Real Madrid: Can Eden Hazard redeem himself at the World Cup?

In the summer of 2019, Real Madrid completed the signing that they had been plotting for quite a while. The player was admired by Zinedine Zidane for a long time, had proved himself as one of the best in the Premier League with Chelsea, was captaining Belgium and proving his leadership attributes. Jerseys with his name on the back would fly off the shelves. All in all, a perfect “Galactico”.

Eden Hazard and Real Madrid seemed like a match made in heaven. The Belgian was supposed to be the new talisman, especially in big games. His numbers against the Big Six in the Premier League were up there with the all-time best after all.

As many as 8 El Clasicos and a Champions League final has been played by Real Madrid ever since he has joined the club, arguably the biggest games in all of football. Hazard did not play even a single minute in all these matches combined.

To his credit, he actually made a great start to his Real Madrid career with a goal and assist in his first league start at the Santiago Bernabeu. But that seems like a distant memory now. Injury after injury never allowed him to truly discover his old self. For two seasons he struggled. He seemed to finally show some glimpses of his true self at the beginning of 2021-22 season. Alas, that was the exact time a certain Brazilian wonderkid named Vinicius Junior started to shine and pushed the Belgian to the periphery of starting eleven.

Can Hazard redeem himself at the World Cup after nightmare run at Real Madrid?

Hazard has become a sympathetic figure at Real Madrid over the years. Luckily, even in the rare opportunities he has been getting from Carlo Ancelotti, he keeps on showing his true class. There is no consistency and its often just flashes but it reminds of the old adage – form is temporary, class is permanent.

The biggest advantage Hazard has going to the World Cup is, his coach with the national team seems to fully trust his ability. Roberto Martinez is not only taking him to Qatar but proving his faith by allowing him to retain the captain’s armband. Despite the wide pool of talent at his disposal he has unequivocally praised him to be the best player in his position. And its not just the coach; the entire team loves him and rallies behind him.

Understandably during the decline of his own form, some of the other players have emerged from the shadows and are quite prominent for the team. One such name is Thorgan Hazard, his own brother. If ever, there was to be a conducive atmosphere it is now and here.

The Belgian team remains the only team to date to be ranked number 1 in the world without a world or continental crown. But the fact of the matter is they currently have the longest continuous reign of any European team. This indicates that the side is truly made up of generational talents and have plenty of superstars at their disposal. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois will make sure that the pressure does not lie with any single individual and it’s a team effort.

Hazard has good memories of the World Cup as a tournament. He first appeared in Brazil 2014, provided 2 assists and reached the Quarterfinals. In Russia 2018 he captained the side, scored 3 goals, assisted twice and reached the semi-finals before eventually finishing in third place. So, if football were to be a simple arithmetic progression, then The Red Devils would reach the final in Qatar 2022. Of course, it is not but the point is that the current Belgian team brings their A game to the big tournaments with the Real Madrid star at the centre of it all.

Hazard has appeared 122 times for Belgium, fourth highest for the team. He has scored 33 goals in those appearances, second in the top scorer ranking. He is already a legend of Belgian football. The question is, can he turn back the clock in Qatar?

Both his parents and all his brothers are footballers. The game runs in the family. He has won the league and cups in France, England and Spain. He has won the Europa League and the Champions League. The number of individual awards he has to his name are staggering. He knows how to dominate a game and how to turn a game on its head with an inspired performance. He knows, it’s what he has done a million times before. Hopefully this time around he will turn up at the World Cup and revive his career.