In a long, very long open-hearted interview, Eden Hazard looked back on his entire career, including his first steps in the professional world, at LOSC.
Already four months ago, Eden Hazard (33) retired and said goodbye to the field. In an interview given to France Football, the Belgian looked back at length on the thread of his career, from his first in Lille to some of his bad extra-sporting habits. His debut was in Nancy on November 24, 2007. A setback (2-0) during the 20th day of the championship… The former Mastiff would like to be able to relive that moment: “Wow… My first professional match, with Lille in Nancy. That’s where it all began. It was cold. I was with Badis (Lebbihi, his teammate)…”he says, before returning to it in more detail: “I’m 16 years old (16 years, 10 months and 17 days), I don’t even tell myself that I’m going to play. No pressure. Football is easy because in my head I think easy. The day before, they told me “you’re coming”, I was so happy. We lost, I came on (77th), number 33, zero names on the jersey. For me, football has always been the same: fun, giving and taking, in friendly matches as well as in World Cup semi-finals. This has been my path and this is my identity. »
And he found this pleasure particularly in his relationship with the supporters: “The communion between us, players, and the people. Share emotions. Win matches, titles. You see the happy supporters. In the street, even people from Marseille or Paris tell me: “Wow, LOSC at the time was great! » Same in London with Arsenal fans: “Hazardly, it was beautiful to see. “It goes beyond fanism, they love football”, as well as on the ground. This is also why he exuded such confidence when he had the ball at his feet: « It was annoying when I started, which I can understand. We must not forget: it was almost twenty years ago, another generation, other mentalities. Arriving with such confidence was frowned upon, it didn’t go down very well. We talk a lot about the 87 generation in France, it was a bit like that for Benzema and the others. Now it’s different. I applaud the kid who, at 16, comes up and says, “Hey, give me the ball, I’ll dribble past you all.” ” Hat ! Respect. »
This confidence has sometimes played tricks on him, particularly in his early days with the Mastiffs: “Even a little shit, I think. I would arrive, I wouldn’t even tie my shoelaces and I would say: “Go ahead, it’s fine. » Afterwards, they saw. Above all, they saw that I was not talking in the wind. “Give me the ball”, OK, bam, bam, goal! The guys go “wow”. In the end, what was the most important thing? You’re good, you win, you take bonuses, everyone is happy. I had this “I don’t care” side, little shit on the field, but, off it, I was respectful. I wasn’t causing shit in the locker room. I was laughing with everyone. We know the stories. On two or three things, they made me understand “be careful, you’re young”confides Eden Hazard in a long interview given to France Football.
🇧🇪 @hazardeden10 is on the front page of France Football
Four months after announcing his retirement, the 33-year-old Belgian magician returns, with disconcerting frankness, to who he has always been and who he never wanted to be.
Available tomorrow: pic.twitter.com/WL82mZNd8B
— L’ÉQUIPE Pro (@lequipe_pro) February 2, 2024
2024-02-04 10:10:38
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