Real Madrid draws up plan to integrate Benzema

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MADRID, Dec 2, 2009 (AFP) - Real Madrid have drawn up a plan to integrate French striker Karim Benzema whose poor Spanish language skills and shyness have left him on the sidelines of the squad, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The goal is to avoid a repeat of what happened with another French international striker, Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka who left Real in 2000 after just one season with the club because he did not settle in well.

The first step of the "integration plan" is to assign a Spanish teacher to the 21-year-old, who currently expresses himself only in "monosyllables", sports daily AS reported.

This would allow him to better understand his teammates as well as the technical instructions given by Real coach Manuel Pellegrini.

The second step was Benzema's recent move to an upscale Madrid suburb close to where fellow Real players Cristiano Ronaldo, Guti and Raul live.

Among the new players who joined Real this season, Benzema was the one who took the longest to leave his hotel and find a permanent home, the newspaper said.

The player escaped unharmed after he lost control of his car and collided with a security barrier and a tree as he was returning home from Real Madrid's 1-0 Spanish league defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona.

Benzema, the top scorer in the French league in 2007 and 2008, has struggled to impress since he joined Real from French side Lyon in July for 35 million euros having scored four goals in 13 games for the Spanish club.