Benamara: QPR Still Feels Like Home
The former Queens Park Rangers favourite looks back on a long career, the honours he cherished and life beyond football.
The man whose career took him from Lyon to Sheffield Wednesday, Willem II, Queens Park Rangers and beyond says he is out of the game — and in no rush to pretend otherwise.
Q: Your playing days ended after the 2061/62 season. Do you miss it?
A: I miss the people and the dressing room. I don’t miss having to make every day about football. I’m out of the game now, and I’m comfortable saying that.
Q: Queens Park Rangers is your main club. What made it home?
A: Seven seasons, 298 games and 11 goals. You don’t need a speech to explain what that means to me. QPR gave me a place where I felt I belonged, and I still care about the club.
Q: You also spent time at Sheffield Wednesday. What do you remember of that spell?
A: It was one season, 43 games, and I scored no goals. People can read the numbers. I remember being part of it, and I’m proud to have played for Wednesday.
Q: Your honours include Ligue 1 Uber Eats and the Trophée des Champions with Olympique Lyonnais in 2046/47. What stays with you?
A: Winning both in the same season. You work for moments like that, and when they come, you hold on to them. I also won the African Championship of Nations with Algeria in 2055/56. That means a great deal to me.
Q: You played for clubs in France, England, the Netherlands and Germany. Did you ever feel settled in one place?
A: I could settle wherever I was, but QPR was different. I spent the longest part of my career there. That bond doesn’t disappear because you stop playing.
Q: You finished at FC Groningen, after Sport-Club Freiburg. Was it hard to leave the game behind?
A: Yes. It’s a strange feeling when the thing that has filled your life is suddenly finished. But it ended after the 2061/62 season. I’m not going to invent another chapter just because people expect one.
Q: What do you think football gets wrong about former players?
A: It thinks every one of us must want to manage, coach or stay in the spotlight. Some of us have done enough. I gave football a lot, and I can be grateful without needing to stay in it.