Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins, and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we look at Eden and Thorgan Hazard.
Families in Football: Eden and Thorgan Hazard
Eden Hazard
The older of the Hazard brothers, Eden started his career at Ligue 1 side Lille. He made his professional debut aged just 16 and became the first non-French player to win the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year in his first full season.
In the 2010/11 season, he played an integral role in Lille’s league and cup double-winning campaign. His performances earned him the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
A year later, he moved to Chelsea where he won the Europa League in his first season. In the 2014/15 season, he helped the Blues to the League Cup and Premier League double and won the Football Writers Player of the Year award.
During his spell at Stamford Bridge, he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup, and two Europa League titles. His performances in London earned him a move to Real Madrid where he joined for a fee of £130 million, becoming Real’s most expensive player of all time.
However, his time in Spain has been plagued with injuries and he has just made 40 appearances since joining in 2019. He won the La Liga title in his first season at the Bernabéu.
Eden Hazard has made 115 appearances for Belgium. Only Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel, and Toby Alderweireld have more caps for the Red Devils than the midfielder.
Thorgan Hazard
Like Eden Hazard, Thorgan started his professional career in France with Lens. Again, like his brother, he joined Chelsea a year after they signed Eden. However, he never played a competitive game for the Premier League side.
He joined Belgian side Zulte Waregem on loan for two years between 2012/14. During his time in his homeland, he won the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2014 – the award given to the best footballer in the Belgian Pro League.
In 2014, he then moved to Germany to join Borussia Monchengladbach, initially on loan, before joining permanently. Thorgan made over 100 appearances for the Bundesliga side in four years at the club.
In 2019, he joined Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract where he helped them win the DFB Pokal in 2021 – his first major trophy won in his professional career.
Thorgan has followed in his brother’s footsteps and appeared 41 times for the Belgian national side.
Interesting Facts
Thorgan Hazard played in the same Lens U16 team as Atlético Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane.
Eden and Thorgan’s parents are also former footballers. Their father Thierry was a defensive midfielder who was a semi-professional while their mother Carine Hazard played in the women’s First Division in Belgium.
Eden and Thorgan both have two other brothers who are professional footballers. Ethan Hazard, the youngest, is currently playing with Royale Union Tubize-Braine in Belgium. Meanwhile, Kylian Hazard plays for Cercle Brugge in the Belgian top flight.
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