Hazard is the son of former Belgian footballers and began his football career in Belgium playing for local clubs Royal Stade Brainois and Tubize. In 2005, he moved to France joining first division club Lille. Hazard spent two years in the club's academy and, at the age of 16, made his professional debut in November 2007. He went on to become an integral part of Lille under manager Rudi Garcia, racking up over 190 appearances. In his first full season as a starter, he won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year award becoming the first non-French player to win the award.[16] In the 2009–10 season, Hazard captured the award again becoming the first player to win the award twice.[17] He was also named to the league's Team of the Year.
In the 2010–11 season, he was a part of the Lille team that won the league and cup double and, as a result of his performances, was named the UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year becoming the youngest player to win the award.[18] Hazard was also given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo for his performances during the 2010–11 season.[19] In June 2012, after spending over eight years at Lille, Hazard signed for English club Chelsea, where he went on to win the UEFA Europa League in his first season and the PFA Young Player of the Year in his second. In 2014–15 season, he helped Chelsea win the League Cup and Premier League, earning him the FWA Footballer of the Year award and the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, made by silversmith Thomas Lyte.[20]
Hazard is a Belgium international, having represented his nation at under-17 and under-19 level. Prior to starring for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that qualified for the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship and 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Hazard made his senior international debut in November 2008, at the age of 17 years and 316 days, in a friendly match against Luxembourg. Nearly three years after his debut, Hazard scored his first international goal against Kazakhstan in October 2011. He has since earned over 60 caps, and was a member of the Belgian squad which reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Hazard was born in La Louvière and grew up in Braine-le-Comte. His mother, Carine, and father, Thierry, were both footballers. His father spent most of his career playing at semi-professional level with La Louvière in the Belgian Second Division.[21] He played mainly as a defensive midfielder.[21] His mother played as a striker in the Belgian Women's First Division and stopped playing when she was three months pregnant with Eden.[21][22] After playing football, both parents became sports teachers.[21] Thierry retired from his position in 2009 in order to devote more time to his children.[21]
Hazard is the eldest of four children. He has three brothers, all of whom play football, including Thorgan, who joined him at Chelsea in 2012 and had previously progressed through the youth ranks of Lille's biggest rivals Lens.[23][24][25][26] Hazard's other younger brothers are Kylian and Ethan. In 15 July 2013, Kylian joined White Star Bruxelles, but now plays for Zulte Waregem, while Ethan remains playing in the youth academy of Eden's former club Tubize.[21][24][27][28]
Hazard and his three brothers were raised in a comfortable environment with their parents ensuring they had whatever they needed to excel.[29] The family lived "no more than three metres" from a football training ground and the brothers often ventured onto a training pitch through a small hole in order to hone and develop their skills.[22]
Club career
Early career
Hazard began his football career playing for hometown club Royal Stade Brainois at the age of four. During his time at the club, one of his youth coaches described him as a "gifted" player. He added: "He knew everything. I had nothing to teach him".[30] Hazard spent eight years at the club before moving to Tubize. While at Tubize, he was spotted by a Lille scout while playing in a local tournament with the club. The scout's subsequent report on the player prompted club officials to meet with Hazard's father and offer the young player an aspirant (youth) contract.[31]Hazard's parents accepted the offer from Lille with hopes that the training facilities in France would be better.[29] Hazard's father later admitted that the decision to let Eden and, later Thorgan, join clubs in the North of France was the best solution stating "They remained so close to home and, at the same time, they integrated at structures where they could grow, because in Belgium, unfortunately, it's a little empty for the training of youth".[22]
Lille
Hazard joined Lille in 2005 and spent two years developing in the club's local sports school, due to its youth academy in Luchin not being in operation at that time.[32] On 28 May 2007, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three year deal with Lille.[31] At the start of the 2007–08 season, at the age of 16, Hazard was promoted to the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football, though he still played with Lille's under-18 team in its league and the Coupe Gambardella. Hazard made his amateur debut on 1 September 2007 in a league match against Racing Club de France appearing as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 defeat.[33] He made his first start a week later in the team's 1–0 defeat to Lesquin.[34]After spending the majority of October and the early part of November playing with the club's under-18 team, on 14 November, due to several players being on international duty, Hazard was called up to the senior team by manager Claude Puel to participate in a friendly match against Belgian club Bruges on 16 November.[35] He appeared as a substitute in the match and, as a result of his performance, was included in the 18-man squad to face Nancy in a league match on 24 November.[36] Hazard, subsequently, made his professional debut in the match coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute.[37]
Hazard returned to the club's reserve team and spent December playing with the squad. Following the winter break, Hazard returned to the first team in January and made substitute appearances in three league matches against Metz, Sochaux, and Paris Saint-Germain.[38][39][40] Following the match against Paris Saint-Germain, he was demoted back to amateur level where he played concurrently with the reserve team in the fourth division and the under-18 team in the Coupe Gambardella. On 17 May 2008, he scored his first amateur goal in a 3–2 victory over Vitré.[41] Hazard finished his amateur career with 11 appearances and one goal, helping the reserve team finished in fifth place, which was first among professional clubs' reserve teams playing in the group.[42][43]
2008–09 season
For the 2008–09 season, Hazard was given the number 26 shirt after playing with the number 33 shirt in his debut season. He was also promoted to the senior team permanently by new manager Rudi Garcia. Early on, he made substitute appearances regularly making his season debut as a substitute on 14 September 2008 against Sochaux in a 1–1 draw.[44] One of his substitute appearances proved beneficial against Auxerre on 20 September. With Lille trailing 2–1 in the waning minutes of the match, Hazard, after Lille took a corner kick, quickly scooped up a short clearance from Auxerre and took a right-footed shot just outside the box. It beat the keeper and drew the score 2–2 in the 88th minute.[45] With Lille's confidence high, the club won the match 3–2 in injury time following a goal from Tulio de Melo.[46] Hazard's first career goal resulted in him becoming the youngest goalscorer in the club's history.[47]Four days after scoring his first professional goal, Hazard made his first professional start in a 4–2 defeat on penalties to Montpellier in the Coupe de la Ligue.[48] After featuring as a substitute in the team's next five league matches, on 15 November, Hazard made his first professional league start against Saint-Étienne. He capped the appearance by scoring the opening goal in the club's 3–0 victory.[49] His assured performances with the club resulted in Lille offering him a three year contract extension, which he agreed to on 18 November 2008, tying him to the club until 2012.[50]
After featuring as a substitute in December, Hazard returned to the starting lineup in January. On 23 January, he scored the second goal in a 3–0 win over amateur club Dunkerque in Round of 32 of the Coupe de France.[51] Two weeks later, he scored the match-winning goal in a league match against Sochaux and, on 22 February, assisted on the winner against Monaco.[52][53] In the Round of 16 of the Coupe de France, Hazard netted a goal in a 3–2 win over the competition's defending champions Lyon.[54] On 26 April, he scored the opening goal against Marseille, though Lille lost the match 2–1.[55] In the final ten league matches of the campaign, Hazard started eight and contributed to the team finishing in fifth place, which resulted in Lille qualifying for the newly created UEFA Europa League. After the season, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year, becoming the first international player to achieve the honor.[17]
2009–10 season
"Eden is technically gifted and very fast. He will be a major star in the future. I would take him to Real Madrid with my eyes closed."
Zinedine Zidane on the 19-year-old Eden Hazard, August 2010.[56]
Hazard began the 2009–10 season on a positive note scoring in Lille's first competitive match of the season. The goal, contributing to the team's 2–0 victory, came against Serbian club FK Sevojno in the first leg of the club's third qualifying round match in the UEFA Europa League.[64] On 27 August, he scored his second career European goal in the club's second leg tie in the playoff round against Belgian club Genk. It was Lille's final goal in the club's 4–2 victory.[65] The 6–3 aggregate scoreline assured the club progression to the Europa League group stage.
On 22 October, Hazard scored a goal in Lille's important 3–0 victory over Italian club Genoa in the 84th minute after entering as a substitute 10 minutes prior. Upon receiving the ball on the left wing, Hazard proceeded to dash through the midfield dribbling past six Genoa defenders before finishing at the 18-yard box.[66][67] A month later, Hazard was instrumental in Lille's 5–1 thrashing of Czech club Slavia Prague as he was partly responsible for the opening goal — slicing through the defense and delivering a cross near post, which went off Slavia player Marek Suchý resulting in an own goal.[68]
On 20 December, Hazard scored his first league goal of the season in the club's 3–0 win over Le Mans. He also provided both the assists on the other two goals.[69] On 30 January, Hazard scored the only goal in Lille's win over Derby du Nord rivals Lens.[70] The victory helped the club achieve stability in the league by keeping them in the UEFA Champions League places. It also ended a disaster of a week which saw Lille suffer elimination from both of France's cup competitions. Five days later, Hazard and Lille reached an agreement on a contract extension, which will keep the player at the club until 2014.[71][72] On 11 March, Hazard scored the only goal in Lille's victory over English club Liverpool in the first leg of the club's UEFA Europa League tie converting a free kick in the 83rd minute.[73] Three weeks later, Hazard provided two assists in the club's 4–1 win over fellow title contenders Montpellier.[74] The two passes brought his league tally to seven, tied for second in the league. For his impressive displays in the month of March, Hazard was given the UNFP Player of the Month award.[75]
On 29 April, Hazard was nominated for the UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year award. He was also nominated, for the second consecutive season, for the Young Player of the Year award.[76] On 9 May, Hazard was awarded the UNFP Young Player of the Year trophy for the second consecutive season. He became the first player since its inception in 1994 to win the award twice.[17] Hazard lost out on the Player of the Year award, which was awarded to Lyon striker Lisandro López.
2010–11 season
Hazard began the 2010–11 campaign as a starter featuring in Lille's first six league matches of the season, as well as matches in the UEFA Europa League. On 29 August 2010, he scored his first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw with Nice.[77] In late September, Hazard began to struggle with inconsistency and was benched by Garcia in an effort to "allow him (Hazard) to breathe and learn that his performances were insufficient".[78] Hazard, subsequently, appeared as a substitute in the team's 2–1 defeat to Portuguese club Sporting in the Europa League and as a substitute in the next three league matches against Toulouse, Montpellier, and Lyon.[79][80][81] Hazard later admitted that his first bout of inconsistency affected him stating "The first two months were a bit tough. I wouldn’t say that I began doubting my abilities, but I definitely went through a really patchy spell".[82]On 7 October, Belgium national team manager Georges Leekens, citing Hazard's recent spell on the bench at Lille, said that the player needed to work harder, both physically and mentally, to regain his past year's form. The team's assistant coach, Marc Wilmots, also stated that Hazard often displayed a lazy mentality while training with the national team.[83] Garcia responded to Leekens comments the following day stating that he thought they were "excessive" and that "Eden is only 19 years old" and can still "make more progress in all areas."[84] Following Belgium's match against Kazakhstan, in which Hazard failed to start or even appear on the substitute's bench, Leekens responded to Garcia's comments declaring that he would stand by his previous comments and that players must think about the team and not themselves.[85] Hazard, himself, later reflected on Leekens and Garcia comments in February 2011 stating "I learned a lot during those few weeks, mentally speaking. And since then things have got better. The national side has had a fair bit to do with that – I get a lot out of being a part of it".[82]
Following the international break, Hazard recaptured his scoring form netting the final goal in Lille's 4–1 victory over Caen in the Coupe de la Ligue on 27 October.[86] Ten days later, he scored his second league goal of the season in a 3–1 win against the league table leaders Brest.[87] On 21 November, Hazard assisted on both Lille's goals in a 2–1 win over Monaco.[88] The victory continued the club's domestic unbeaten streak, which led to Lille topping the league table following an emphatic 6–3 victory against Lorient on 5 December.[89] At the turn of the calendar year, Hazard scored in the team's first match against amateur club Forbach in the Coupe de France. Lille won the match 3–1.[90] In the team's following match, he assisted on goals scored by Moussa Sow and Gervinho in a 2–0 league victory over Nice.[91]
On 19 January, Hazard scored the second goal in a 3–0 victory over Nancy.[92] On 4 March, Lille officials confirmed that Hazard had added an extra year to his contract. The new deal tied him to the club until 2015 and also made him the highest paid player in Ligue 1 beginning with the 2011–12 season.[93][94][95] In his first match after the news, Hazard scored the opening goal in Lille's 2–1 away win over title rivals Marseille.[96] The goal was scored on a left-footed shot from almost 35 metres (38 yd) out and was clocked at 95 km/h (59 mph).[97]
On 2 April, Hazard capped his 100th league appearance with Lille by scoring the second goal in a 3–1 win over Caen.[98] The goal tied his career-high for goals in a season and also moved Lille eight points clear at the top of the league table.[99] For his performances in the month of March, Hazard was named the UNFP Player of the Month for the second time in his career.[100] On 19 April, after appearing as a first-half substitute, he scored the opening goal in Lille's 2–0 Coupe de France semi-final victory over Nice.[101] The victory inserted the club into the 2011 Coupe de France Final; the club's first appearance in the competition's final since 1955. On 7 May, Hazard converted a game-winning free-kick goal in the team's 1–0 win over Nancy.[102] Three days later, he was nominated for the UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.[103]
In the Coupe de France final, Hazard played 89 minutes as Lille defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 at the Stade de France.[104] A week later, Lille clinched the Ligue 1 title by drawing 2–2 away to Paris Saint-Germain, achieving the club's first league championship since the 1953–54 season and the club's first double since the 1945–46 season.[105][106] The domestic cup and league title were the first two honours in Hazard's career. On the day after Lille won the league, Hazard was named the UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year becoming the youngest player ever to win the award.[107] He was also rewarded with a place in the organization's Team of the Year for the second consecutive season.[18]
2011–12 season
Hazard taking a corner-kick for Lille in 2011
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