Christian Benteke: Scout Report
Christian Benteke
Football is the most popular sport in Belgium since the 19th century. Belgium have had a reputation for the physical style of football, having produced great defenders over the past years. Eric Gerets, Vincent Kompany & Thomas Vermaalen just few important names who have been part of the Belgian defence. At the present day, Jupiler League can be a great step for every young player in the World. Yaya Toure, Dante, Demba Ba and Jan Koller have all played for Belgian clubs and now some of them are playing at the top level. Over the past few years, Belgian football has managed to produce technically better players like Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke.
Profile
Christian Benteke was born in the capital city of Zaire (now known as DR of Congo), Kinhasa on 3 December 1990. He moved to Belgium with his family when he was a little boy, as a result of unrest in his country. Beneteke moved around a lot even before signing a professional contract. He started to play football at the youth ranks of JS Pierreuse, moving to Standard Liege in 2004 where he spent two years before joining Genk.
Benteke made his professional debut at the tender age of 16, making 10 appearances for Genk between 2007 and 2009. He moved back to Standard Liege, still in his teenage years. Despite making only eight appearances, Benteke managed to score three times, showcasing his ability in front of goal. Standard coaches realised his need to play regularly and quickly loaned him out to Belgian club, Kortrijk, who famously had a striker partnership of the Mpenza brothers. It was here that Benteke was given the opportunity to showcase his abilities, scoring 16 goals in 38 games, in all competitions. He returned to Liege, but failed to stamp down a starting berth and was loaned out again, this time to KV Mechelen. A decent return of seven goals in 20 games followed; more worryingly though, Benteke let his temperament get the better of him as he received two red cards in his loan spell at Mechelen. He returned to Liege for a third time (fourth including his youth football), but again failed to convince the management in his four games there.
It was only on his return to Genk that Benteke truly cemented his place in professional football. He was a regular starter in Mario Been’s side, making 38 appearances in all competitions, and scoring 19 goals during that time. His first goal came against Lokeren in a 3-1 defeat; Benteke scored after 10 minutes, and was sent off two minutes before half-time. A perfect summation of his character. His exploits with Genk attracted interest from other European leagues, with Premier League side Aston Villa securing a £7 million deal.
Christian Benteke scored on his debut for the club in Villa’s victory over Swansea. He went onto score a total of 24 goals in his first season in England, including three braces and the first-hattrick of his career. It wouldn’t be a Benteke season without controversy. Having given Villa the lead at home to Chelsea after just 14 minutes, he was sent-off 14 minutes after half-time. 68 goals is a good return for a 22-year-old, but three red cards showcases his ugly side as well.
Benteke has played 37 times for Belgian youth teams, scoring 24 goals. His senior debut came in a 1-0 defeat to Germany at home. The 22-year-old scored for his country against Serbia in a 3-0 victory this past season, rounding it up with a goal against Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers.