Eden Hazard is a man reborn under the tutelage of Antonio Conte. The Belgian international has contributed 7 goals, an assist and 19 key passes this term. He has eclipsed the poor run of form he encountered last season, where he only found the back of the net 4 times, alongside 3 assists. Besides that, he has successfully spread his club form to the country, and currently, holds the captain’s armband. Agree or not, the man who landed from Lille for a fee reported around £32 million, seems to be a more than a bargain buy looking at the modern era market value.
Hazard has been orchestrating the attack on the pitch yet Conte deserves immense credit for restoring the fear-factor back to the team that looked wishy-washy in the opening matches, particularly against Arsenal and Liverpool. His astute 3-4-3 formation is nothing short of a revelation as the Blues are storming with five wins in a row, without conceding a single goal. Being unstoppable of late, both Conte and Hazard undoubtedly won the Manager and Player of the Month Awards.
Done with the glares of the camera, the Belgian was full of praises for his new manager.
“If someone had told us before the season that if we did everything Conte asked of us we’d have a chance to become champions again, we’d all have signed up. We have bought into it. This is what he wants from us and believes we need to do to achieve something special,” said the talented winger (quoted by Guardian)
“He kicks every ball, heads every ball. If he could, he’d be out there with us, our 12th man on the pitch. You can see he was a player. It’s only now and again, when he’s screaming at you to do this or that, demanding you concentrate or work even harder, you find yourself thinking: ‘Hold on a second, we’re 4-0 up with five minutes to play. Easy now, boss. Calm down. But that’s the way he is. That’s his personality. That’s how he works. He expects a lot of us, he’s demanding, and he never stops wanting more from his players. But when you’re in his side winning matches every week, it’s obvious his methods work.”
Replicating proven tactics may sound interesting yet it could easily steer a rocket back into the ground. While most teams are tempted for a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation, Conte’s statement of intent with a 3-4-3 structure seemed surreal as it looked like a traditional measure for attacking football yet many didn’t know the shrewdness it provides in defence till Conte himself proved the doubters how it works. Holding onto such complicated tactic is no easy feat, though. Hark back when Everton tried to match Chelsea with the similar formation at Stamford Bridge, yet returned home pounded 5-0, a match that saw Hazard continuing his ferocious rhythm with two goals. You could easily see the hunger and desire in him, in a hunt to exorcise all memories of last season, which was not only about him disappearing in crucial matches, he did disappear from team selection for some time with injuries too.
“Back in March, I’d spoken [to Conte] about the difficult season I’d had up to then, and what he expected of me in the year to come. I’d not scored many goals, but he saw me as a goal scorer. He spoke to me about his preferred systems, the 3-4-3 or even with two up front. His passion and enthusiasm for the job were obvious. I made clear I had no intention of leaving after such a poor year. I didn’t want to go out like that. If I ever leave, it’ll be after winning a championship. You need to go out on a high so that people remember you for the right reasons.
“Up to now, under him, we’re being rewarded for the work we’re putting in. Everything changed at Arsenal. A turning point. We were losing 3-0, we were beaten, but we got together – coaching staff and players – and determined then things would improve. It was a crossroads. From the first day I arrived at Chelsea four years ago, and even last season, I’ve never sensed panic among the players. We are professionals. We know when we’re playing badly so, if you have a poor game, you work in training to put things right so form comes back. So that is what we did. We reminded ourselves we are good players, we know our qualities. We have to work, work, work and make things better. Something just clicked.
“The change in system has made an impact. It’s such a difficult formation to play against: I played for Belgium against [Conte’s] Italy at the Euros and, even though we saw plenty of the ball, it was so hard to break down that defensive block. They only conceded once from open play in five matches, and when teams come up against us now they find they don’t have many sights of goal either. Personally, it allows me to concentrate more on the attacking parts of the game, the offensive side.
“I play this way with Belgium, too. Defensively, with the national team I have [Yannick] Carrasco close to me. Here I have Alonso just behind me who defends a bit more and has those responsibilities. That allows me to concentrate more on hurting teams going forward. And it’s worked. I’ve managed to make a positive impact in games, and my form is there.”
The 25-year-old is also full of smiles outside his footballing zone, as he and his family are happily settled in London and with his good friend Christian Benteke moving to Crystal Palace, his mood have further improved. When the former Liverpool striker was on the verge of sealing a move to Selhurst Park, Hazard absolutely backed his pal, despite his bitter incident with Palace’s bald eagle, Kayla, as it dive-bombed him in the arena pre-match back in the year 2012.
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