Football is a game affluently biased towards attacking players. The flair, the panache, the flaunt and the spotlight; it is all up for grabs for them while the defenders representing the bourgeois of football are left to manage the thankless task of keeping these illustrious men out of the front page of the next day’s newspapers. In the modern game, the case has become direr for defenders with lighter balls, scientific shoes that allow better control and referees handing out heavy punishment to errors of even the slightest margin.
However, looking on the bright side of things, what such adaptations have done is that it has seen the rise of modern day footballers. Short in stature with a low centre of gravity and a knack to run straight at defenders or craftily slide through killer passes, these players are in sharp contrast to the old bulky players of yesteryears in the Premier League.
A master of such a game is Chelsea ace, Eden Hazard. The Belgium National Team captain joined the Blues back in the summer of 2012. In his five year spell at the club, Chelsea has seen the worst and the best of Hazard and interestingly the form of the club has reflected the form of the player, such is the importance of the winger in the team.
On the day when Hazard plays, he is on par with the best in the world and cannot be touched let alone caught on the field. He dances and dazzles his way through and weaves a wave of magic on the pitch on his way to goal leaving fans and players mesmerized. However, such days are short in number and inconsistency is perhaps the only complaint any manager can have with the player.
Hazard is most dangerous when he has the ball on his feet and teammates rallying around him.
The Chelsea winger is magical on his night and can dribble past opposition whenever he fancies. He has long been linked with a move to the Spanish capital with the Belgian known to be a huge admirer of current Real boss Zidane. The reports have only intensified as Zidane has praised Hazard on multiple occasions as well. Hazard has the “Galactico” status to his game and being a left-winger he is an ideal replacement for Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who turned 32 this year is slowly entering the final phase of his career and having confirmed that he is not seeking a new contract, Real Madrid will need to scout for possible replacements for the iconic Portuguese forward with Hazard being an ideal candidate.
