Speaking to fifa.com, Real Madrid and Juventus legend Zinedine Zidane has admitted that other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he also “keeps an eye” on Chelsea star Eden Hazard. Hazard has been regarded as one of the finest talents in Europe for several years, having left Lille for Chelsea in 2012 for £32 million. The ‘Special One’, José Mourinho himself, has tipped Hazard to emulate the success and capabilities of current Ballon d’Or champion, Ronaldo.
Should we keep an eye on him within the same brackets of Messi and Ronaldo? It’s hard to say no against a man hailed as one of, if not the greatest midfield players of all time.
Hazard has shone under Mourinho, who at first criticised Hazard for not contributing enough, thus challenging the Belgium to add more goals to his game. Hazard has risen to the challenge; he currently has thirteen goals, with a further eight assists to his name in the 2014-15 Premier League season. He has picked up a remarkable nine man of the match awards in his 32 appearances, which serves as a magnificent reminder of his continuous top class performances.
However, statistics cannot alone describe how effective and brilliant Hazard has been towards Chelsea’s title push, and his nomination for the PFA Player of the Year award was richly deserved.
Yet despite top class performances in the Premier League, if Hazard is unable to find his form in Europe, this discussion is over.
Hazard contributed three goals and two assists in seven Champions League matches this season; these numbers are respectable in a Mourinho team which is currently deployed with a defensive focus first, especially away from Stamford Bridge.
However, we need to hold on until next season to see the true devastating force of Hazard in the Champions League. Mourinho openly admitted in his first season that a top-four finish was the goal, as they built for a title push next season. True to his word, Chelsea look nailed on to lift the Premier League this season with six games to play. Does this mean next season his focus over summer will be to build and ready a squad to rival the Bayern’s and Barcelona’s? It appears so, and with Hazard as the catalyst it would be preposterous to rule out Chelsea getting at least to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition.
So is Zinedine Zidane right about Eden Hazard?
What makes Hazard stand out is his ability to play every game, just like Barcelona and ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. Hazard looks fit and ready to challenge any opposition and cause havoc for their defence. Hazard may not be as prolific as Messi and Ronaldo, but Zidane is right that an eye should be kept on him. Especially at the age of 24, Hazard can still improve to the heights of the greats.
He is already fast becoming the latest Chelsea legend.
