Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s posterboy on what matters in life: family, football and being an example







Stardom in the Premier League hasn’t changed his view of life. The world is at his feet, but for Eden Hazard (23) his family, more than football are his first, his last, his everything. He’s proud that his popularity hasn’t changed him: he’s a posterboy without pranks, a well-mannered joker. Only in between his ears he has undergone a slight transition: “I realise that I can be one of the world’s best players if I work a little bit harder.” At Chelsea they applaud it.



Deep inside Eden Hazard knows he’s on a pedestal, but he doesn’t behave like it. Wednesday afternoon, there was an ordinary boy in a tracksuit sitting in front us at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham: friendly, cheerful, well mannered, sometimes he was teasing, but never a sign of arrogance. Hazard may not be the most approachable Belgian in de Premier League — he likes to stay in his cocoon, away from the limelight — but his growing status will not make it easier in the near future. But when he talks, he doesn’t put on a mask. “Football is magnificent”, he’ll say at the end of our interview, “but your family is still the most beautiful thing in life.” It comes out his mouth without any hesistation. His heart speaks: “I’m lost without my family. It’s the cornerstone of my happiness.” People who know him will agree: it’s not a lie, just the way he is. A family man, who doesn’t deny his roots.



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We turn the tables for a moment, Eden. If you were a journalist what would be your first question to Eden Hazard?

(grins) “Comment ça va? Bonne question, n'est-ce pas? How are you? A good question, isn’t it?”



That’s very polite , but we meant the first question after the greeting.

(surprised with a grin) “Ah? I don’t know, let me think. Are you in good shape, why do you feel good, are you happy with your level?”



You can immediately answer the question yourself.

"Individually, I am very satisfied. Collectively also. We are still in the race for the title, the Champions League and the FA Cup. We have to win at least one or two of these competitions. Chelsea is a club that goes for prizes. And I want to win trophies too.”



Last season we saw you grow, with its ups and downs, but since October we see another Eden Hazard. A machine, a mature player who also dominates the stats.

“I agree, I’ve matured. On the pitch, I haven’t changed much. I’m still the same, but I realised that, if I want to be among the best in the world, I’ll have to perform consistently, game in, game out. I’m now important for the team, I give good passes, I score more goals and Chelsea is performing well. At Lille, in France, I sometimes played on a high level too, but I was more focused on the beauty of the game and how I could entertain the audience. I still try to do that, but I’ve become more efficient now and have become a real team player.”



Even in tracking back you’ve surprised us. Against Manchester United we counted eight interceptions in your own half.

“That’s not my main job, but I do it with a smile. As long as I can help the team.”



Your manager, Jose Mourinho, said before the season he wouldn’t praise his star players too often, but he doesn’t stop praising you. He must like you a lot.

(smiles) “I also think he likes me. I try to do my best for him.”



On the other hand, he likes to tickle you with remarks that you still have to work a little more. He expects more from you.

“Everyone expects more from me. I hear it every day. Maybe I need these little comments, too. When a manager always says ‘Eden, you’re doing great’, there is a threat that you can snooze. As a professional, you have to challenge yourself every day. Put yourself in front of a mirror. The manager is close to his players, but when he has something to say, he does to your face, in a friendly way. And he knows how to challenge his players.”



Has Mourinho taken you to the mirror of Cristiano Ronaldo yet? I remember Gary Neville’s column in which he explained the transformation of Ronaldo. Everyone was getting annoyed by rascal Ronaldo because of his lack of consistency and work rate, but after the World Cup in 2006, he came back as a bloodhound with only one goal: being the best in the world. Do you also have that ambition now?

“Of course I want to be the best in the world. Previously I was more worried about the game itself: football was just a game for me, I wanted to amuse myself and didn’t bother what the people thought about me. But since I’m here at Chelsea I’ve become more aware of my qualities, I guess. Before I knew I was a good player, but not one of the better players in the world. Now I realize that I can compete with Messi and Ronaldo in the near future, if I put in some more effort. I don’t know if I will ever reach their level. It’ll be hard, they have incredible stats, but I accept the challenge.”



I guess your manager will be happy, if he ever reads my paper.

“I took a quiet start this season. I needed some time to find my best legs — maybe it was due to the hard pre-season with lots of travelling. My first goal at Norwich, in the beginning of October, meant my real start. Since then I’m on the right track, but there’s still room for improvement. I have to be more consistent and have to score more goals.”



A former manager of yours told me: Eden is a gift. He obeys, is never really obstructive and is a quick learner.

“I don’t always agree with a coach and I dare to tell him, but I try to follow him as much as possible. As in the end it’s him who takes the decisions, not me.”



Lots of people say you’re nonchalant, casual, but I’m told that’s a wrong impression: apparently you know very well what you’re doing and what you want.

“Look. I have the image of a ’Je m'en-foutist’, like we say in French. Someone who doesn’t care. I’ve been playing professional football for five seasons now, I rarely was injured, I follow a strict diet, I sleep well, I rest and I’m always on time. No one can ever accuse me of not living for my job. Because I do.”



Honestly. Are you having the best time of your life now? This must be the best period in your career.

“I enjoy my time at Chelsea, I’m still young and my life’s still in front of me. I’m happy, but I take the day as it comes.”



You’re one of the most popular players at Chelsea. Boys want to be you, football fans adore you skills and teenage girls would love to marry you.

“It gives me a great pleasure. I touch people. I like that.”



On the preseason tour in Asia, girls were screaming your name, in the United States I saw lots of replica shirts with your name and your song goes louder every week at Stamford Bridge. Do you realize you’re a world star now?

“If I was playing for a small team, I would have never reached that status. Chelsea’s a top club, supported across the whole world, so I can put my popularity in its perspective. I’m not complaining, though. When I was a kid, Zinedine Zidane was my idol. I hope I can inspire kids in Belgium and the world like he did to me. When I was a little boy, I tried to improve my game and skills by watching him. Hopefully the kids will now try to copy me.”



I must admit you deal well with your status. You stay yourself. When they ask you for an autograph, you do it with a smile or a wink. I remember an Asian girl with a placard 'Eden Hazard, marry me’, and when you saw her pic on Twitter, you just replied: 'Sorry, I’m married.’

“I’ve never been an autograph hunter as a child, but I do remember that I attended a training session of the France national team on Euro 2000, close to my home town. (twinkling eyes) I was wearing a replica shirt of France, a cheap copy, but one of Zinedine Zidane, my idol. I don’t know if I received an autograph from him, but when I deal with the fans, I try to stay close to my personality. And sometimes I’m just a little comedian.”



We have actually attended 'An Audience with’, an evening where you, along with sidekicks Demba Ba and Kevin De Bruyne, made the crowd laughing out loud. You could be a good stand-up comedian.

“We’ve enjoyed ourselves that evening, the people too. That’s the most important. They’ve seen me like I really am.”



Reportedly, no one in the squad is safe from your antics and you know like no other how to release the tension with your jokes.

“That’s me. I like to laugh, to joke and take the mickey out of my teammates. I’ve always been like that.”



Apart from some flails, you have a good image. Paparazzi aren’t stalking you, you’re never in the gossip magazines, you’ve never been caught in the disco’s, no conflicts with teammates of journalists.

“I’ve chosen to live my life like I do. I don’t deny that I go out sometimes, but not in London, and not in between two games. Some people do have to go clubbing to enjoy themselves, I don’t. I find my happiness in another way: while being with my family and my friends. I’m 23 and father of 2 children. Nightclubs are for single boys of 18 single. As a professional, with our busy schedule, you are often away from home, anyway . The time that I have, I spend with my wife and my two sons, Yanis and Leo.“

Your brother Thorgan, who’s twenty, recently became a father too. It seems typical of the Hazards: young dads.

"It’s a life choice. I have known my wife Natasha for years, but the decision to go for children didn’t came with a snap. We have thought about it and if I look back it was a good decision. My children bring me happiness and stability.”



Your family is really close. Is it because the boys all left the house early to join the youth academies in France?

"Even before we were a close family nephews, nieces too. Maybe it has had its influence. At an age when normal children are still under the wings of mom and dad, we were already in France, in a internship, but on our own legs. I went first, Thorgan and Kylian followed in my steps. As a dad myself, I now realize that it must have been difficult for my parents. The first thing I do when I am in Belgium, is visiting. We catch up time. (pauses and stares) Football is magnificent, but the family, your family , that’s the most beautiful thing you have. Without my family I am nothing. It’s the cornerstone of my happiness.”



So I guess you’re really happy that your brother, Thorgan, has won the Golden Boot, the award for best player in the Belgian league.

“Especially for him. He’s always been the brother of. He already had a pretty name, Hazard, but he now also has a first name Thorgan. I hope the people will remember 'Thorgan’ now, not Hazard.”



Thanks for your time and good luck.

“Thank you too. We will see each other soon.”



