Chelsea’s waltzing wizard Eden Hazard hopes for one last dance
Eden Hazard’s plan was always to go out on a high. That was clear even when times were toughest, a little over three years ago, as the incoming Chelsea head coach paid a visit to Cobham. Antonio Conte, still Italy’s national team manager, was not due to take up the reins at Stamford Bridge until after the summer’s European Championship, but planning for the role he would assume required reassurances from an ailing stellar player.
Hazard was entrenched in the first prolonged slump in form of a seven-year senior career. He had endured 28 scoreless league appearances, stretching back to the goal against Crystal Palace that had clinched the title in May the previous year. A persistent hip injury had blunted the Belgian through the unravelling of José Mourinho’s second stint in charge and, with the side hopelessly adrift of the top four, a player who had never hidden his desire to turn out for Real Madrid had been left contemplating a season without the prestige of Champions League football.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Exlhfv
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