Restarting
> With fresh management comes a fresh start as Sterling and Hazard shine under new bosses
ON FRIDAY, both Eden Hazard and Raheem Sterling were nominated as the Premier League player of the month. Looking back over the past year, it marks a significant turnaround for two players who have endured a difficult period in their respective careers.
With Pep Guardiola in charge at Manchester City and Antonio Conte taking the reins at Chelsea, the pair are now enjoying a remarkable revival that highlights the crucial difference one man can make to a player’s fortune on the pitch. But the going has certainly been tough.
For Sterling, the Manchester City winger was subject to a nationwide witch-hunt throughout England’s disappointing Euro 2016 campaign. The winger looked subdued, lifeless and short of confidence as a succession of poor performances begged the question as to why Roy Hodgson had included the player in the England squad.
After a mediocre season with City, matters reached breaking point following his fitful display in England’s second fixture against Wales in Lens. English fans booed the self-declared “Hated One”, prompting Hodgson to withdraw the 21-year-old, alongside Harry Kane, at the interval.
It was a personal low point for Sterling. Fans and pundits alike called for the player to be dropped, but the England manager remained defiant – some would say stubborn – in continuing to pick Sterling.
More than one week later and England had crashed out of Euro 2016. Sterling and co were lambasted for one of the nation’s most humiliating defeats in footballing history, with the youngster himself bearing much of the criticism.
Despite the catastrophe of Euro 2016, one man continued to believe in Sterling. Mid-way through the tournament, he received a phone call from his new manager who reassured the player of his future at City.
“As long as you work for me, I’ll fight for you,” Pep Guardiola told him. “Keep your head up, don’t worry, I know you’re a good player and you are a big part of my plans.”
Guardiola’s show of good faith has paid dividends. Sterling has flourished in recent weeks. Having started four out of five games under the Spaniard – he was rested for City’s dead-rubber against Steaua Bucharest – the Englishman has thrived, scoring two goals, setting up one and winning a penalty. Sterling once again looks a threat on the ball, capable of beating his opposite man and creating chances down the flank. For all the criticism he faced, these recent performances bear testament to what he is capable of. All it took was a little bit of faith. It has been a similar story for Eden Hazard. Whereas Sterling’s undoing was the public at large, Eden Hazard’s was Jose Mourinho. The pair’s deteriorating relationship reached breaking point in October 2015 as Mourinho opted to drop Hazard. Speaking after the Blues’ 2-0 victory against Aston Villa, the Portuguese manager said: “I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals. We need to defend better.”
While Mourinho may have made matters worse in so publicly criticising his player, Hazard’s form continued to languish. With the pair growing increasingly dissatisfied with one another, both failed to deliver. When push came to shove, it was Mourinho who was shown the door though.
But even with Mourinho out of the picture, the Belgian still struggled to regain his lost form. Hazard spent the following six months in the wilderness, unable to recreate the sort of quality that saw him crowned Player of the Year for the 2014/15 season. He was even notably booed during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat by PSG in the Champions League as he came off injured last March.
Seemingly haunted by a woeful season with Chelsea, Hazard failed to impress at Euro 2016 too. Aside from his memorable performance against Hungary in the quarterfinals, the Belgium captain endured an underwhelming campaign with the national side.
But under Antonio Conte, Hazard has enjoyed an encouraging revival. Like Sterling, the Belgian already has two goals to his name, having helped guide Chelsea to three wins from three, and has made the highest number of successful passes within an opponent’s final third across the league.
In Conte, Hazard has a manager for whom he looks happy to play for. Animated, passionate, and unwilling to play the sort of mind games that defined Mourinho, Conte has injected a new lease of life into Chelsea’s players.
Hazard has already said that the team is “giving everything” for the Italian.
“He’s tried to give us confidence,” Hazard told Chelsea’s official website.
“He knows players because he used to be one. We had one bad season but we are trying to do better. He tries to motivate us and we are giving everything.”
By the looks of it, Conte’s approach is already paying off, for both Hazard and Chelsea.
In light of their respective returns to form, it’s little wonder that the pair have been nominated as players of the month. They justly deserve the accolade – but it just goes to show that the man in charge can make all the difference.
With fresh management comes a fresh start and there’s no doubting that the duo have started brightly this season.
Although they have a long way to go before completely casting aside the memories of the past year, the two are back on course to proving their true class on the pitch. – The Independent