Eden Hazard ready to lead Chelsea’s New Guard

Eden Hazard is still only in his mid-20s, but as one of the longest-serving players at Chelsea these days, he’s already well versed in our winning ways.

“I signed for Chelsea and in my head it was to win titles. Maybe not like this. I won already two Premier League, one League Cup, one Europa League. It's not bad, but it can be better. The FA Cup and Champions League, why not?”

Having decided to join Chelsea five years ago because of our miracle run to the Champions League crown, Hazard has only had two things on his mind: to win trophies and to have fun. With a second league title in the bag and hopefully an FA Cup as well, only the Champions League will be missing from Hazard’s collection. As one of the leaders of the club, he will just have to do his best to get us there.

“The last 10 years in Chelsea it was great. They won a lot of trophies, now it's like a new generation. Lampard is finished, Didier Drogba is finished, Ashley Cole, John Terry now. So it's a new generation and we want to prove that the club is one of the best in the world. So we have to be ready for that.”

“We have this new manager, we have a couple of young players so everything is ready to build something.”

Hazard’s leadership qualities are slowly emerging. He may not be a leader in the mould of a Terry or a Drogba, or even someone bit more reserved like a Frank Lampard, but he can still lead by example and a good, positive spirit. You need all types in a balanced dressing room.

“Me? Yeah, we have a couple of players. Now I play my fifth year at Chelsea, you know we have some guys who have a lot of experience, so we are ready [to fill the leadership void]. We have a couple of leaders - I try to be one on the pitch. We have a lot of guys who can do that.”

For Hazard, the inevitable Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons are more worthwhile in terms of the hard work they put day after day, and as examples for the types of leaders that they are.

“Players like Ronaldo and Messi are leaders. They are people that want to be better every day. That's why they are at the top for the last 10 years. They need to prove - we all need to prove - every day, but I don't think too much about that. I just concentrate on myself, on football, on the pitch, on the training ground. Then I will see.”

-Eden Hazard; source: Telegraph

Gary Cahill has worn the armband for most of the season as Terry’s role was reduced to bench spectator, and the likes of César Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cesc Fàbregas are all strong characters in the dressing room to help fill the void left behind by the Old Guard. Hazard himself has captained his national team on several occasions. As he enters what should be the prime of his career, with a fresh new five-year contract waiting to be signed this summer, we can all look forward to many more years of success with him in the team.