When Eden Hazard joined Real Madrid in 2019, the brief was to replicate the Galactico glamour of Cristiano Ronaldo who had left the Bernabeu for Turin the previous year.
To say the experiment hasn’t worked so far is an understatement. Hazard has scored only five goals in two injury-plagued seasons in Spain with a broken ankle sustained against Levante followed by a variety of other knockbacks.
Even Hazard’s encouraging cameos in this tournament as he returns to fitness have been overshadowed by Ronaldo who, at 36, is still breaking records and on Wednesday night became the joint-highest scorer ever seen in international football with his 108th and 109th goals for Portugal.
Thibaut Courtois has backed Eden Hazard to rediscover his best form for Belgium at the Euros
With all eyes on Ronaldo for Sunday’s mouth-watering tie between the European Championship holders and the Red Devils golden generation in Seville, there is a growing feeling inside the Belgian camp that Hazard is coming to the boil at just the right time to show he deserves to belong in Cristiano’s company.
The 30-year-old had the confidence to try a few tricks and flicks as a substitute against Denmark and then started and lasted the full 90 minutes against Finland.
Remarkably, it was the first time he had completed a whole game since November 2019 when Madrid beat Real Sociedad 3-1.
Few know Hazard better than goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, his team-mate at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Belgium.
Hazard will face Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday – the man he replaced at Real Madrid in 2019
Courtois senses Hazard’s comeback has been building up to this game where he can show on the big stage he remains one of Europe’s brightest natural talents.
‘I think Eden is really close to his best form,’ affirms Courtois. The last few months in Madrid were not easy for him. He’d train really well, I saw he was ready to play but then he’d have these little injuries and have to stay in the treatment room. It was very difficult.
‘I see him in practise and he takes on three or four players. He gets kicked and it doesn’t matter, mentally he is very strong. After that, it is just the rhythm of the matches, needing to get more minutes.
‘He played a full game against Finland so hopefully he can be decisive against Portugal. I know he is ready, I see it in training, and I know he wants to play a great match.’
Courtois has seen his friend deal with pressure throughout his career. At Chelsea, Hazard was the stand-out player when they won Premier League titles in 2015 and 2017 under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Hazard was signed by Real Madrid to replicate the Galactico glamour of Ronaldo
Hazard has scored only five goals in two injury-plagued seasons in Spain with Real Madrid
Instead of being cowed by expectation, Courtois thinks that having his countrymen rely on him – and with Ronaldo in the opposite corner – will only fire up Hazard even further. His reputation in Madrid took a further dive last season when he had to apologise for joking with former Chelsea team-mates after they eliminated Real from the Champions League.
‘You always expect the big players to make the difference. Eden has the stature and quality to be decisive,’ says Courtois, who could also say the same about Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in Roberto Martinez’s star-studded line-up.
Besides having great individuals of their own – Footballer of the Year Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota among them – Portugal have the experience of having won the tournament five years ago with Pepe, Rui Patricio, Renato Sanches and Ronaldo among the survivors from that team.
Courtois is used sitting in a dressing-room full of winners at Madrid and thinks his own Belgium team are ready to take the final step having reached the quarter-finals of the last Euros and the World Cup semi-final in Russia when they fell into the trap set by a pragmatic French team and lost 1-0.
Now, after overcoming injuries, Courtois (middle) believes Hazard is ready return to his best
‘Winning with your country is one of the best feelings there is,’ says the 6ft7ins ‘keeper. You could see what it meant for Cristiano to win with Portugal in 2016.
‘We haven’t experienced it yet with Belgium but playing in the same team as Sergio Ramos who has a World Cup and Euros, I realise how important it is.
It is a tough road, starting with the winners of the last edition, but I think we are generally better as a team than 2018 and individually a lot of us are even more used to winning trophies and playing these big knockout games in the Champions League and Europa League.
In case it goes to penalties, Courtois has been given the last 10 to 15 penalties taken by the Portuguese players including Ronaldo so he can prepare in advance how to deal with a potential shoot-out.
He’s even prepared to take a kick himself should it come to it though Martinez may see him as a last resort given Courtois smashed his effort over the bar in the 2017 Community Shield shoot-out for Chelsea against Arsenal.
‘I like to take them in practise but it’s different without crowds, less pressure, so you take more risks.’
Belgium’s golden generation will be hoping to advance to the quarters with a win over Portugal
Taking penalties apart, Courtois is the unflappable character Belgium will need on Sunday.
‘Everyone is aware it’s all or nothing,’ he says. ‘I was in good form for Madrid and have kept it going with the Devils.
‘It’s great to play in front of fans again after 18 months without. That bit of hostility gives you adrenalin. There will nerves, healthy nerves, which is what your body needs as an athlete. But it isn’t stress, I won’t sleep less.’
It’s likely to be a warm evening in southern Spain but Belgium played in sweltering conditions against Finland in St Petersburg at an earlier time and have had two days extra rest compared to Portugal.
