Eden Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a
Belgian footballer who currently plays for French club
Lille in
Ligue 1 and the
Belgium national team.
He primarily plays as an
attacking midfielder and a
winger. Hazard is known
for his creativity, speed, and technical ability and is described as a
"fearless, explosive attacking midfielder who can change the game with a
turn of pace or a dribble". He has also been described as "a
defender's nightmare" and has earned critical acclaim for his playing
style, which has led to the media, coaches, and players drawing comparisons to
FIFA World Player of the Year
winners
Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Hazard is the son of former
Belgian football players Carine and Thierry Hazard and began his football
career in Belgium playing for local clubs Royal Stade Brainois and
Tubize. In 2005, he ventured to France joining
first division club Lille. Hazard spent two years in the
club's academy and, at the age of 16, made his professional debut in November
2007. In his first full season as a starter, he won the
National Union
of Professional Footballers (UNFP)
Young Player of the Year
award becoming the first non-French player to win the award. In the
2009–10 season, Hazard
captured the award again becoming the first player to win the award twice. He
was also named to the league's
Team of the Year. Since
making his debut in 2007, Hazard has become an integral part of the club under
manager
Rudi Garcia racking up over 160 appearances. In the
2010–11 season, he
was a part of the Lille team that won the
league and cup double and, as a result of his performances,
was named the
UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year
becoming the youngest player to win the award.
Eden
Hazard's rise over the past couple of years has been meteoric, with the Belgian
starlet undergoing a remarkable transformation from precocious Lille youngster
to Ligue 1 sensation and one of the most sought after players in Europe. The
fleet-footed attacking midfielder/winger has drawn comparisons to Cristiano
Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but perhaps the greatest compliment has been the
willingness of the Belgian press to proclaim that Hazard has what it takes to
fill the enormous boots left by the legendary Enzo Schifo.
Born
into a footballing family, Hazard's youth career took in Belgian sides Royal
Stade Brainois and Tubize before he settled at Lille as a 14-year-old in 2005.
Two years later, and the teenage prodigy had made his debut in the French top
flight, going on to make a handful of substitute appearances in the 2007-08
season. The following campaign was a real breakthrough year though, as he went
from impact sub to first-team talisman in the space of a few months - with his
sparkling performances earning him an international debut for Belgium and the
Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year Award.
The
plaudits continued to roll in last season and Hazard was tied down to a new
four-year contract with Lille in an attempt to stave off interest from some of
Europe's biggest clubs. With five league goals and eight assists, Hazard became
his side's creator-in-chief and his influential displays, coupled with Europa
League goals against Genoa, Gent and a winner against Liverpool, saw his
reputation continue to grow around the continent.
Hazard's
start to the 2010-11 campaign was a troubled one as he was publicly criticised
by Belgium national team coach Georges Leekens, who accused him of being lazy
in training, and he was also dropped by Lille coach Rudi Garcia. He didn't
start a league game for Lille until November but has now re-established himself
as an integral member of the first-team, causing a number of Europe's big clubs
to show an interest, with Arsenal thought to be leading the race for his
signature.
Strengths: A defender's nightmare,
Hazard can dribble at pace and, like Lionel Messi, he is 5ft 7in and has a low
centre of gravity that helps him breeze past opposition players. He has an eye
for the spectacular and has scored some memorable solo efforts.
Weaknesses: Hazard's work-rate has
questioned by his club and national team bosses, so much so that Lille coach
Rudi Garcia dropped him earlier this season in a bid to spark him back into
life. His strike-rate is also somewhat erratic and while he creates plenty of
goals for others, he must start to score more himself.
Career
high: Becoming
the first non-French player to win the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year Award
in 2008-09, before achieving something that the likes of Zinedine Zidane and
Thierry Henry never managed by winning it again in 2009-10.
Career
low: Suffering
penalty heartache at the hands of Spain in the 2007 UEFA European Under-17
Football Championship . Hazard's Belgium were hosting the tournament but went
crashing out in the semi-finals after losing a shootout to a Bojan
Krkic-inspired Spain side.
Style: A fearless, explosive
attacking midfielder who can change the game with a turn of pace or a dribble.
Quotes:
"Eden
is technically gifted and very fast. I would take him to Real Madrid with my
eyes closed. He can become a great footballer, he is a star of the future."
France legend Zinedine Zidane gives Hazard a ringing endorsement.
Trivia:
Both
of Hazard's parents, Thierry and Carine were both footballers in Belgium and
his younger brother Thorgan is on the books of Lille's arch-rivals Lens.