and basically acted as the team’s brain in the final third.
You’d see him receiving the ball in midfield positions, back to goal, then flicking it round the corner for Vinicius or feeding Rodrygo with a disguised pass. It wasn’t flashy, but it was ridiculously clever. Ancelotti seemed to understand something that previous coaches had only half-glimpsed — that Benzema’s football intelligence was his greatest weapon.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much freedom he was given. While the rest of the team had clear positional guidelines, Benzema was allowed to wander. Some nights he’d end up on the left, others he’d be almost a second number ten. The opposition never quite knew how to handle it.
The Psychology Behind the Partnership
What made the karim benzema real madrid partnership so special wasn’t just tactical. It was personal. Ancelotti has this gift for making experienced players feel like the most important person in the building. With Benzema, he doubled down on that approach. After years of being criticised in Spain for not scoring enough in big games, here was a manager telling him — both privately and publicly — that the team revolved around him.
The effect was visible. Benzema started taking penalties again with real authority. His body language changed. Even his movement became more decisive, like a player who finally felt completely trusted.
How Ancelotti Used Benzema to Shape the Whole Team
So how ancelotti used benzema wasn’t just about where he positioned himself on the pitch. It was about using him as the reference point for absolutely everything else.
The full-backs were told to push high because they knew Benzema would drop into the pockets they left behind. The midfielders — particularly Modric and Kroos — were encouraged to play vertical passes knowing there’d always be a clever movement to receive it. Even the way Real Madrid pressed was influenced by Benzema’s intelligence. He rarely led the press himself but his positioning often triggered it at the right moment.
It was subtle stuff. The sort of thing that doesn’t make the highlights reels but wins you leagues and European Cups.
A lot of people still don’t fully appreciate this. They look at the goals and assists (which were obviously brilliant) but miss how Benzema became the glue that held the attack together. He was creating chances for others even when he wasn’t scoring himself.
Carlo Ancelotti Benzema Tactics: The False Nine Revival
The carlo ancelotti benzema tactics had a very clear influence from the Italian’s previous work with players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even his time at PSG. But at Real Madrid it felt fresh.
Benzema would start central, then drift. Sometimes he’d drag centre-backs out of position, creating space for Vinicius to run in behind. Other times he’d come short, combine with a midfielder, and suddenly the opposition shape was scrambled. It wasn’t a rigid false nine system like Guardiola might use. It was looser, more instinctive. Very Ancelotti.
What I found interesting was how rarely Real Madrid looked static in attack during that period. Even when they had long spells of possession, the movement between Benzema, Vinicius and Rodrygo created constant questions. The understanding between those three became almost telepathic by the 2021/22 season.
Attacking Rotations That Confused Defences
The rotations were never over-coached. Ancelotti seemed happy to let the players feel their way through games. Benzema might suddenly swap with Vinicius, or drop into the hole whilst one of the wingers came central. It looked messy on paper but worked brilliantly on the pitch.
Ancelotti Attacking System and Its Dependence on One Man
The ancelotti attacking system at that Real Madrid side was, when you look closely, built on surprisingly few complicated patterns. Instead, it relied on quality and understanding. And at the centre of it all was Benzema.
His ability to play with his back to goal was elite. Not just the physical strength — though that was still there — but the awareness of who was around him. He rarely gave the ball away under pressure. That reliability allowed the players around him to take more risks further up the pitch.
Mind you, it wasn’t all perfect. There were games, particularly early in the 2021/22 season, where it looked a bit disjointed. But rather than panicking and changing the system, Ancelotti stuck with his principles. He trusted that the understanding would come. And it did, spectacularly.
Real Madrid Strategy Benzema: From Criticism to Cornerstone
The real madrid strategy benzema represented a genuine shift in how the club approached team building. For years they’d been obsessed with signing the next galactico forward. Instead, they found a player already in the squad who hadn’t been fully unlocked.
Ancelotti’s genius was in recognising that Benzema didn’t need world-class players around him to succeed — he needed the right ones. Players who would complement his game rather than compete with it. The retention of Modric and Kroos was crucial here. Their ability to control games and deliver the right pass at the right time gave Benzema the platform he needed.
What’s more, the arrival of players like Camavinga and later Tchouameni gave the team the physical balance to allow Benzema to play in those deeper positions without leaving the side exposed.
The Vinicius Connection
The relationship with Vinicius was probably the most visible part of it all. What many don’t realise is how much Benzema helped the Brazilian mature. Not just with advice, but with his movement — creating space, drawing markers, and knowing exactly when to release the ball. Their link-up play became one of the most entertaining things in world football for a couple of seasons.
Ancelotti Team Building: The Art of Building Around Experience
This is where the ancelotti team building approach really stands out. Many modern coaches want young, athletic, tactically disciplined squads that can be moulded like clay. Ancelotti has always been more comfortable working with strong personalities and experienced players who know themselves.
By building around Benzema, he created a side that had both leadership on the pitch and tactical flexibility. The Frenchman wasn’t just the main goal threat — he was a coach on the pitch. His football IQ allowed Ancelotti to simplify things for the younger players.
It’s easy to forget now, but there was quite a lot of scepticism when Ancelotti was reappointed. Some thought he was too old-school for modern football. What he achieved with Benzema at the centre of it all proved that certain footballing truths don’t really age.
The partnership wasn’t without its end date, of course. Father Time eventually catches up with everyone. But for those two seasons especially, the way Ancelotti built around Benzema produced some of the most intelligent, enjoyable football Real Madrid have played in the last fifteen years. Not because it was the most complex system, but because it played to the strengths of a player who’d been misunderstood for too long.
And in the end, that might be Ancelotti’s greatest skill. He sees things in players that others miss. With Benzema, he didn’t just see a goalscorer. He saw the heart of a team.
