Eden Hazard, Belgium
Eden Hazard, Belgium
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eden Hazard |
||
| Date of birth | 7 January 1991 (age 23) | ||
| Place of birth | La Louvière, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder / winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2003 | Royal Stade Brainois | ||
| 2003–2005 | Tubize | ||
| 2005–2007 | Lille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2012 | Lille | 147 | (36) |
| 2012– | Chelsea | 69 | (23) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | Belgium U15 | 5 | (1) |
| 2006 | Belgium U16 | 4 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Belgium U17 | 17 | (2) |
| 2007–2009 | Belgium U19 | 11 | (6) |
| 2008– | Belgium | 45 | (6) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:55, 11 May 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:12, 4 June 2014 (UTC) |
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Club: Chelsea
Belgium are considered a “dark-horse” pick to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup—despite being a seeded team for the Group Stage draw—and boast a deep pool of wonderful talents.
Perhaps the only position at which the nation cannot boast two world-class players is full-back, with central midfield being a particular strong point.
The team as a whole, though, produce an extremely physical outlook and can struggle without a fair sprinkling of guile and creativity; parallels to Tottenham Hotspur are easy to draw.
Eden Hazard is the solution for coach Marc Wilmots, who knows that for his side to make waves in Brazil next year and challenge the very best, Hazard must be on top form to make the difference.
He’s generally deployed in a wide role in Wilmots’ 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formation, bringing pace, trickery and good deliveries for mammoth strikers Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku.
