Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Belgium national team. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered one of the best players of his generation.
Hazard is the son of two former footballers and began his career in Belgium playing for local youth clubs. In 2005, he moved to France, where he began his senior career with Ligue 1 club Lille. Hazard spent two years in the club's academy and, at the age of 16, made his professional debut in November 2007. He became an integral part of the Lille team under manager Rudi Garcia. In his first full season, he became the first non-French player to win the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, and the following season became the first player to win the award twice. 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 Ligue 1 Player of the Year, the youngest player to win the award.
After making over 190 appearances and scoring 50 goals for Lille, Hazard signed for English club Chelsea in June 2012. He won the UEFA Europa League in his first season and the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second. In the 2014–15 season, Hazard helped Chelsea win the League Cup and Premier League, earning him the FWA Footballer of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year awards. Two years later he won his second English league title as Chelsea won the 2016–17 Premier League. In 2018, he won the FA Cup, and was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI. He won the Europa League again with Chelsea in June 2019. At Chelsea, Hazard established himself as one of the best players in the world. He joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019 in a transfer worth up to €150 million, making it one of the highest transfer fees ever,[10] however continuous injuries resulted in Hazard playing a limited amount of games and declining in performances.
Having represented his country at various youth levels, Hazard made his senior debut for the Belgium national team in November 2008, aged 17, in a friendly match against Luxembourg. Nearly three years after his debut, Hazard scored his first international goal against Kazakhstan in October 2011. He has since earned over 120 caps, and was a member of the Belgian squad which reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, and UEFA Euro 2020. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he captained Belgium to third place which was their best finish in history, receiving the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament. Since 2015, he has been the captain of the team, which coincided with the time Belgium topped the FIFA men's ranking for the first time, the longest continuous reign of any European teams.
Hazard primarily plays as either an attacking midfielder or a winger and has been credited as being "possibly the outstanding talent in Europe right now". At Lille under former manager Rudi Garcia, Hazard often played in the latter role in the team's 4–3–3 formation and regularly switched flanks because he could use both feet. Following the departures of fellow playmakers Yohan Cabaye and Gervinho in 2011, during the 2011–12 season, Garcia played Hazard in a creative role as a central attacking midfielder, while also allowing the player to roam back onto the wing if necessary. Two of Hazard's most common exemplary traits are his pace and technical ability, which have been described as "astonishing" and "mesmerizing". His speed, acceleration, and dribbling skills, combined with his creativity, as well as his flair, balance, agility, and low centre of gravity, courtesy of his diminutive stature (1.73 m\/5 feet 8 inches), allow him to retain possession, take on defenders, and beat opponents in one on one situations.
At Chelsea, Hazard matured into a world class player and was primarily utilised as a left midfielder, a position which enables him to cut into the centre and strike on goal with his stronger right foot. His development into one of the world's best players was highlighted in the 2014–15 Season; during this season he won multiple awards and received praise from pundits and manager alike. Manager Jose Mourinho praised Hazard, saying that "He is already a top player and his evolution has been fantastic. He is still very young and he can become the best player in the world." Hazard's former teammate and Lille captain Rio Mavuba described Hazard as "a great player, with an immense talent. He's actually not that big, but he's so fast. He's also very difficult to dispossess and his finishing is top notch". Hazard's frequent goal celebration saw him sliding on his knees; since 2018 he has stayed on his feet. Although Hazard's favoured role is as a left winger, he is a versatile attacker, and has also been deployed as a second striker, as a lone striker, or even as a false-9 on occasion throughout his career. Beyond his speed, creativity, technical skills, and offensive qualities, he is also an accurate penalty and free kick taker.<\/P>","DAF09C52CF6076BD5E585110E27D1A5D":"7500000.00","E40B4988E6F21D3C":"59977","6438FCEB8DF4FD6202A461D3835934E5":"Chelsea FC,Lille OSC,Lille(U19),A.F.C. Tubize","C9B224F2C5B356EF":"Real Madrid","31E4B7E841B17C66":"Eden Michael Hazard","92D102DDE1327A88":"Eden Michael Hazard","B628C0FB460378A51A233D645651DF2F":"
CLUB
<\/U><\/STRONG>Lille
<\/STRONG>Ligue 1: 2010–11
Coupe de France: 2010–11
Chelsea<\/STRONG>
Premier League: 2014–15, 2016–17
FA Cup: 2017–18
Football League Cup: 2014–15
UEFA Europa League: 2012–13, 2018-19
Real Madrid<\/STRONG>
La Liga: 2019–20, 2021–22
Supercopa de Espana: 2021–22
UEFA Champions League: 2021–22
UEFA Super Cup: 2022
INTERNATIONAL<\/STRONG><\/U>
Belgium<\/STRONG>
FIFA World Cup third place: 2018
INDIVIDUAL<\/U>
<\/STRONG>
FIFA Ballon d'Or\/Ballon d'Or:<\/STRONG>
2015 (8th place), 2018 (8th place)
The Best FIFA Men's Player:<\/STRONG>
2018 (7th place), 2019 (8th place)
Belgian Sportsman of the year:<\/STRONG>
2018
UEFA Europa League Player of the Season:
<\/STRONG>2018–19
UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2010–11, 2011–12
FWA Footballer of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2014–15
Premier League Player of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2014–15
PFA Players' Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2013–14 (2nd place), 2014–15 (1st place), 2016–17 (2nd place)
PFA Fans' Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2018–19
Belgium Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2017, 2018, 2019
Best Belgian Footballer abroad:<\/STRONG>
2017, 2018, 2019
Chelsea Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19
Chelsea Players' Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2013-14, 2014–15, 2016-17, 2018–19
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball:
<\/STRONG>2018
Bravo Award:<\/STRONG>
2011
UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2008–09, 2009–10
PFA Young Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2013–14
UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month:
<\/STRONG>March 2010, March 2011, March 2012, April 2012
Premier League Player of the Month:
<\/STRONG>October 2016, September 2018
PFA Fans' Premier League Player of the Month:<\/STRONG>
October 2016
Premier League Playmaker of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2018–19
Premier League Goal of the Month:<\/STRONG>
February 2017, April 2019
Chelsea Goal of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2015–16 (vs. Tottenham Hotspur), 2016–17 (vs. Arsenal),2018–19 (vs. Liverpool)
UEFA Europa League Final Man of the Match:<\/STRONG>
2019
UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
FIFA FIFPro World11:
<\/STRONG>1st team: 2018, 2019; 2nd team: 2015; fourth team: 2014, 2016, 2017;nominee: 2012
PFA Premier League Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17
UEFA Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2017, 2018
UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2018–19
ESM Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2014–15, 2018–19
FIFA World Cup Fantasy Team:<\/STRONG>
2018
IFFHS Men's World Team:
<\/STRONG>2018<\/P>","76E5DE99890AB189":"175cm","3DD52A7123843A0599BD59EBE6AB4E97":"Chelsea FC","e_index":7};