scribes,
with stories
abounding in the
Belgian and French
press of a baby genius. The hype factory
was up and running in advance of his
professional bow. One only has to listen
to the commentary on Canal Plus TV
as he waited to make his grand entrance
against Nancy. “The lad who is coming on,
everyone [at Lille] believes he is a future
star,” declared the commentator. “Keep a
close eye on him.”
Few, if any, will be unaware of what
Hazard has gone on to achieve: a French
double with Lille in 2011; two Premier
League titles (2015 and 2017), a Europa
League triumph (2019) and an FA Cup
win (2018) with Chelsea; 102 caps for
Belgium; a bronze medal at the last
World Cup; and a £90million move
to Real Madrid this summer.
Yet even at the dawn of his career
he was a focus for veneration.
For example, the day after his
Lille first-team baptism, the Belgian