He did a Rooney, failed to look after his body and suffered an early decline. Unbelievable player at his peak though, a top 10 dribbler of all time.
Eden Hazard | "It's time to enjoy life drinking beers"
- Thread starter Samid
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Their very own Alexis Sanchez
I'd say Bale's 12/13 was better than any season Hazard had. He was brilliant that season, looked like he was stepping up to near Ronaldo levels. Probably not quite one of the top 5 individual seasons in PL history but wouldn't be far off it.
Obviously Hazard had done it for a lot longer whereas that was Bale's only world class season (his first POTY award was an absolute joke and completely undeserved) but Bale was only 24 at the time.
I wouldn't agree with that. Well, if you're taking into account the amount of time left on the contracts then maybe (Hazard only having one year), but in terms of the player themselves definitely not.
Hazard was a far far better player in the PL than Coutinho ever was. He'd been one of the best players, if not the best, in the league for years. Coutinho was never remotely even close to that, and the money that Barca were quite obviously throwing away would have been hilarious if it hadn't been Liverpool receiving it.
Are you sure? By this logic you can say that average midfielders like Herrera also kept peak Hazard quiet.
In the end he's still retiring with a CL and 2 Ligas in his trophy cabinet to add to his 2 PL titles and his Ligue 1/EL titles.
Yep, quite sure
So where was this unstoppable Hazard in the champions league for chelsea at his peak? Why was he so bang average individually all those years for them? Would be a good reminder if you could name some of the unstoppable performances from peak Hazard in the champions league.
Hazard was an utterly brilliant player at his peak, surely this isn't even a discussion...
First, Whilst I kinda agree with your general point but that’s not entirely true. He was absolutely anonymous for Chelsea in the champions league. That’s not an utterly brilliant player. Could be brilliant on his day but not a world class player who only performs in patches.
Second, the poster I quoted said Sanchez was kept quiet by players like McNair whilst Hazard was unstoppable as if nobody was able to stop him. Utterly stupid point. Herrera also kept Hazard quiet too. And he failed to deliver in the champions league year in year out. Look at his performances in the champions league. It’s pathetic. Unstoppable my arse.
I suppose but he played almost no part in any of those trophies at Madrid so it must be a bit hollow.
His entire career he hasn't really done much in the CL which is surprising.
I think it was just a bit of an exaggeration for emphasis. I presume he didn't mean it literally. No player on earth is or was unstoppable.
On his day, Hazard was up with the very best imo.
However Ronaldo is the last player from the PL to win the Balon D’or so there Is that Michael Owen won it too but most people would put him Tier 2 or Tier 3, tricky but in terms of player that could win you a champions league Ronaldo was that man he played in 2 CL finals with united wining one.
I can’t believe anyone that watched Hazard play would question whether he was a world class player. He was incredible.
Owen back then was definitely not tier 2 or 3 player.
Absolutely. There was a post about peak Sanchez or peak Hazard, I would take Hazard 11 times out of 10. I watched both against us numerous times and we were able to deal with Sanchez far easily compared to Hazard except for one game where Herrera man marked him out of the game. But yeah, that happened once so he must be 'bang average'.
What are you really trying to argue? If you are saying that he wasn't world class then lets end the argument here.
Tbh I don't remember Chelsea in the cl well enough to be able to pick out standout Hazard games but I think the champion's league thing is a bit of a red herring from that poster that they feel they can use as a 'gotcha' as to why Hazard wasn't world class. The CL is one of the highest standards, sure, but it's also a reasonably small sample size when set against hazard's PL performances. Also, there's a fecking reason Madrid paid so much for him...because he was a brilliant player. Never showed it for them, sure, but recency bias is clouding some judgments here
Hazard's CL performances were the only underwhelming part of his time here. Not that he was bad but nowhere near as good as his league performances. Probably best to note that we changed managers pretty much every 2 years when he was here, and for the most part played under negative, sit back and counter coaches. The players that you think of that stood out in the CL (Lewa/Neymar/Bale/Suarez etc) all played for very dominant attack-oriented sides. I would say Hazard was arguably the best player in the PL of his era along with the likes of D.Silva, Aguero and a few others. But then the question remains, what did Silva and Aguero do in Europe? Even less than Hazard but you don't hear a thing.
This was the worst thing about it. He did the same thing every pre-season with us. But when he left I figured this was his big opportunity at his dream club, and he would actually act professional..
This was the worst thing about it. He did the same thing every pre-season with us. But when he left I figured this was his big opportunity at his dream club, and he would actually act professional..
You literally only get 6 games minimum a season to show yourself in the CL. Average for a club like Chelsea is 8-10. How anyone can judge a player based on the champions league alone is ludicrous. It’s the same poor argument Messi had about (previously) not winning anything for Argentina. A 38 game season is and always will be the best metric for judging a player because the sample size is more appropriate.
CL is about rising up to the occasion and showing up in big games.
Based on your logic here the World Cup is not a good metric either to judge anyone either, actually it's even worse than the CL considering it's 7 games maximum instead of 13 and only once every four years.
Hazard is one of those players that was naturally gifted and didn't have to work too much on his abilities outside of childhood. If you read any discussions about him from his team-mates it becomes abundantly clear that he never really trained. In addition, I think I remember reading that outside of training he would spend most of his time playing with his kids and taking them for McD's etc.
As a result, he wasn't ever going to reach his potential I.e. a consistently elite player and have longevity as the mentality required for that is something he doesn't possess. That said, he sounds like a good bloke who's priorities is his family which is fairly refreshing if frustrating from a sporting perspective.
As a result, he wasn't ever going to reach his potential I.e. a consistently elite player and have longevity as the mentality required for that is something he doesn't possess. That said, he sounds like a good bloke who's priorities is his family which is fairly refreshing if frustrating from a sporting perspective.
Hazard's CL performances were the only underwhelming part of his time here. Not that he was bad but nowhere near as good as his league performances. Probably best to note that we changed managers pretty much every 2 years when he was here, and for the most part played under negative, sit back and counter coaches. The players that you think of that stood out in the CL (Lewa/Neymar/Bale/Suarez etc) all played for very dominant attack-oriented sides. I would say Hazard was arguably the best player in the PL of his era along with the likes of D.Silva, Aguero and a few others. But then the question remains, what did Silva and Aguero do in Europe? Even less than Hazard but you don't hear a thing.
This was the worst thing about it. He did the same thing every pre-season with us. But when he left I figured this was his big opportunity at his dream club, and he would actually act professional..
Agree. He was the only Chelsea player aside from peak Mata during that time that struck terror into me when i saw his name on the team sheet. I watched a ton of Chelsea games and Hazard was world class, why the hell do you guys think Real Madrid chased him for so long? Yes he fell off a cliff when he joined Madrid because he never had the elite mentality of a Ronaldo but to say he wasn't world class is insanity. He has that whole low centre of gravity messi-style of dribbling that allowed him to change direction on a dime and it was beautiful to watch. People saying he wasn't consistent because he didn't do it in the CL, well he was voted Chelsea's player of the year 4 seasons running, 4! and was in the premier league PFA team of the year for the same 4 seasons in a row. There's not many players that can say that and certainly doesn't happen if you're not dominant.
Very sad it didn’t work out as hoped, loved prime Hazard. He didn’t start out good but started to pick up pace, but then that game against PSG happened and ever since….yeah. Kaka 2.0, injuries and better performing players in their position.
Yes his UCL performances weren't great which is why I'd put him slightly behind the A list when factoring the overall picture but in the league he carried us in the business end twice when most of the rest of the team were shitting themselves, especially I'm 2015. The narrative that he blew hot and cold or took every other season off is utter nonsense.
He would have possibly done similar in the world cup aswell if it weren't for Lukaku basically playing as a centre back for France in that semi final.
Agree with this too. Hazard has always been overrated one of those who disappeared at top European game. His CL record is a disgrace. Like 5 non PK goals
He was a moment's player.
If he's one of the all time PL greats then Salah must be the best because he could do everything Hazard did and more.
If he's one of the all time PL greats then Salah must be the best because he could do everything Hazard did and more.
I think Salah is in the Ronaldo Henry Shearer Vidic level that is the very elite.
Hazard was surely below that,
I would not even put Hazard in the the 2nd tier which includes Cantona Suarez Aguero RVP KdB Terry Lampard Rio
Hazard might be tier 3 realistically which is not a bad place cos you will have players like Drogba Kante Bergkamp Beckham etc
Hazard at his peak was an amazing player. Imagine him in a Pep team at his peak.
Had he played for Barcelona or Bayern earlier that guy could have challenged Ronaldo and Messi perhaps for a few years.
He really was that good at times.
Had he played for Barcelona or Bayern earlier that guy could have challenged Ronaldo and Messi perhaps for a few years.
He really was that good at times.
Yeh I would agree with that. Hazard was unplayable on his day but I still think he was overrated primarily because of how ‘pretty’ he was to watch. He would glide past players through dribbling but he always had a tendency to beat a player, stop and beat them again when it would have been more effective to go for the jugular. His comments on scoring goals also left a sour taste in my mouth, a played with his ability should have been looking to kill and destroy teams, instead he was content with just beating people for fun.
The worst signing in Real Madrid 120 years history.
I think he was the second or third best player I've seen in the EPL. Shame how the Madrid move turned out for him. My list would probably go like:
1. CR7
2. Henry
3. Hazard
4. KDB
5. Suarez
6. Salah
7. Aguero
8. Rooney
9. David Silva
10. VVD
4 - 10 are relatively interchangeable I think.
1. CR7
2. Henry
3. Hazard
4. KDB
5. Suarez
6. Salah
7. Aguero
8. Rooney
9. David Silva
10. VVD
4 - 10 are relatively interchangeable I think.
True. You get that impression that Hazards primary intention was to dribble and embarass the marker possibly multiple times in a move not to get past him marker. Like how a younger CR7 will dribble Ashley Cole and wait for him to get up and repeat that dribble again. Those moves that make you look good and clever at a pickup game
Most footballers who learn football on the streets will have that skill until they get polished at academies
In the Premier league alone, Henry would top most people's lists. Ronaldo's most productive seasons came at Madrid.
In terms of pure talent, Hazard ranks amongst the best to ever play in the Premier league. What was missing is the application of it and focus. In that way, he is similar to Neymar.
Hazard wasn't the brain dead footballer that Ronaldo was in his first 3 seasons. He simply lacked the individualism and professionalism of Ronaldo of later years.
Sad end to a wonderful career
How does termination actually work? Romano claimed they've saved loads? So he's casually agreed to be paid out early, for potentially retirement? Essentially, what Bale refused to do... or they've just paid out his final year in full?
Or is it just one of those mysteries.
Or is it just one of those mysteries.
Never saw him play in El Clasico, not sure he ever played for us, many people says he never did.
I would say he has taken 50% or so because he has something lucrative lined up and will end up with more money in the long run.
If he signs for a Saudi team, it will all become clear.