Former Algeria coach Jean-Michel Cavalli has just revealed the discussions he had with Benzema and Nasri in 2006.
Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri have had a long career in the France team. Between them, they accumulate more than 100 capes with the Tricolores. However, they could have taken another path at the very beginning of their journey. In the mid-2000s, the‘both have been approached by the Algerian federation to play with the Greens. An opportunity that they finally turned down.
“With Benzema and Nasri, I will have qualified for the World Cup”
It was Jean-Michel Cavalli, coach of the Greens at the time, who led the talks. In an interview given to the site Tribal Football, he just revealed what stuck with the prestigious duo. “There were a lot of players with dual nationality who didn’t want to play for us,” revealed the Corsican technician. For example Benzema, I met him, I went to Lyon to speak with him and his family, he was 18 years old. Same thing with Nasri. I spoke with their parents and with them, but it was not possible to convince them because they played for Lyon, Marseille and these clubs wanted the boys to play for France. “
Cavalli went on to indicate that if he had had these two stars at his disposal then his record at the head of the Fennecs would have been much better: “It was a weaker team (than that of today), few known players (…) If I had had Benzema and Nasri in the team, I would have qualified for the World Cup without a doubt. Today, many Algerians have chosen Algeria, but 15 years ago, it was the 120th team in the world ”. With Cavalli at its head, Algeria missed two consecutive CAN finals (2006 and 2008). Which was a first since the 1970s for this selection.
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