The passage from Eden Hazard to Real Madrid will remain as one of the greatest waste in the history of football. Arrived in superstar, the Belgian chained injuries and counter-performance, without ever justifying the colossal investment made for him. His coach of the time, Zinedine Zidane, who had personally asked him, never found the key. We expected one day or another to a settling of accounts. In an interview at So footballHazard finally emptied his bag.
Hazard's truth about Zidane: “I wanted to be like him”
And the surprise is total. Not a criticism, not a reproach. On the contrary. When Hazard talks about Zidane, it was not the coach who left him on the bench, but the idol of his childhood. “In 1998, I am 7 years old, and that's really the time I say to myself: 'OK, I want to be like Zizou'”, he confides, stars still in the eyes. “He was doing things on the ground, it's only him to know how to do that, his controls and everything. Whaouh, what. »»
He tells how, with his brother Thorgan, he spent hours watching his videos to try to reproduce his gestures in the garden. “The dribbles, the legs, the juggling, all the technique, that was my delirium. »C'is the tribute of one artist to another, a declaration of love to the player who shaped his own vision of football.
Despite the failure at Real, Hazard keeps Zidane in his heart
Stronger admiration than disappointment
This confidence is all the more touching since it comes from a player whose collaboration with his idol was a bitter failure. Zidane may have protected him publicly, defend him in the face of criticism, he never managed to get the most out of it. And Hazard could legitimately have kept him rigor.
But the admiration of the child has visibly survived the disappointment of the adult. By choosing to speak only of the Zidane Player, Hazard shows a great class. He reminds us that, even in the ruthless world of professional football, the magic of a youth idol can remain intact, stronger than broken injuries and careers.
