Eden Hazard - Player of the Week

Hazard helps Chelsea to another victory!

Eden Hazard scored his fifth goal of the season, as Chelsea beat West Brom 2-0 and moved 6 points clear at the top of the Premier League table. It was a comfortable win for Chelsea, who scored after only 11 minutes, when Diego Costa scored with a volley. Chelsea went further in front when Hazard scored the second after 25 minutes. The writing was on the wall for West Brom when, after only 30 minutes, they were reduced to 10 men after their defender, Claudio Yacob, got a red card.  Chelsea are undefeated after 12 matches and in this form it will be difficult for any team to beat them.

"The first half was brilliant, it was beautiful."  Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager.

What do we know about Eden Hazard?

Eden Hazard was born on 7 January, 1991 in La Louvière, which is a small town in Belgium. It's not a huge surprise that Hazard became a footballer, both of his parents were footballers. Eden's father, Thierry, played in the Belgian second division and his mother, Carine, played in the top division of women's football in Belgium. Eden is the oldest of four brothers and all three of his brothers are footballers, with one of them, Thorgan, also at Chelsea (he is currently on loan at Borussia Monchengaldbach in Germany). 

"We could have a great five-a-side team, my dad still plays and my mum could be manager!"  Eden Hazard.

Who does Hazard take after as a player?

Hazard plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder and is one of the most creative players in the Premier League. His father was a defensive midfielder and his mother was a striker.  Hazard says he takes after his mum more. "I was in her stomach when she was playing. She was 3 months pregnant. I take after my mum as a player." Football has always been in Hazard's blood. The house that Hazard grew up in was only 5 metres away from a football pitch and Hazard started playing for his first club, Royal Stade Brainois, when he was only 4 years old.  

"We grew up in a house next to a football pitch. It meant that we didn't mess up our garden."  Eden Hazard.

What has Hazard achieved in football?

Hazard moved to France in 2005, when he was only 14, to sign for Lille, which means he has never played professional football in Belgium. After a few seasons in Lille's youth teams, Hazard joined the first team and was really successful. In 2008/09 and 2009/10, Hazard was named Young Player of the Year. He was the first player from outside of France to win this award. In 2010/11, things got even better for Hazard, when he was named French Player of the Year and helped Lille to win a league and cup double. It was the first time Lille had won either the cup or league since the 1950s. After being named French Player of the Year for the second time in 2011/12, Hazard made a multi-million pound move to Chelsea.

"We want Hazard to go from being a top player to one of the greats of his generation."  Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager.

Can Chelsea become the new invincibles?

Chelsea haven't lost a Premier League game this season. People have started to ask if Chelsea can play the whole season without losing. The only time this has happened in the Premier League was in 2004/05, when Arsenal finished the season with no defeats. There are many matches to play yet, but maybe with players like Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard in the team, Chelsea can repeat the achievement of Arsenal's invincibles.

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Did you know.......?

• Hazard was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year last season.
• He was voted the Premier League's Young Player of the Year last season and came second in the senior category.
• Hazard is on the front cover of the football game FIFA 15 along with Lionel Messi.
• He helped Belgium to the quarter-final stage of the World Cup in Brazil. 
• Zinedine Zidane recommended Hazard to Real Madrid.