Real Madrid News
Roberto Martinez rules out Eden Hazard making a U-turn on international retirement
Eden Hazard’s official retirement from international football last month did not come as a surprise to many. After all, the Belgian had been struggling for form for several years and had endured a torrid World Cup.
Yet, one could not help but feel that the 31-year-old’s decision was spontaneous and premature. Considering the world-class player that he was in the Premier League not too long ago, one would have expected him to be the protagonist of his country for at least another World Cup.
Former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez recently gave an interview to HLN about his departure from the national team setup during which he had some interesting words on Hazard’s situation and decision to retire. Here are the snippets from his interview as relayed by AS.
Martinez first addressed Hazard’s reduced game-time and Real Madrid and went on to reveal why the forward’s retirement did not come as a surprise to him.
“I can’t control the fact that Hazard doesn’t play in his club. His retirement wasn’t a surprise. Eden has two passions: his family and football. In one of those passions, he has suffered enormously in the last two years. He had never had injuries before.”
Since his international debut in 2008, Hazard has scored a total of 33 goals for his country across 126 appearances. Further, he has also assisted 36 goals. Martinez emphasised on the same aspect and said that the player’s name would be written in gold in his country’s history.
“He was an incredible player for the Red Devils, we must appreciate that. There were already big names above number 10 on the t-shirts, but he has written stories with gold letters in his position. He made the national team a better institution.”
Martinez was quizzed about a possible return to the National Team for the Real Madrid winger. However, the manager outright declined any such possibility and revealed why it would not happen.
“No. Eden is a team player. I don’t think he will return for a tournament for which he didn’t qualify on the field. Then it would also hinder someone who did it.”
Finally, the former Everton coach spoke his heart out and revealed one possibility which would serve as the perfect farewell for Hazard from International football.
“But my dream is, I’m not saying what’s happening, that Eden Hazard returns for the Paris Olympic Games. That would be a way to finish your international career. If the U-21 can qualify, wouldn’t it be great to see Eden Hazard play football in Paris?”
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
