Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by El Gunner Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:19 am
BarcaLearning wrote:Think its nothing new, a lot of players said CR is more of a physical beast n goal scoring, rather than so called 'pure footballer' in terms of ability with his feet n the ball rather than able to jump 5 feet high lol, able to control games, create chances, the interplay with teammates, etc. Not saying CR isnt a great footballer, but I think its not hard to understand his meaning?
Not everyone is a superhuman n thinks football is above everything... think hes more happy with being a more normal person which includes being lazy at times n enjoying life, especially when u have earned so much money etc...
yup.. the insane money in the game also makes it easier for modern players to just become very comfortable and not push themselves further. Also they're less likely to play hard all the time and go into challenges because they don't want a leg break that could prevent them from getting their next juicy contract. These are just facts. Not everyone will have Mamba mentality.
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by El Gunner Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:20 am
can't be arsed to read all that full interview, if there's a video i'll watch
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by Harmonica Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:27 pm
Nice to see a football player with well grounded opinions. Seems to be so rare nowadays.Varnagel wrote:Eden Hazard: "Lionel Messi is the only player I've told myself 'He's better than me'. I loved watching him at Barca. Messi is the GOAT. Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger football legend than me. In terms of pure football, CR7 isn't a better player than me. Neymar, maybe. Afterwards, not better than me."Eden Hazard a annoncé sa retraite il y a quatre mois. Aujourd'hui installé à Madrid, le magicien belge de 33 ans revient, avec un franc-parler déconcertant, sur celui qu'il a toujours été et celui qu'il n'a jamais voulu être. https://t.co/yScryjl4MH pic.twitter.com/4kfvnI8Kbd
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) February 3, 2024
The full interview in English
- Spoiler:
Eden Hazard: Wow... I would say my 1st professional game with Lille against Nancy (0-2 defeat, 24th November 2007, Ligue 1 Matchday 15). That's when it all started. The weather was cold. I was with Badis (Lebbihi, his team-mate)...
So, warming the bench as a substitute at Marcel-Picot Stadium (Nancy's home arena), how did you feel?
I was 16 (16 years, 10 months & 17 days), so I'm not even thinking about playing as a starter. There's no pressure. Football's easy because in my head, I think it's easy. The day before, I was told "you're coming off the bench", I was so happy. We were losing and I came on (77th minute), number 33 and without a name on the shirt.
For me, football has always been the same: Enjoyment, giving & taking pleasure in friendlies or during a World Cup semi-final. It's been my path and it's my identity.
There was this self-assured self-confidence to which was added a borderline "I don't give a shit"
It was annoying when I started my career, which I can understand. We must not forget: it was almost 20 years ago, another generation, different mentality. Arriving with such confidence was frowned upon, it didn’t go down very well.
We talk a lot about the 87 generation in France, it was a bit like that for Karim Benzema and the others. Now it's different, I applaud the 16-year-old who arrives and says: "Hey, give me the ball and I'll dribble past you all". Hats off to him! Respect.
You could be seen as a pretentious
Even as a little shit, I think. I'd arrive, I wouldn't even tie my shoes and I'd say: "Go on, it's fine". Then they saw. Above all, they saw that I wasn't talking for nothing. "Give me the ball", OK, bam, bam, goal!
The guys go "wow". In the end, what was the most important thing? You're good, you win, you get bonuses, everyone's happy. I had this 'I don't give a shit' side within me, but I was respectful off the pitch. I wasn't a troublemaker in the dressing room. I laughed with everyone. You know the stories. On 2-3 occasions, they made me understand "be careful, you're young...".
During those 16 years, what thrilled you most?
The communion between us players & the people. Sharing emotions. Winning matches and titles. You see the happy supporters.
In the street, even people from Marseille and Paris telle me: "Wow, LOSC was great back then!" Same in London with Arsenal fans: "Hazard, it was beautiful to see". It goes beyond fanism, they love football.
And what kind of skill gave you the most thrills?
The nutmeg. I could suck, but if I had done my nutmeg, it would have been good. It happened: 5th minute, nutmeg, come on, I'll stop. (Hazard laughs.) We lost 3-0. but I put in my nutmeg, I don't care. But it was never intended to humiliate. It's just that my mates say to me: "Oh, your nutmeg, check it out on YouTube...". Now I tell my kids, "Look at Daddy's nutmegs." (He laughs again.) I love the beautiful skill, the beautiful control.
I was also into body feints. My centre of gravity was low, my first takes, wow! There was a time when, with my back towards the goal and first take like that (he mimes the start of the movement), no one could take the ball away from me. I remember one duel with Van Dijk, the ball didn't move. I was so confident. In general, it was either a foul or the defender went down.
Genetically, I've been lucky enough to have big thighs and a big ass. That's helped me too much. Look at 'Vini' (Vinicus Jr), the thighs he's got, you can't take the ball away from him. Rabona? I've done a lot of them and they've often helped. You do a beautiful skill, you hear the 'oh', the 'wow' from the stadium. It's the best!
What's the best goal you have scored?
I can't think of one. With Lille, the goal at Saint-Étienne (3-1, 10th September 2011), slaloming between the players, I finish with the outside of my right foot. Against West Ham (2-0, 8th April 2019), with Chelsea, more of the same in tight spaces. The one at Liverpool (2-1, 26th September 2018)... These are goals that correspond to me, that represent me. The long-range shot at Marseille (2-1, 6 March 2011) is not my style.
When I watched the videos of the players, I didn't give a damn about long-range shots.
Have you come up against any bad guys?
In the Premier League, a few, but they respected the game. In Spain, they're meaner, more vicious. They'll walk all over you and say 'I didn't do it on purpose'.
In France, there was a player called Souleymane Diawara. He was scary. I saw him again with Variétés. He's a nice person, but on the pitch...
Were you stressed because of football?
It was good stress, linked to the match and the excitement. In fact, I was more stressed at the end, when I was playing less. I had to play, I had to show. I don't know if it was stress. But I could say to myself "go on, I'm not feeling well, you know what, don't give me the ball". At Real, I felt like I was going to lose it before I got it.
What were you like before a big game?
I couldn't focus for 2 hours beforehand. Otherwise afterwards. I'd do terrible. I tried to do things the other way round, focus, preparation, warm-up: I sucked on the pitch, but really. Whereas playing football tennis or Mario Kart, you just laugh, do whatever in the dressing room, forget all about the match and its importance, and off you go! World Cup semi-final against France, same thing.
Often, the warm-up was rubbish, but I played well. My dad used to laugh. On the other hand, if I hit the top corner, bim, bam, Istart of the match and for the first 3 minutes you wouldn't see me.
Football was a profession?
No, it was a game. And I tried to push to the end. When it wasn't a game anymore, I stopped. I knew that it was my job, I was I made a living out of it. But I wanted to be away from it. It's my hobby, my toy. That's why why I made this career. That's how how I feel.
Would you have liked to have had a different mentality? The work ethic of Cristiano Ronaldo, for example?
No. That wouldn't have been me. After a match, going for 1 hour in the cold bath, no. Leave me alone, my mates and I go home, play cards and have a beer. I play with my sons in the garden for 2 hours. That was my recovery.
If I'd been like Cristiano - and there are others - I would suffer a burn-out.
How did you cope with the demands of professional football?
When you're good on the pitch, you do what you want. That's my starting point. I managed myself. I didn't go to the gym every 3 days, I didn't do 3 hours of physio to recover. But I made the difference. The requirement is to be good.
What were your least favourite constraints? Defensive effort?
I defended. But that's not what I'm asked to do. Otherwise, I would have been a defender. I used to joke about it with Azpi (César Azpilicueta) and Branislav (Ivanovic). "Hey, you're the one who's running!" But always with respect. They knew.
John Obi Mikel said: "He's the laziest player I've seen. But at the weekend, he was the man of the match and he'd come up to us and say, 'Guys, you see'".
That's the truth and I love what he says. OK, I was lazy. But, I went to training every day. But I gave so much of myself and took so much in matches that I couldn't bear to be at full throttle all week, taking knocks. My body wouldn't have last 15 years, it would have last 3 years.
When you're the star player in the team, if you don't do well... With certain coaches, things didn't work out: "He doesn't run in training, so the youngsters who arrive want to do what Eden does. But not everyone can do what Eden does. That's what they explained to me. But leave me alone. And if they don't want to run, they don't want to run. I don't want to be an example.
How was your diet?
Normal. I'm not going to say that I was overdoing it. I wasn't paying attention. But I didn't go McDonald's every day. You don't last 16 years as a pro. I didn't think it was any importance to it.
I'm a bon vivant, I like to eating out and have a drink with friends. It happened to me to eat at home the night before a match, had a bottle of wine and just chilled. Oh my, Boxing Day, it's Christmas, raclette, wine (Hazardclaps his hands), we went I don't know where, goal, goal.
While people tell me to be careful. It's strange... Diet is rubbish, it's useless. Well, it's good if you want to play until you're 40 years old. I knew that wouldn't be the case for me. A little Ruinart blanc de blancs is in the fridge all the time.
And the hamburger episode with Georges Leekens?
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2011/08/05/eden_hazard_punishedafterhamburgerincident-1-1082134/
An error from youth. It's funnier, because it's me, because I did some good things with Belgium afterwards.
Last match of the season (Euro 2012 Qualifier against Turkey, 1-1, 3rd June 2011) before the holidays vacation. It was important, we could have qualified, but I was disappointed to be subbed off (60th minute). In the dressing room, I saw that we'd missed a penalty kick (Witsel, 75th).
On the pitch, normally, I would have taken it. I called my father: "Come on, let's meet outside". There was a hamburger stand there, so I asked my uncle to get some. We were eating and the camera came in. It was a stupid thing to do (and he was punished for it) but it wasn't like... And, in Belgium, hamburgers are good, I knew. (He laughs.) Tomorrow, if Leekens is there, we'll eat one together.
When you sign for Real Madrid and arrive with 5 kilos overweight at the start of 2019-20 season, that's when you screwed up?
With Chelsea, I had just finished one of the best seasons of my career. I said to myself: 'Now that I'm at Real Madrid, this is perhaps the last vacation I'll be able to...'. And I let myself go like I let myself go every summer. 7 years in England, without a break at Christmas, giving everything. So when I have 3-4 weeks of vacation, "don't bother me", barbecues, rosé, all that. And that’s what allowed me to reset and start again.
Then in Madrid, things went wrong and that's it.
Did you ever think that your body was making you pay for your excesses?
No. My body is making me pay for all these years when I started early, worked hard and hardly ever stopped, all the knocks I took. Not because I ate this or that. I tell myself that, but I can't prove it. Those who know everything will say 'it's because he wasn't paying attention'. I accept that, to each his own.
At Real, I had one injury after another. Sometimes I didn't even know how or why. You wake up, you get out of bed, you hurt yourself. Just stop! My body is tired, it can't take it any more. It needs to rest but it can't. The body talks and mine talked to me well. Over the last few years, it told me everything: "Hey, you know what, go ahead, cut the crap, pay attention, take care of yourself".
Which coach has given you the most privileges?
It's hard to say, a lot of them gave me freedom... But that's because I was good, once again. The only one who really demanded me was (Antonio) Conte. Every day, you have to do this, that... And that pissed me off. He's one of the greatest coaches and I may have had my best season under him, but Conte suited me least. The training sessions, his tactical sessions. F... I had enough.
(José) Mourinho's 3rd year didn't go so well, but I liked it. He said, "Watch Eden, don't hit him. I'd take the ball and laugh: "Hey, don't hit me! (He laughs out loud.) Zizou, we had the football relationship, he'll give you a few instructions, not bug you. (Rudi) Garcia, (Roberto) Martinez, great. Don't think that they always let me do everything.
People say I was lazy. But I haven't spent 16 years as a professional] without training.. The little games, the little matches, I was there.It's true that some mornings I arrived without sleeping well, not feeling like it, no desire, and when it's like that, I show it. 'Don't give me the ball. I'm making a square metre and I'm not moving! I don't move.' And I don't move for an hour. An hour of tactics? 'Can I go with the physio?'
How did you get everyone on your side?
I've got this "we're here, we're just messing around" side withinme. It must have pissed people off. I could feel it, I'd go up to them and say: 'You know what, I'm sorry, I haven't been training properly, but it's going to be OK, we're going to win. I'll bring you a box of chocolates and you'll feel better.'
You've had great coaches, but did you need to be coached?
I don't think so. You can't expect me to believe that a coach, who has great players, teaches them much. At Manchester City, it's Guardiola of course, but he's not going to teach Kev' (De Bruyne) how to make a pass, but rather how to manage himself, a tactical aspect. He's alone on the pitch to pass to Haaland. What are you going to teach Modric? Maybe some coaches will say: "Who does this guy think he is? Yes, you have to be coached, of course. But there's coaching and coaching. "Tell me where I need to position myself and I'll do what I have to do. With the ball, I'm there, don't worry."
When did you feel the strongest?
The season when Chelsea won the Premier League with Mourinho (2014-2015), the 1st season with Conte (2016-2017) and that season with Sarri (2018-2019). I missed out a Champions League trophy during my prime. That's the little regret I have, not winning it with Chelsea like Drogba did in 2012... I left and Chelsea wins the UCL won it (2021). Following this path, Belgium will win the 2024 Euro.
My best match? It was against Brazil (2-1, 2018 World Cup quarter-final). I felt so strong, mentally and physically. I was unreal. I had 0 goals and 0 assists, I even missed some chances. But that was me. I was the player I dreamed of being in that match. And I made people dream, without scoring, without anything.
Now, that's all that matters. You've got players - I'm not going to name them, I respect what they do - but they score three goals by doing three things like that (miming an outstretched foot), and then people say 'wow'... They play in great teams, that's it. Yes, they make you win but they can only give something to a supporter of their team, nothing to me. I watched PSG because of Verratti. It didn't matter what was his liftestyle, what cards he took, he couldn't change. He's a bit like me. He dribbles in his box, maybe he loses the ball and a goal is conceded afterwards "Yeah Verratti..." He doesn't care, he'll do it again. Hats off to the artist. You made me laugh!
There are others. Hatem (Ben Arfa). He made the opponents look like children on the pitch. Ronaldinho. People say: "He didn't have the career he could have it. He could have won 10 Ballon d'Or awards if..." No. That's how he was. No. That's how he should have been. He only won 1 Ballon d'Or (2005), but ask any of today's professional players: Out of a 1000, 900 will tell you, "He was my idol. Riquelme wasn't fast, but he was the boss. Zidane, Robinho... I've also tried to generate emotion, and that's the best thing about it. Even if you are 5 kilos overweight. Did I bring you emotion? Yes? OK! No? Too bad for you, you'll be watching someone else.
Was the semi-final against France (0-1) a wound?
No. At the time, yes, we were this close to going to the final. Looking back, we lacked freshness. I think we created more emotion by losing than France did for reachin World Cup final. I hear about Belgium everywhere I go. It's stronger than winning. People will say 'he's salty again', but no, that's what I felt.
In terms of pure football, are there any players for whom you've said to yourself: "He's better than me"?
"Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one. I loved watching him as a Barcelona player, less so towards the end. But Messi is the greatest footballer in history. Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger football legend than me. In terms of pure football, he isn't a better footballer than me honestly,.
Neymar, maybe. After that, he’s not better than me, but at Real Madrid: you’ve got the best. Also in terms of their careers: Benzema, Modric, they were the best, Kroos, Kev’ [De Bruyne], they all breathe pure football."
**Could you have done better?**
Yes. There's always room for improvement when it comes to management and choices. Maybe I should even have done better. But at the time, that's not what I was thinking. Did you want to do better? No. Then not at all.
I never gave a damn about the stats. 300 goals instead of 200? That's not why I was there. I did what I had to do: I gave pleasure and I took pleasure.
Did Real Madrid suit you?
That's easy to say now. I've been a Zidane fan ever since I was a kid. There was Zidane, so I loved Real. The Bernabeu, the white shirt, there's a charm that the others don't have. Real is special.
After that, I don't think I'd fit in. It's not me. It's the club that's a bit of a show-off, and I'm not really like that. Even the way we played didn't suit me, if you compare it to other clubs. But it was my dream. I couldn't end my career without coming here.
Did you want the high standards that Real impose?
I felt it. As I've always done, I'd have liked to turn around, do things my own way and succeed. It just goes to show that Real is bigger than anything else. It's complicated to play there. Maybe I needed to train more. I also had the wrong injuries at the wrong times. The operation, the plate, the lockdown. I come back, I'm in pain, I force myself.
Second season, I was broken all over. Ancelotti arrives. Good preparation, I play well. But my body, the pain, the injuries... One morning, when I woke up, I had a lump like this (he points to a small cup) on my ankle. Infection. I had to have another operation, which is what I wanted and asked for. I had two years left on my contract and I said to myself: "Go on, try to get a move on. But I was starting from too far away. I lost my place, then my confidence, then my desire. I went from being tough against guys who tore off my knee to getting out of bed, injured. I'd like to have understood why, but I couldn't.
For example, I saw a guy who works with energies. He told me "energies don't work". Shit, what's going on? Your body just doesn't want to, that's all, just accept it. Do you know a player who's finishing his career and doesn't have any pain anywhere? I'm close to (Javier) Pastore, who lives here. He tells me the same thing. The body says stop. He put in some great nutmegs too. What a great player, what a beautiful player!
Have you suffered?
No. I'm lucky to have been in this business and to have earned a lot of money. People struggle every day, and I have no right to complain, even when I wasn't playing, even when I was injured, saying "life sucks". It just can't be.
I was in pain but on the other hand... In the end, I used that as an excuse, "I'm in pain, I can't really do it". I wasn't depressed, but I didn't feel like it any more. I just didn't have the energy or the strength. Pleasure was my path, my direction. There was no point, it was over. Take a lot of money elsewhere? Why should I? Ten million more? That's a lot but I didn't want that. And I don't need to do much to be happy. Dropping the kids off at school, playing football, enjoying my last son aged 2, golf, tennis, padel, running a bit, the little things in life. I love it.
I love watching a TV show or a cartoon with the kids. I don't watch much football any more, just my brother at Anderlecht, my mates. VAR sucks. Everyone complains.
Did it make you feel guilty that you weren't the player Real Madrid fans were waiting for?
No. I was sad for the real fans and disappointed for them. When I arrived, they were full of hope. I feel a bit like I've let them down. I feel like saying to them: "Hey, it's not my fault, my body just gave out on me. I tried, but it didn't work. I'm sorry."
Now, take your place on the bench at the Bernabeu, on 4 June 2023, against Athletic Bilbao (1-1).
I already know. I'm just a bit sad that it ended like this. The perfect story would’ve been a hat-trick & ciao. In Lille it ended well, in Chelsea even better. I knew it was all over & I didn’t even want to go in. Maybe people were going to whistle at me. ‘Ouh, ouh.’ You know what? Leave me on the bench, I’ll enjoy it.”
Your team-mates carried you at...
I didn't need that, I didn't do anything. That's the cinema; that's Real Madrid. They do it because... Thanks for everything, guys, but I didn't feel like it. I was on the verge of going to the changing room, "make yourself very small and don't start acting like an American". But I said to myself: "Go round with everyone. Even if I didn't give what people expected.
There's quite a gap between what you felt on the two benches, the one at the start of your career and the one at the end of your career
Yes, all I wanted to do at Nancy was go out on to the pitch and that's all I wanted to do. It's been a great story. Sometimes the last chapter of a book sucks. You think "what the..., why does it end like that?" (He laughs.) But then, the book is a bestseller. I'm a little guy from Braine-le-Comte, the countryside, I've enjoyed football in my own way and what takes over is that I've given emotions. My career has been magnificent, it's a great bestseller.
In 2019, you told us: "When my career's over, I'll be on my sofa with chips and a beer, watching my children play... "
Chips and beer, I dunno. Just beer. (He laughs.) In the best of all possible worlds, I'd be far away, in the mountains, self-sufficient, with sheep, even though I'm not a shepherd. No one would pay any attention to me. Or some kind of round-the-world trip with the kids in a camper van. The less exposure I get, the better.
Still, I liked being in the spotlight, being the best in a team, it was great, but I didn't need it. I'm not going to miss it. I enjoyed professional football, but I don't want to go back there. I'm 100% sure.
Do you want to coach a youth team?
Maybe kids at 5-6 year olds, when they just want to run around with their mates and have fun. Just like me. My sons play, I'm on the pitch, there are certain things that parents... The "you have to win matches at all costs", no! On the way here, I was thinking about that and I want to say to the children: "The lazy bastards, you can do it. Because that's all we hear: "You have to work."
Today's football player is all about work. Yes, of course, but have fun, put pleasure first and above everything else. I'm not the only one who thinks that, per haps some people are afraid to say it. That's the way to get there and respect people. Don't even score, who cares, enjoy the game, feel it."
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by Myesyats Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:01 pm
titosantill wrote:what does "pure football" mean?
in one word? Ronaldinho
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by titosantill Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:16 pm
okay wait, i need to bring this up lol. is he just saying he was a better dribbler? cos if instead of saying that, we're using terms like "pure football" to make it sound better than it really is, that's just manipulation.
anything football related (pure, unpure or impure) the only versions of cristiano that prime hazard was better than would be sporting lisbon version, his first 2 years at united and his later years at juve, utd and Saudi.
If we saying just dribbling, i would say its closer than we think (between prime hazard and cristiano in his united days). Hazard edges it though. But i look at dribbling like it has to have a purpose....even then neymar's not the only dribbler better than hazard. Iniesta (who i don't rate as high as many) was a way better dribbler and more purposeful. obviously messi, without a doubt, robben, ribery.
But once again i'm not looking at how many people they've dribbled or attempted to, but just players from that era who i feel, their dribbling was purposeful. hazard and isco are very similar in my book.
I get his plan though, he's trying to use "pure football" to get him in some kind of relevant conversation. its similar to a basketball player knowing they can't compare themselves to lebron or steph, and they say stuff like "if we just talking about hooping, no player can see me". And then when we ask well what do you mean by hooping? they say things like "real hoopers know".
anything football related (pure, unpure or impure) the only versions of cristiano that prime hazard was better than would be sporting lisbon version, his first 2 years at united and his later years at juve, utd and Saudi.
If we saying just dribbling, i would say its closer than we think (between prime hazard and cristiano in his united days). Hazard edges it though. But i look at dribbling like it has to have a purpose....even then neymar's not the only dribbler better than hazard. Iniesta (who i don't rate as high as many) was a way better dribbler and more purposeful. obviously messi, without a doubt, robben, ribery.
But once again i'm not looking at how many people they've dribbled or attempted to, but just players from that era who i feel, their dribbling was purposeful. hazard and isco are very similar in my book.
I get his plan though, he's trying to use "pure football" to get him in some kind of relevant conversation. its similar to a basketball player knowing they can't compare themselves to lebron or steph, and they say stuff like "if we just talking about hooping, no player can see me". And then when we ask well what do you mean by hooping? they say things like "real hoopers know".
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by El Gunner Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:47 pm
this is how i understand what he means by "pure football": natural grace with ball control, dribbling, reading and manipulating the game with your movements
i see Hazard's point... Ronaldo at United was a stepover merchant, bunch of irky-jerky movements that weren't really purposeful and efficient, it was more for "look at me" aesthetic purposes
i see Hazard's point... Ronaldo at United was a stepover merchant, bunch of irky-jerky movements that weren't really purposeful and efficient, it was more for "look at me" aesthetic purposes
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by BarrileteCosmico Fri Feb 09, 2024 12:33 am
He might be the most talented man to ever walk the earth, but without the right work ethic and fitness that doesn't mean anything.
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by The Madrid One Fri Feb 09, 2024 12:37 am
Footage from the 09/10 season of Ronaldo is fascinating. You could see he was adapting even more so to be a goal scorer than a provider down the flank but he still had speed and acceleration that was noticeably higher than in 10/11 and obviously onwards. He also didn’t look as bulky which is connected. Even his face looked a little different imo. 
Looking at that player from 09/10 you could be an idiot and downplay/misunderstand his “talent” as prosaic but in reality, with his speed and acceleration (which at 09/10 already was going down even from previous years from what I’ve seen) and his heading, shooting, passing, instincts, and his relentless drive… dear god.
Even at the time I remember people remarking that despite having greater numbers Ronaldo was “regressing” 10/11 onwards, even more so after around 2014 where if I remember correctly he suffered a condition that affected forever onwards how he moved on a football pitch.
To say Hazard was more talented in “pure football” ability would arguably make you look more like a simple minded idiot hipster more than anything else.
The 09/10 Ronaldo playing in the more optimized goal scoring scheme from 13/14 onwards would surely be sin.
One of the all time embodiments of talent and I dare say that there’s a version of Ronaldo that we never got to see in greater totality. It’s in that 09/10 version.
To paraphrase the indie artist Momus, Ronaldo is a little “misunderestimated”.
Looking at that player from 09/10 you could be an idiot and downplay/misunderstand his “talent” as prosaic but in reality, with his speed and acceleration (which at 09/10 already was going down even from previous years from what I’ve seen) and his heading, shooting, passing, instincts, and his relentless drive… dear god.
Even at the time I remember people remarking that despite having greater numbers Ronaldo was “regressing” 10/11 onwards, even more so after around 2014 where if I remember correctly he suffered a condition that affected forever onwards how he moved on a football pitch.
To say Hazard was more talented in “pure football” ability would arguably make you look more like a simple minded idiot hipster more than anything else.
The 09/10 Ronaldo playing in the more optimized goal scoring scheme from 13/14 onwards would surely be sin.
One of the all time embodiments of talent and I dare say that there’s a version of Ronaldo that we never got to see in greater totality. It’s in that 09/10 version.
To paraphrase the indie artist Momus, Ronaldo is a little “misunderestimated”.
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by Clutch Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:46 pm
I think Hazard is mostly referring to technique I guess? Maybe natural instinct or something? I'm not sure how to say it but I kind of know what he is implying. Messi neymar iniesta seem very natural and fluid with the ball at their feet almost like they were born to play football is the best way to describe it, while others worked there way there (i.e CR7 even tho he's extremely naturally gifted but we're splitting hairs at this point). I'd put benzema and de bruynes prime over Hazard too
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by El Gunner Fri Feb 09, 2024 3:23 pm
correct Clutch, but let's be honest there are lots of people's primes over Hazard, even arguably Alexis Sanchez
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by titosantill Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:23 pm
He can't be referring to technique. He never had that over CR. I think its just the kind of dribbling tbh. And i would say he's like isco. Although, i would still trust cristiano more with the football than hazard. I don't think they're debating primes, i think its just what hazard considers "pure football" which i think honestly its just dribbling, cos cristiano has that dude clearly beat in everything else. Dribbling might be the only football related thing that can be debatable between them.
Last edited by titosantill on Sat Feb 10, 2024 3:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Official : Eden Hazard to Real Madrid
by El Gunner Sat Feb 10, 2024 6:49 am
natural grace/instinct, not technique
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