Saturday, January 7, 2017

7 January 1991 - The Entrance of Eden

On 7 January 1991, Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard was born in La Louvière, Belgium. 

The son of two footballing parents, Hazard joined Lille in 2005 as a 14-year old youth player, then signed a professional contract with them in 2007. He made his first appearance for the first team that November in a friendly.

An attacking midfielder/winger, he secured a spot in the senior team for the 2008-09 season and became the youngest goalscorer in club history when he netted the equalizer in Lille's 3-2 league win over Auxerre on 20 September. He went on to contribute six goals and three assists in 35 appearances that season, a performance that won him the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award. He won the award for a second time after the 2009-10 season with 10 goals and nine assists in 52 appearances.

Hazard continued to improve in 2010-11, scoring 12 goals and providing 10 assists as Lille won their first league title in over 50 years. And they won it comfortably, eight points clear of second-place finishers Marseille. It was part of a double, as Lille also won the Coupe de France that year. For his role, Hazard was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year and was included in the league's Team of the Year. He repeated as Player of the Year in 2012.

In 2012, he moved to Chelsea for a transfer fee of £32 million. There, he continued his impressive run of form, culminating in the 2014-15 season where he scored 19 goals across all competitions and led the club to the league title. He accumulated several individual accolades, including Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

Aftter a slump in 2015-16, he is back on form as Chelsea currently top the table.

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