Real Madrid News
Eden Hazard talks Ancelotti, Zidane, Florentino Perez, and Real Madrid future
Eden Hazard has admitted that he is not happy with his current situation at Real Madrid, saying that he counts his performance and injuries as a failure.
Hazard had vouched to resurrect his Real Madrid career ahead of the ongoing season and while he did get a few minutes early in the campaign, his presence has dried out over the course of the tenure.
Interestingly enough, his last appearance for Real Madrid came back in October in a 2-3 defeat at hands of RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League where he clocked a mere 14 minutes.
Speaking about his situation in an interview with L’Equipe (h/t AS), Hazard she light on several aspects, including his relationship with manager Carlo Ancelotti where he said that he does not talk much with the man in charge.
“At Chelsea, he had always been the best. At Real I had good games with Zinedine Zidane, we talked when he left. He was sad for me because it didn’t turn out the way he expected,” said the winger.
“With Carlo, I don’t talk much. Once five minutes at the beginning of the season. But I never talked much with a coach. I am not one of those who go to see a coach and tell him that he has to do this or that,” he added.
When asked about his performances and injuries, he said, “Of course, I experienced it as a failure. There were many injuries, the covid. I never got to show what I could do. It was difficult to understand why.
“Later, I had to go back to the time of the confinement. This is the heart of the problem. I couldn’t get back to full fitness and prolonged that until I had surgery on my right ankle last year.”
Talking about his recovery, the winger added, “In Spain, the confinement was strict. Personally, I lived it very well. But not physically. But I worked alone at home while coming out of a big operation.
“We couldn’t get to the training centre. No one came home, neither a physiotherapist nor a physical trainer. I did my rehab on my own. When I came back, I forced myself and hurt myself again.”
The Belgian also said that he does not want to blame anyone for his current situation and although he plays less, he trains all the time.
“I am not going to blame anyone else. It would be too easy. I couldn’t have surgery. I accepted the situation and recovered. In the 3rd season, I started with a good first sixty minutes under the orders of Carlo Ancelotti.
“Then one or two bad matches and I got hurt again. At the end of the season, an ankle infection allowed me to have surgery (in March). Now, I play less, but I train all the time. It’s not like I don’t have anything either,” he added.
Furthermore, the player also made peace with the fact that he can no longer match his previous level. “To be honest, the level of 2018 I no longer have it. I don’t show it, but I suffered too much, mentally and physically. I’m not ashamed to say it.
“In 2018, it was maybe in the top ten in the world. Am I going back to that? I don’t think so. But if my body allows it, I can still do great things. I have less explosiveness but that goes hand in hand with age.
“Being injured triggers a form of fear. I am a player who likes to mess around. Few players took the ball from me. I keep the same technique but I lost confidence.
“If you don’t play for three years, even with all the talent in the world, the lack of rhythm is detrimental. In the last two matches with the national team (Nations League), I didn’t miss the opportunity,” he explained.
Lastly, the 31-year-old concluded by saying that despite all the on-field troubles, he has a good relationship with Florentino Perez.
“I always had a good relationship with him. For him, it’s complicated. He sees that I get along with everyone. The players and the staff love me. I have great respect for him. If he tells me tomorrow that it is difficult, I accept it, I understand it.”
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
