Ronaldo and Messi are my inspiration – but Gervinho is the best I’ve played with
Posted Wednesday, May 30, 2012 by The Sun
GER BEAUTY ... Gervinho and Eden Hazard celebrate Lille's French championship triumph
EDEN HAZARD avidly studies videos of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but believes Arsenal’s Gervinho is the best he has ever played with.
The Belgian star, set to complete his £32million switch to Chelsea, took it upon himself to announce HE had decided to join the Champions League winners instead of Manchester United or Manchester City.
And Hazard, who is leaving French club Lille where he used to play with Arsenal striker Gervinho, said: “I watched videos of great players. I was inspired by what they did, then I used to try things out in training.”
And the ultra-confident son of a professional footballer added: “When I was small I was the same as everyone else.
“I used to play in a small council estate nearby.
“But it’s really my family who taught me. I started watching my dad play from the age of two. I wanted to be like him.
“The first pitch I played on,for my first club Braine-le-Comte, was only a metre from our house! I progressed very quickly. Now, I want to be European Footballer of the Year. Sometimes when I lie in bed I think about it.
“A lot of players watch videos of others. I’m not scared to say I watch videos of Messi and Ronaldo, I try and inspire myself from them.
“Great players inspire you. The best player I played with was Gervi (Gervinho).
“We didn’t have the same qualities, but we both tried to make the difference. He taught me some things. He makes the right runs.”
The attacking midfielder, 21, added: “What I like best is the nutmeg. I don’t go out on the pitch thinking I’m going to do it because it comes instinctively. My left foot’s not quite as strong as my right.
“I said I preferred playing rather than training. People interpreted that as me not wanting to work hard.
“That’s false. I work seriously. It’s helped me get to where I am now.
“Weight training and working on being explosive helped me gain a few yards of pace.
“Even when I was small I was stocky. Even if people pushed me I managed to stay on my feet.”
Hazard, whose parents were both professional players, revealed how he ended up playing in France rather than his native country.
He said: “When I was 10 or 11, I was playing for the local team Brabant and one of the people from Lille came to speak to me and told me I was a good player.
“So for three or four years I played a few games with the Lille kids.
“But I didn’t want to leave home because I was still pretty young.
“Then I got the opportunity to go when I was 14, so I thought ‘Why not?’ It worked out pretty well.”
It certainly has. He scored 49 goals in 192 games for Lille and he will play his 29th international for Belgium in Saturday’s friendly against England at Wembley.
But while he can certainly be a handful on the pitch, he can be the same off it.
He once infuriated the Belgium coach by eating a burger after being substituted.
The bust-up with ex-Belgian boss Georges Leekens came after a Euro 2012 qualifier against Turkey last June.
Hazard was furious at starting on the bench — and then, after going on, found himself being subbed in the second half.
Incredibly, he headed straight to the dressing room, got changed and then went to eat a burger with his dad outside the ground.
Leekens objected to what he thought was unprofessional behaviour and Hazard was originally suspended for three games by the Belgian FA.
The ban was later reduced to one match but, at the time, Leekens said: “Hazard is at the top in France, but they have other standards than us.
“We work with the national team where the collective takes precedence over the individual. We have a wonderful group discipline and we want to maintain it.
“Players who cross the yellow line are punished. The case is closed with me.
“Everyone must respect the rules. I don’t think it is a severe penalty. You have to stay with the group. We are all ambassadors of Belgian football.”
But Hazard is still making waves. Yesterday he missed the team coach and had to be taken to training in a car.
So, last night, he was ordered to buy all the champagne for a player-staff barbecue.
Current Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said: “Whether it’s Eden Hazard or someone else, the rules are the rules.
“To me, it doesn’t matter it is Hazard. He still pays.”
But Lille coach Rudi Garcia admits Hazard — who has turned down the chance to play for both Manchester clubs — is a major talent.
He said: “Eden isn’t just a little gem, he’s a whole mine!
“But it’s not talent alone that will get him to where he wants to go. A lot of very good players have got lost along the way.”
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