GOD’S GIFT
Conte urges the brilliant Hazard to make the most of his divine talent and prove he is on a par with Messi and Ronaldo
ANTONIO CONTE believes Eden Hazard has been given a gift from God – and urged him to make sure he exploits it.
Conte reckons this season is a big opportunity for Hazard to prove himself at the highest level.
Blues striker Alvaro Morata (right) already thinks the Belgium star is one of the world’s top three players, along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Conte says there is still room for him to improve.
And the Chelsea boss is determined to do what he can to help Hazard, and wring every last drop out of his huge talent.
Conte said: “Eden finds a way to be decisive during every game. To score or to make an assist for a team-mate. I love this from him. I ask this of him because he has such talent and it’s important as a coach to ask him to be decisive every game.
“If God gives you this talent, you must exploit this talent. My task is sometimes to try and push him to be decisive in every moment, in every game, and show him that his team-mates wait for this.
“Eden is a top player. This season he has a big opportunity because we can play in the Champions League.
“The Champions League, together with the Premier League, is important for a player to show you are a top player and can compete to be the best.” Hazard’s hunger to reach the levels of Ronaldo and Messi have been questioned, not least after he admitted two years ago that “it’s not in me (to be a true scorer)”, he is not driven by records, and would be happy scoring 15-20 goals a season. Conte said: “He has a style to improve in this specific situation. If he scores one goal, he’s happy and then, if there is another situation, he prefers to make an assist rather than scoring twice.
“I see, for Ronaldo, that if he scores once he wants two, three, four. It’s the same for Messi. Yes, he can improve.”
There will be few better games for Hazard to deliver a statement-of-intent display than today’s Stamford Bridge showdown with Manchester City. Playmaker Hazard, 26, is in line to make his first league start against the league leaders, after missing the beginning of the season following ankle surgery.
And Conte believes Hazard has returned a different player.
“I’m seeing great determination,” the manager added.
“When he started to train again after a bad injury, after a surgery, he understood that he needed to work very hard to recover very well.”