Eden Hazard

[Jase 43,479]

I kind of wish hazard fell down similar to what Neymar does.....

All those little kicks, shoves, pushes are going to take a toll on Hazard's body in the future...

Ronaldo and Messi have suffered lots of times during their career and it hasn't exactly took its toll on them, has it?

It's not like opponents are kicking him out of the field in the manner like Honduras did in this World Cup.

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

What happened to the nr 10 in the topic name?

[Jase 43,479]

What happened to the nr 10 in the topic name?

He's gone. Long gone.

He's now known as Eden Mesnallemarbenry...

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I know this has been posted before, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJQ9AWwnA2Q

Best young player in the world and does with a football what most footballers can only dream of doing.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I'm not calling him lazy at all. I don't remember ever calling him that. What I meant is that there are guys who work way harder than others because of their approach of the match. What I meant is that sometimes Hazard just fades... for example the first two Belgium matches at the world cup (didn't watch today's). He simply faded in the background for the most part and he seemed quite conformed from afar (or laid back as you put it). If he didn't receive the ball enough, if he didn't run, move enough, if he didn't yell at his teammates enough to receive more than ball than he could work harder or be more vocal or seek the game (in Portuguese we say that a player can take ownership of a match, meaning that when things aren't going his way, he just makes it happen, take matter into his hands and fight, fight, fight). It doesn't mean he was lazy, just that he was passive. I'm calling him passive, not lazy, and I don't mean all the time, but often when he's quiet. Bale is very active, he's presenting himself all the time, running all the time, complaining quite often when he doesn't receive the pass... you see that he's a Energyzer bunny and even annoying. I look at Hazard and I feel like he's okay at all times, whereas other players seem more bothered if things aren't going their way... that's what I meant...

This is a classic example of being overly critical of our own and overrating or overhyping other players. This is normal. If Hazard was a Man Utd player, the wankfest on here would have been crazy. And that's not a criticism, Barbara. I expect a surgeon to know more about the human anatomy than a geologist for example.

(1) You mention the Belgium matches, okay, let's talk about the Belgium gane and Hazard "fading". Let's take the Russia game for example. It's very common for us casual fans to overstate the importance of a player's individual efforts and understate the team effort. Will James look as good as he does if Colombia was playing poorly, no. Belgium have not been playing well. They have been playing, slow, ponderous, predictable football and have had the unfortunate ignominy of playing two defensive minded teams (at least in the games that Hazard started). This is obviously going to have a negative effect on individual performances, particularly of the forwards. Even more so for Hazard as he got double-marked on that left wing in both games vs Russia and Algeria. He is the only player on the Belgian team that gets this treatment. This is a big problem for him because as been discussed a 1000 times, Vetorghnen (sp?)/ Vermalean are CB's and simply do not support the winger in attack, so Hazard is left in a situation were he has to beat two players OR receives the ball with his back to goal and is closed down quickly. Back to ^^^^^^^ in a moment.

(a) It was only in when Algeria came out to play a little and lost the ball in transition that Hazard had an opportunity to launch a counter and the result was a goal for Mertens.

The Russia game was similar. The first half, stranded on the left side, facing the problems I discussed in (1). It was late in the 2nd half, when Wilmots became less defensive minded and focused on "shape" did he give Hazard a free role and he wrecked havoc on Russia's backline in a 10 minute cameo. He started drifting in to the centre where he was able to influence the game more.

What happens next, Belgium win the ball in transition, Origi lays it to Hazard and he blows by a Russian defender, cutting it back on his "weaker" foot for Origi. Goal for Origi.

So, two key actions when his team are not playing well, when the football is slow and predictable, in searing heat (both those games played at midday), when his coach is tactically inept, he still provides to match-winning moments. Very similar to Messi vs Iran and Bosnia. I dunno about you guys, but that is the mark of a world class player.

(2) It's up to Wilmots to solve the problems in (1), that even we arm-chair experts and analysts can see. Give Hazard a free role. You play with 5 centre-halves for fuck's sake. If not, start him as a 10 where he has more breathing space. Also, stop playing Dembele all the time cos he's been shit for a year or so and start Origi ahead of Lukaku because the USA are coming to defend deep, frustrate and park the bus. It's a shame Vanden Borre got injured because he looks like the only decent fullback in the Belgian team (why didn't he start in 1st two games?)

(3) You said Hazard is "lazy", no he's not. Check the facts. He covers an insane amount of kilometres per game for a winger. People also accused Messi of being lazy, calling him Walkessi and all that silliness. None of them highlighted how Barca's system was not as fluid as before. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets triumvirate was not as good as before. Pressing game was not as good as before. Pep, the guy responsible for a fair share of the success of that GREAT Barcelona was no longer there. Then comes the "Messi is just walking". . "He's not calling for the ball" etc, without mentioning all the other subtleties. It's the same with Hazard. People, like you (no offense) criticize him for things that are beyond his control instead of looking at the broader picture.

Then the Bale thing is wrong. This is what annoys me. Bale has been known to disappear from games at his time with Tottenham and Madrid. Watch him, he does those exact same things you say Hazard does. Bale does not demand the ball. He is quiet on the pitch. What you did there is what I call overrating the opposition player and underrating our own. I even read someone here put Bale in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. Many players disappear from games for various reasons, Messi included.

You can't deny that Hazard has not suffered from this problem this past season because he's under the best tactician in the world, Mourinho. Almost everything good about our attacking play came through Hazard. Maybe when we have a better team than the average one we saw last season, we can see Hazard in a more fluid system.

It's amazing how many conclusions you come to from a bunch of games. Surely, most of what you said doesn't hold true for the Hazard that we all saw dazzle for Chelsea this past season, so I'm assuming it's mostly based on the World Cup.

All the names thrown around. Reus, Bale, Neymar, Robben, Sanchez Ribery. I won't take any of these players ahead of Hazard. I don't consider any of these players to be better than Hazard, neither do I consider them to have his talent. The thing this guy is able to do with a football is beyond scary. The only winger I put above him is Ronaldo and that guy is not even a winger anymore. The only player I'll swap him for is Messi. And I say this as a football fan, not a Chelsea one.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

And is it just me or are Chelsea fans in particular overly critical of their players? We've become like Barcelona fans. Our star player does not perform to the absurd standard of some and every little (supposed) defect in his game is compared to the supposed "defect-less" "other" , in this case, Bale and Neymar. I think that's insulting to Hazard. The guy is 23, and is already an established international, not some teenage prospect as some here seem to treat him.

If we want to discuss weaknesses in his game, let's do it. Like Mourinho said, every player has weaknesses. Ronaldo's weakness is that he's not a very efficient shooter. He takes too many shots per game and when he's having a poor shooting night, Madrid tend to suffer. Robben has weaknesses. Even Messi does. Luis Suarez goes around biting people when his weaknesses are exposed.

This is Hazard's thread, so let's discuss his weaknesses. He has very, very few weaknesses to his game and his game is very complete. I can't say this about many young players. I've seen him play a 100 plus times for us and the one that stands out is that his shooting technique is not that great. Thankfully, it's something he can improve on and learn, not something innate, like his close control. If he can do that, he can score the 40+ whatever goals he wants to, because his close control gets him into positions on the pitch very, very, very few players can. (Like that moment vs Galatasaray). Messi is like Hazard with much better shooting/finishing technique. The younger Messi didn't always have that.

It's a consequence of the player Eden has always been. He has always had it in his brain to go for the beautiful pass rather than shoot. It's not just about taking more shots as is suggested here but about improving his shooting technique first.

[Special Juan 27,093]

Sent a fan a signed shirt via courier delivery...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2674090/Eden-Hazard-reduces-79-year-old-Belgium-fan-tears-signed-shirt-surprise-gift.html

Top man.

[haranr 485]

EDEN IS THE KING!

[Stingray 9,441]

This is a classic example of being overly critical of our own and overrating or overhyping other players. This is normal. If Hazard was a Man Utd player, the wankfest on here would have been crazy. And that's not a criticism, Barbara. I expect a surgeon to know more about the human anatomy than a geologist for example.

(1) You mention the Belgium matches, okay, let's talk about the Belgium gane and Hazard "fading". Let's take the Russia game for example. It's very common for us casual fans to overstate the importance of a player's individual efforts and understate the team effort. Will James look as good as he does if Colombia was playing poorly, no. Belgium have not been playing well. They have been playing, slow, ponderous, predictable football and have had the unfortunate ignominy of playing two defensive minded teams (at least in the games that Hazard started). This is obviously going to have a negative effect on individual performances, particularly of the forwards. Even more so for Hazard as he got double-marked on that left wing in both games vs Russia and Algeria. He is the only player on the Belgian team that gets this treatment. This is a big problem for him because as been discussed a 1000 times, Vetorghnen (sp?)/ Vermalean are CB's and simply do not support the winger in attack, so Hazard is left in a situation were he has to beat two players OR receives the ball with his back to goal and is closed down quickly. Back to ^^^^^^^ in a moment.

(a) It was only in when Algeria came out to play a little and lost the ball in transition that Hazard had an opportunity to launch a counter and the result was a goal for Mertens.

The Russia game was similar. The first half, stranded on the left side, facing the problems I discussed in (1). It was late in the 2nd half, when Wilmots became less defensive minded and focused on "shape" did he give Hazard a free role and he wrecked havoc on Russia's backline in a 10 minute cameo. He started drifting in to the centre where he was able to influence the game more.

What happens next, Belgium win the ball in transition, Origi lays it to Hazard and he blows by a Russian defender, cutting it back on his "weaker" foot for Origi. Goal for Origi.

So, two key actions when his team are not playing well, when the football is slow and predictable, in searing heat (both those games played at midday), when his coach is tactically inept, he still provides to match-winning moments. Very similar to Messi vs Iran and Bosnia. I dunno about you guys, but that is the mark of a world class player.

(2) It's up to Wilmots to solve the problems in (1), that even we arm-chair experts and analysts can see. Give Hazard a free role. You play with 5 centre-halves for fuck's sake. If not, start him as a 10 where he has more breathing space. Also, stop playing Dembele all the time cos he's been shit for a year or so and start Origi ahead of Lukaku because the USA are coming to defend deep, frustrate and park the bus. It's a shame Vanden Borre got injured because he looks like the only decent fullback in the Belgian team (why didn't he start in 1st two games?)

(3) You said Hazard is "lazy", no he's not. Check the facts. He covers an insane amount of kilometres per game for a winger. People also accused Messi of being lazy, calling him Walkessi and all that silliness. None of them highlighted how Barca's system was not as fluid as before. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets triumvirate was not as good as before. Pressing game was not as good as before. Pep, the guy responsible for a fair share of the success of that GREAT Barcelona was no longer there. Then comes the "Messi is just walking". . "He's not calling for the ball" etc, without mentioning all the other subtleties. It's the same with Hazard. People, like you (no offense) criticize him for things that are beyond his control instead of looking at the broader picture.

Then the Bale thing is wrong. This is what annoys me. Bale has been known to disappear from games at his time with Tottenham and Madrid. Watch him, he does those exact same things you say Hazard does. Bale does not demand the ball. He is quiet on the pitch. What you did there is what I call overrating the opposition player and underrating our own. I even read someone here put Bale in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. Many players disappear from games for various reasons, Messi included.

You can't deny that Hazard has not suffered from this problem this past season because he's under the best tactician in the world, Mourinho. Almost everything good about our attacking play came through Hazard. Maybe when we have a better team than the average one we saw last season, we can see Hazard in a more fluid system.

It's amazing how many conclusions you come to from a bunch of games. Surely, most of what you said doesn't hold true for the Hazard that we all saw dazzle for Chelsea this past season, so I'm assuming it's mostly based on the World Cup.

All the names thrown around. Reus, Bale, Neymar, Robben, Sanchez Ribery. I won't take any of these players ahead of Hazard. I don't consider any of these players to be better than Hazard, neither do I consider them to have his talent. The thing this guy is able to do with a football is beyond scary. The only winger I put above him is Ronaldo and that guy is not even a winger anymore. The only player I'll swap him for is Messi. And I say this as a football fan, not a Chelsea one.

Love this post tbh

[Styles 9,790]

This is a classic example of being overly critical of our own and overrating or overhyping other players. This is normal. If Hazard was a Man Utd player, the wankfest on here would have been crazy. And that's not a criticism, Barbara. I expect a surgeon to know more about the human anatomy than a geologist for example.

(1) You mention the Belgium matches, okay, let's talk about the Belgium gane and Hazard "fading". Let's take the Russia game for example. It's very common for us casual fans to overstate the importance of a player's individual efforts and understate the team effort. Will James look as good as he does if Colombia was playing poorly, no. Belgium have not been playing well. They have been playing, slow, ponderous, predictable football and have had the unfortunate ignominy of playing two defensive minded teams (at least in the games that Hazard started). This is obviously going to have a negative effect on individual performances, particularly of the forwards. Even more so for Hazard as he got double-marked on that left wing in both games vs Russia and Algeria. He is the only player on the Belgian team that gets this treatment. This is a big problem for him because as been discussed a 1000 times, Vetorghnen (sp?)/ Vermalean are CB's and simply do not support the winger in attack, so Hazard is left in a situation were he has to beat two players OR receives the ball with his back to goal and is closed down quickly. Back to ^^^^^^^ in a moment.

(a) It was only in when Algeria came out to play a little and lost the ball in transition that Hazard had an opportunity to launch a counter and the result was a goal for Mertens.

The Russia game was similar. The first half, stranded on the left side, facing the problems I discussed in (1). It was late in the 2nd half, when Wilmots became less defensive minded and focused on "shape" did he give Hazard a free role and he wrecked havoc on Russia's backline in a 10 minute cameo. He started drifting in to the centre where he was able to influence the game more.

What happens next, Belgium win the ball in transition, Origi lays it to Hazard and he blows by a Russian defender, cutting it back on his "weaker" foot for Origi. Goal for Origi.

So, two key actions when his team are not playing well, when the football is slow and predictable, in searing heat (both those games played at midday), when his coach is tactically inept, he still provides to match-winning moments. Very similar to Messi vs Iran and Bosnia. I dunno about you guys, but that is the mark of a world class player.

(2) It's up to Wilmots to solve the problems in (1), that even we arm-chair experts and analysts can see. Give Hazard a free role. You play with 5 centre-halves for fuck's sake. If not, start him as a 10 where he has more breathing space. Also, stop playing Dembele all the time cos he's been shit for a year or so and start Origi ahead of Lukaku because the USA are coming to defend deep, frustrate and park the bus. It's a shame Vanden Borre got injured because he looks like the only decent fullback in the Belgian team (why didn't he start in 1st two games?)

(3) You said Hazard is "lazy", no he's not. Check the facts. He covers an insane amount of kilometres per game for a winger. People also accused Messi of being lazy, calling him Walkessi and all that silliness. None of them highlighted how Barca's system was not as fluid as before. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets triumvirate was not as good as before. Pressing game was not as good as before. Pep, the guy responsible for a fair share of the success of that GREAT Barcelona was no longer there. Then comes the "Messi is just walking". . "He's not calling for the ball" etc, without mentioning all the other subtleties. It's the same with Hazard. People, like you (no offense) criticize him for things that are beyond his control instead of looking at the broader picture.

Then the Bale thing is wrong. This is what annoys me. Bale has been known to disappear from games at his time with Tottenham and Madrid. Watch him, he does those exact same things you say Hazard does. Bale does not demand the ball. He is quiet on the pitch. What you did there is what I call overrating the opposition player and underrating our own. I even read someone here put Bale in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. Many players disappear from games for various reasons, Messi included.

You can't deny that Hazard has not suffered from this problem this past season because he's under the best tactician in the world, Mourinho. Almost everything good about our attacking play came through Hazard. Maybe when we have a better team than the average one we saw last season, we can see Hazard in a more fluid system.

It's amazing how many conclusions you come to from a bunch of games. Surely, most of what you said doesn't hold true for the Hazard that we all saw dazzle for Chelsea this past season, so I'm assuming it's mostly based on the World Cup.

All the names thrown around. Reus, Bale, Neymar, Robben, Sanchez Ribery. I won't take any of these players ahead of Hazard. I don't consider any of these players to be better than Hazard, neither do I consider them to have his talent. The thing this guy is able to do with a football is beyond scary. The only winger I put above him is Ronaldo and that guy is not even a winger anymore. The only player I'll swap him for is Messi. And I say this as a football fan, not a Chelsea one.

[DYC. 7,542]

This is a classic example of being overly critical of our own and overrating or overhyping other players. This is normal. If Hazard was a Man Utd player, the wankfest on here would have been crazy. And that's not a criticism, Barbara. I expect a surgeon to know more about the human anatomy than a geologist for example.

(1) You mention the Belgium matches, okay, let's talk about the Belgium gane and Hazard "fading". Let's take the Russia game for example. It's very common for us casual fans to overstate the importance of a player's individual efforts and understate the team effort. Will James look as good as he does if Colombia was playing poorly, no. Belgium have not been playing well. They have been playing, slow, ponderous, predictable football and have had the unfortunate ignominy of playing two defensive minded teams (at least in the games that Hazard started). This is obviously going to have a negative effect on individual performances, particularly of the forwards. Even more so for Hazard as he got double-marked on that left wing in both games vs Russia and Algeria. He is the only player on the Belgian team that gets this treatment. This is a big problem for him because as been discussed a 1000 times, Vetorghnen (sp?)/ Vermalean are CB's and simply do not support the winger in attack, so Hazard is left in a situation were he has to beat two players OR receives the ball with his back to goal and is closed down quickly. Back to ^^^^^^^ in a moment.

(a) It was only in when Algeria came out to play a little and lost the ball in transition that Hazard had an opportunity to launch a counter and the result was a goal for Mertens.

The Russia game was similar. The first half, stranded on the left side, facing the problems I discussed in (1). It was late in the 2nd half, when Wilmots became less defensive minded and focused on "shape" did he give Hazard a free role and he wrecked havoc on Russia's backline in a 10 minute cameo. He started drifting in to the centre where he was able to influence the game more.

What happens next, Belgium win the ball in transition, Origi lays it to Hazard and he blows by a Russian defender, cutting it back on his "weaker" foot for Origi. Goal for Origi.

So, two key actions when his team are not playing well, when the football is slow and predictable, in searing heat (both those games played at midday), when his coach is tactically inept, he still provides to match-winning moments. Very similar to Messi vs Iran and Bosnia. I dunno about you guys, but that is the mark of a world class player.

(2) It's up to Wilmots to solve the problems in (1), that even we arm-chair experts and analysts can see. Give Hazard a free role. You play with 5 centre-halves for fuck's sake. If not, start him as a 10 where he has more breathing space. Also, stop playing Dembele all the time cos he's been shit for a year or so and start Origi ahead of Lukaku because the USA are coming to defend deep, frustrate and park the bus. It's a shame Vanden Borre got injured because he looks like the only decent fullback in the Belgian team (why didn't he start in 1st two games?)

(3) You said Hazard is "lazy", no he's not. Check the facts. He covers an insane amount of kilometres per game for a winger. People also accused Messi of being lazy, calling him Walkessi and all that silliness. None of them highlighted how Barca's system was not as fluid as before. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets triumvirate was not as good as before. Pressing game was not as good as before. Pep, the guy responsible for a fair share of the success of that GREAT Barcelona was no longer there. Then comes the "Messi is just walking". . "He's not calling for the ball" etc, without mentioning all the other subtleties. It's the same with Hazard. People, like you (no offense) criticize him for things that are beyond his control instead of looking at the broader picture.

Then the Bale thing is wrong. This is what annoys me. Bale has been known to disappear from games at his time with Tottenham and Madrid. Watch him, he does those exact same things you say Hazard does. Bale does not demand the ball. He is quiet on the pitch. What you did there is what I call overrating the opposition player and underrating our own. I even read someone here put Bale in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. Many players disappear from games for various reasons, Messi included.

You can't deny that Hazard has not suffered from this problem this past season because he's under the best tactician in the world, Mourinho. Almost everything good about our attacking play came through Hazard. Maybe when we have a better team than the average one we saw last season, we can see Hazard in a more fluid system.

It's amazing how many conclusions you come to from a bunch of games. Surely, most of what you said doesn't hold true for the Hazard that we all saw dazzle for Chelsea this past season, so I'm assuming it's mostly based on the World Cup.

All the names thrown around. Reus, Bale, Neymar, Robben, Sanchez Ribery. I won't take any of these players ahead of Hazard. I don't consider any of these players to be better than Hazard, neither do I consider them to have his talent. The thing this guy is able to do with a football is beyond scary. The only winger I put above him is Ronaldo and that guy is not even a winger anymore. The only player I'll swap him for is Messi. And I say this as a football fan, not a Chelsea one.

You could've put more effort in your post imo..

[Korea 734]

Ronaldo and Messi have suffered lots of times during their career and it hasn't exactly took its toll on them, has it?

It's not like opponents are kicking him out of the field in the manner like Honduras did in this World Cup.

Cristiano and Messi flopped quite a bit....

[Jase 43,479]

Cristiano and Messi flopped quite a bit....

I don't see them flopped because they got kicked from every direction. There are factors to that, if you want to talk about flopping, before it comes to being kicked about.

[-Kaplan- 410]

As long as Rooney is fleecing ManU for 300k a week, I'm good.

[Dion 2,476]

This is a classic example of being overly critical of our own and overrating or overhyping other players. This is normal. If Hazard was a Man Utd player, the wankfest on here would have been crazy. And that's not a criticism, Barbara. I expect a surgeon to know more about the human anatomy than a geologist for example.

(1) You mention the Belgium matches, okay, let's talk about the Belgium gane and Hazard "fading". Let's take the Russia game for example. It's very common for us casual fans to overstate the importance of a player's individual efforts and understate the team effort. Will James look as good as he does if Colombia was playing poorly, no. Belgium have not been playing well. They have been playing, slow, ponderous, predictable football and have had the unfortunate ignominy of playing two defensive minded teams (at least in the games that Hazard started). This is obviously going to have a negative effect on individual performances, particularly of the forwards. Even more so for Hazard as he got double-marked on that left wing in both games vs Russia and Algeria. He is the only player on the Belgian team that gets this treatment. This is a big problem for him because as been discussed a 1000 times, Vetorghnen (sp?)/ Vermalean are CB's and simply do not support the winger in attack, so Hazard is left in a situation were he has to beat two players OR receives the ball with his back to goal and is closed down quickly. Back to ^^^^^^^ in a moment.

(a) It was only in when Algeria came out to play a little and lost the ball in transition that Hazard had an opportunity to launch a counter and the result was a goal for Mertens.

The Russia game was similar. The first half, stranded on the left side, facing the problems I discussed in (1). It was late in the 2nd half, when Wilmots became less defensive minded and focused on "shape" did he give Hazard a free role and he wrecked havoc on Russia's backline in a 10 minute cameo. He started drifting in to the centre where he was able to influence the game more.

What happens next, Belgium win the ball in transition, Origi lays it to Hazard and he blows by a Russian defender, cutting it back on his "weaker" foot for Origi. Goal for Origi.

So, two key actions when his team are not playing well, when the football is slow and predictable, in searing heat (both those games played at midday), when his coach is tactically inept, he still provides to match-winning moments. Very similar to Messi vs Iran and Bosnia. I dunno about you guys, but that is the mark of a world class player.

(2) It's up to Wilmots to solve the problems in (1), that even we arm-chair experts and analysts can see. Give Hazard a free role. You play with 5 centre-halves for fuck's sake. If not, start him as a 10 where he has more breathing space. Also, stop playing Dembele all the time cos he's been shit for a year or so and start Origi ahead of Lukaku because the USA are coming to defend deep, frustrate and park the bus. It's a shame Vanden Borre got injured because he looks like the only decent fullback in the Belgian team (why didn't he start in 1st two games?)

(3) You said Hazard is "lazy", no he's not. Check the facts. He covers an insane amount of kilometres per game for a winger. People also accused Messi of being lazy, calling him Walkessi and all that silliness. None of them highlighted how Barca's system was not as fluid as before. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets triumvirate was not as good as before. Pressing game was not as good as before. Pep, the guy responsible for a fair share of the success of that GREAT Barcelona was no longer there. Then comes the "Messi is just walking". . "He's not calling for the ball" etc, without mentioning all the other subtleties. It's the same with Hazard. People, like you (no offense) criticize him for things that are beyond his control instead of looking at the broader picture.

Then the Bale thing is wrong. This is what annoys me. Bale has been known to disappear from games at his time with Tottenham and Madrid. Watch him, he does those exact same things you say Hazard does. Bale does not demand the ball. He is quiet on the pitch. What you did there is what I call overrating the opposition player and underrating our own. I even read someone here put Bale in the same sentence as Messi and Ronaldo. Many players disappear from games for various reasons, Messi included.

You can't deny that Hazard has not suffered from this problem this past season because he's under the best tactician in the world, Mourinho. Almost everything good about our attacking play came through Hazard. Maybe when we have a better team than the average one we saw last season, we can see Hazard in a more fluid system.

It's amazing how many conclusions you come to from a bunch of games. Surely, most of what you said doesn't hold true for the Hazard that we all saw dazzle for Chelsea this past season, so I'm assuming it's mostly based on the World Cup.

All the names thrown around. Reus, Bale, Neymar, Robben, Sanchez Ribery. I won't take any of these players ahead of Hazard. I don't consider any of these players to be better than Hazard, neither do I consider them to have his talent. The thing this guy is able to do with a football is beyond scary. The only winger I put above him is Ronaldo and that guy is not even a winger anymore. The only player I'll swap him for is Messi. And I say this as a football fan, not a Chelsea one.

The only part I disagree with is the last. I think Hazard is on par with most of those names. I'd say it is mostly form the deciding factor between them currently, other than that I agree. Most of all, I loved the organization with all those (1) (2) (a), if I did write all that it would be messy as heck.

[Henrique 9,133]

I had to double check if I was still on Hazard's thread as it went pages and pages without his name mentioned.

I don't like to compare players, I say it all the time and like Jason I don't get why we keep comparing, but I agree and disagree about a lot of things that were said individually about some players here.

I'll start with our player, of course. I really don't know if Hazard is better as a LW or a CAM at Chelsea. With his dribbling ability and how the play is much more physical in England than in Spain - where Messi plays more centered, maybe Hazard suits better in the wing - which normally is less populated - than in the middle. If we see 2-3 and even 4 players surrounding him in the wing, how many are we going to see through the middle? Belgium is a completely different story and maybe he's better as a #10 there. Actually I'd need a streak of matches of him playing as a #10 for us to have a proper answer. A lot of people here talk about his potential as fact - which is a big lie. And that's my second point about him. When we compare Hazard with any of those players, sometimes I feel we're comparing the potential rather than the reality - although we're using the other players' reality instead of potential to make the comparison. Fact is - and that's not an opinion - his last goal scored for us that didn't come from a penalty was in February 6th (or some other day in the first week of February). I hate the chances created stats - because it's a big lie - but if people want to use that, be my guest, but you can't use that to compare him to other players, when other players have more goals and assists. It's like intentions - in Brazil we say hell is filled of good intentions. Chances created is all but good intentions, but at the end of the day what counts is assisting and scoring and some matches have different weights. Hazard lacked there, but that's absolutely okay. The same way I defend Oscar for being inconsistent, I defend Hazard for not fulfilling his full potential because they're too young. They're entitled to disappoint our expectations because let me tell you something, many times our expectations aren't fair and sometimes even attainable because we all look to their potential, but we forget they're still under development. So yeah, unfair and sometimes unattainable. But I feel like Hazard gets a lot of slack (not comparing to anyone) because he's a dribbler. People are saying he's criticized because he doesn't score and scorers are more forgiven and have more spotlight than players who assist, but dribblers have the same compared to hard workers or to players with less flair. Hazard is cut a lot of slack simply because his game is more beautiful, but still is far from as effective as it could be. So we have people forgetting he's 23 and people overlooking the many matches he does nothing effectively because he has 130942039434 dribbles per match.

If there was one person that cursed Bale's fee it was me and I even said many times RM didn't even need him. I was partially proved wrong. He's still not worth 100M, but RM did need him and even if he had scored only a handful goals (although he did way more than that), when RM needed him the most he gave the assist or scored the goal. Tap in or not, he was at the right place, at the right time and he didn't disappear or chocked at the big games. That's a winner trademark and he seems to have it. I do agree he's not the most talented. Among all names I read here - Hazard, Cris, Messi, Neymar, Robben, Ribery - Bale is definitely the most limited talent wise, but don't deny his determination to win and his hard work. If Hazard worked half as hard as Bale does - and sorry if it hurts and upsets some of you, I'm not stating this as a fact, but solely as my opinion - he would have at least 50% better numbers than he does. Still Bale is nowhere near Messi and Ronaldo. Nobody is. No matter the numbers, no matter how important the goals and the assists were in the most important games of them season; I agree with whoever said that ever since Messi and Ronaldo people changed the standards. Sorry to disagree with many again, but scoring 30-40 goals a season and 15-25 assists isn't the norm, isn't the standard, that's an exception created by two of the best players of the history of the football who fortunately for us - were born in the same generation. That's not the bar, that's not raising the bar, that's having a bar of their own, no one else should be compared to that or expected to have nearly as good numbers.

I don't know why so many people discredit Neymar so much on this forum. And again I'm not comparing him to Eden or anyone else. The kid - and he's also only 22 - is a prodigy. You can't seriously blame him for a less than spectacular season at a fading Barcelona when everything in that team was a mess. I do think Messi will get in the way of his growth there - Neymar is the kind of guy that is supposed to be the team's star and he said so many times when joining Barça that he was there to help Messi continue to being the best in the world, but that's not a role he can fulfill at his full potential. He's better than that and he didn't realize how much he took away from his game - consciously or unconsciously - to keep propping Messi. And then there were also the many problems Barça had and Neymar going through transition and why not - thinking about the world cup. So we can accuse Oscar of doing it - consciously or not we'll never know - but Neymar didn't? Neymar has much more responsibility and pressure on his shoulders than Oscar has to lead Brazil to win a WC in their own soil. The boy is 22 and he 'only' has this in his shoulders: make a less than talented Brazilian generation win a title at home in the most desired tournament in the world. It's almost unfair to him.

What I feel is that a lot of people want him to fail and do badly. Some because he's Brazilian - and yeah, maybe not here (or maybe even here) some people hate that Brazil continue to produce little geniuses - some because they want our own little genius to be better than him, some because they hate Barcelona and some maybe even gratuitously, but I'll tell you what, you're in for a big deception. The kid has the same will to win I mentioned about Bale and he may not work as hard (although he works very hard too), but he's absolutely thirsty to win and he has one of the best mentalities among all those names we've mentioned. Of course, I hate his diving ways and it will only get worse while he plays for Barcelona, but many of you are undermining and underrating a player that will make you eat yourown words. Maybe he won't be as big as he could be somewhere else because of Messi, but I have no doubts he'll be immense for them; Messi or no Messi.

And for me it doesn't really matter if he's better than Hazard or Hazard is better than him or Bale is better or worse than either of them. As a Brazilian, of course I want Neymar to reach his full potential, as a Chelsea fan I also feel the same for Eden and I want Bale to succeed for as long as he is at Real Madrid - but even if I wasn't any of those, I would want those young players to reach the heights of their games. Although Messi won many more Balon D'Ors than Cris did, it didn't take away how absolutely wonderful Cris is. The same will happen between those three young players. It doesn't matter who will win more Balon d'Ors - we may be lucky to have yet another chance to watch two very gifted players (I'm excluding Bale from the talent bracket - but talent isn't the only factor, so I won't diminish him completely) in the same generation at Hazard and Neymar and for the good of football - which I'm a big fan of - I hope they live up their potential and we have guys like them filling up - partially - the void that Messi and Cris will leave when the descending years of their careers are here. I feel blessed and privileged to have watched Zidane, then Cris and Messi and hopefully Eden and Neymar. Not everything has to be a competition - it's quite the privilege to watch Nadal and Federer, Messi and Cris, LeBron and Bryant in the same generations, I actually wish there were more of them spread in the teams, rather than less.

Very good post. I only want to comment 3 things:

1- Bale price tag was immense, and most people thought he wasn't worth that price. He went to Real trying to prove his value. He knew who the big star is. But he tried the whole season to justify his purchase. He scored decisive goals for Madrid, Copa Del Rey and the biggest of all: UCL. Hazard already arrived at Chelsea as a big star. Before he played one single match for us, he already was a star. I never saw Hazard as a player trying to prove his value. One year ago he was talking about score 60 goals in a season, like Messi and Ronaldo. It seems he believes he is bigger than he really is. Just think about his comments after UCL exit: "Often I'm required to do it all by myself and it's not easy".

2- About the hate for Brazil, I think this forum is a different case, since I joined this forum 4 years ago, it was clear some people really don't like Brazil. We have some hyper critical members here when the subject is our own brazilian players. Just think about Luiz, Oscar or William topic. They are the same people in Brazilian NT team topic saying bad things about our team.

3- 4 years ago some people were sure Ganso would be Brazil #10 in 2014 WC. To imagine Ganso playing for Brazil today is a laughable idea. I'm not comparing Ganso and Hazard, but in 2018 Hazard can be a football superstar, Ballon D'or Winner, or can be the same player he is today. I'm still waiting for a great performance in UCL decisive match, before I can't even mention his name alongside Messi and Ronaldo.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

The only part I disagree with is the last. I think Hazard is on par with most of those names. I'd say it is mostly form the deciding factor between them currently, other than that I agree. Most of all, I loved the organization with all those (1) (2) (a), if I did write all that it would be messy as heck.

Thank you I need to spell-check sometimes though