Comparing Eden Hazard (Chelsea) and ex Liverpool star Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
“Eden is technically gifted and very fast. I would take him to Real Madrid with my eyes closed. He can become a great footballer; he is a star of the future.” – ZinedineZidane (Source)
Manchester United are in the middle of their worst start in 24 years and they faced an uphill task against Chelsea at Old Trafford the past week. While Chelsea have gone from strength to strength, United’s lack of defensive security has cost them dearly this season. A rout was on the cards for the Blues and a certain Belgian in their ranks was expected to shine. He always does, doesn’t he? It is not Thibaut Courtois I’m talking about rather it is his teammate who is dreaded by a many a defender around the world- Eden Hazard.
HazardHazard’s style of play:
Eden Hazard is a player who all of us would love to have if we were to chose a team at the present. Fantasy League players too ensure to have him and here’s why:
- His dribbling skills are as good as any. Whether it is drifting past the opposition or cutting on either side, Hazard does it with ease. It is his ability to create spaces and open up play for his team mates that he is rated so highly amongst the present lot.
- He may not be a Steven Gerrard or Paul Scholes when it comes to passing but he is adept at short passes and one-twos with team mates. Also, his vision with the ball is terrific as he often sights a run sooner than many others.
- His ball control is one of the best. A perfect example is against Maribor in the UEFA Champions League where he perfectly controlled a long ball supplied by one of his team mates and then got past a couple of defenders and shot it into the net. The Belgian was so good that Ronald Koeman described him as up there with Luis Suarez and Neymar as the next tier of best player behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Eden Hazard is one of the best dribblers in Europe right now. Defenders everywhere would hate playing against the Belgian. His link up play with Spaniards Fabregas, Diego Costa and Brazilian Oscar has been brilliant and even though he only scored from the spot against Arsenal, he was by far the best player on the pitch and was the difference between the teams.
His performances against Maribor- scoring twice, assisting and with completing eight of twelve take one- sent shivers across the opposition’s spine. You might say it is Maribor after all. Unfortunately, you’re wrong. He has proved it time and again that he is a player of sheer quality and is often considered by many as the person who might replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Is Eden Hazard the best player after Lionel Messi and Ronaldo? Or.. To put it in other words.. Is Hazard better than Brazilian Forward Neymar and the Uruguayan Luis Suarez?
After winning the UNFP Player of the year and the Young Player of the award twice each, which is a record, Hazard shunned clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United. In fact, he chose Chelsea over United after a meeting with both Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea owner Roman Abrahmovic. He was bought for a hefty sum of £32 million. But he certainly didn’t disappoint.
Two of the three players involved were part of the same league last season. (Suarez and Hazard) Therefore, here is a statistical view of their performance during the 2013-14 season.
| Eden Hazard | Luis Suarez | |
| Midfielder/ Winger | Position | Forward |
| 35 | Games Played | 33 |
| 2,895 | Minutes Played | 2,964 |
| 32 | Starts | 33 |
| Eden Hazard | General | Luis Suarez |
| 1,542 | Passes | 1,264 |
| 83.3% | Passing Accuracy | 74.*% |
| 262 | Duels Won | 214 |
| 223 | Duels Lost | 315 |
| 19 | Aerial Duels Won | 23 |
| 24 | Aerial Duels Lost | 53 |
| 160 | Recoveries | 114 |
| Eden Hazard | Defense & Discipline | Luis Suarez |
| 18 | Tackles Won | 27 |
| 5 | Tackles Lost | 8 |
| 7 | Clearances | 9 |
| 0 | Blocks | 3 |
| 19 | Interceptions | 11 |
| 89 | Fouls Won | 67 |
| 17 | Fouls Conceded | 54 |
Having said that though, it would not be right of me to tell you that Hazard has been a better player than Suarez solely based on statistics. And here is why..
- Hazard is way ahead of Suarez in his defensive capabilities. Well, at least the stats say so. But we must get the fact that Chelsea ‘park the bus’ when they are defending against a big team or protecting a slender lead and they desperately need defenders for that and this is primarily why Hazard has had a better defensive record than the Uruguayan.
- Last season, the Merseysiders surprised everyone as they finished second only to champions Manchester City. Chelsea though, finished third after they were leading for a little while. And Luis Suarez was the biggest reason for that. The Forward netted in 31 goals and powered Liverpool into the title race. Hazard too had a stellar season last year but there was one big difference between the two. Chelsea could manage without the Belgian and often even played good chunks of matches without the singer. The same cannot be said about Liverpool and Suarez. Without Suarez, Liverpool lost their biggest threat.
- The players Hazard had at his disposal were of a greater class than what Suarez had. (No offence to Liverpool) Yet, it was Suarez who pulled all the strings for Liverpool and he was in the form of his life last season. The very fact that he made the best use of his players and brought out the best out of his team mates as well pips him ahead of the Belgian.
We have seen in detail about the two above mentioned players and it is by now clearly understood that although Hazard was lethal, Suarez was in a level of his own and that’s why Eden Hazard at least of now, isn’t as good as Luis Suarez.