Thorgan Hazard

At 31 years old, Thorgan Hazard has this physical status:

Thorgan Ganael Francis Hazard (born 29 March 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for German clubs Borussia Dortmund and the Belgium national team.

He is Eden's younger brother and older brother of Kylian Hazard. He began his career at Lens in Ligue 1 and then migrated to Chelsea in 2012 shortly after they had signed his older brother.

He never played a single match for Chelsea, being loaned for two years to Zulte Waregem, where he was named Best Professional Footballer in the Belgian Pro League in January 2014 and the top professional football player in May 2014.

He joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014, first on loan, and spent over 100 appearances for the club before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2019. He gained his first senior international cap against the United States in May 2013, having previously competed at every level in Belgium's national youth team system.

He was a member of the Belgian team that came third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in third place.

Early life

Hazard grew up in Braine-le-Comte, a small town in the Wallonia area, but he was born in La Louvière. His first name was inspired by the Belgian comic strip Thorgal, and he grew up in a family where football was dominant. Both his mother Carine and Father Thierry were footballers in Belgium. In the Belgian Second Division, his father spent the majority of his time with Louviéroise in the Belgian Second Division. He played mainly as a defensive midfielder. His mother competed as a striker in the Belgian Women's First Division and halted playing when she was three months pregnant with his older brother Eden. Both parents became physical education teachers after playing football. Thierry resigned from his role in 2009 in order to spend more time with his children.

Hazard has three other siblings. Eden, Eden's older brother, played for Lens' main rivals Lille and now plays for Real Madrid in Spain. Kylian and Ethan are Hazard's younger brothers. Kylian joined White Star Bruxelles in 2013 and completed his apprenticeship with Chelsea's growth team on August 29, 2017 but he's now playing for Cercle Brugge. Ethan joins Tubize's youth academy. Hazard and his three brothers were raised in a secure environment, with parents ensuring that they had everything they needed to thrive. The family lived "no more than three meters" from a football training field, and the brothers often ventured into a small hole in order to hone and improve their skills.

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Club career

Hazard began playing for hometown team Royal Stade Brainois at the age of five. Thorgan followed his brother Eden to Tubize after five years at the club. He was discovered by French club Lens while playing for Tubize in a local tournament at the age of 14. His parents accepted Lens's suggestion in the hopes that the training facilities in France would be improved, similar to his brother's move to Lille, and here he met fellow Belgium player and future Chelsea teammate Charly Musonda. Eden's father later admitted that it was much more effective than Thorgan, and that joining clubs in the North of France was the right option, though "they stayed so close to home and, at the same time, integrated at facilities that could expand." Hazard was a youth player for the Lens under-16 team, as well as Geoffrey Kondogbia and Raphael Varane, who triumphed the Championnat National des 16 ans 44 in 2008.

Hazard's first professional career began on April 7, 2010, after agreeing to a three-year contract until June 2013. Hazard spent time with the senior team in the 2010-11 season. He scored a goal in a 1–1 draw with Belgian club Roeselare on his pre-season debut. Hazard, on the other hand, started the season with the club's Championnat de France amateur team in the fourth division. On August 8, 2010, he made his amateur debut in a 2–0 win over Drancy, as a replacement in a 2–0 win. Hazard was called to the senior team for the first time on May 11 in a Ligue 1 match against Bordeaux for the first time during the course of the season. Hazard did not participate in the match and finished the 2010-11 campaign with no senior squad appearances.

Hazard was promoted to the senior team permanently and handed the number 22 jersey for the 2011–12 season. In Lens' season-opening league match against Reims, he made his pro debut in the second half, serving as a second-half substitute. That season, he appeared in 14 league games.

Chelsea announced on its website on July 24th that the club had reached an agreement with Lens for the transfer of Hazard, only weeks after the signing of his brother Eden from Lille. In what was to be his only appearance in Chelsea colours before leaving the club, he made his debut on August 17th in an Under-21 Premier League match.

Hazard was taken on a season-long loan move to Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem on August 30, 2012. Rather than being pushed slowly by Chelsea, the move was made to give him first-team experience rather than being developed slowly by Chelsea.

In a 1–0 away victory over OH Leuven on September 15, he made his debut on September 15, 2012, making his debut on September 15, 2012. Hazard scored his first goal against Charleroi on October 31 in a 4–1 home victory. Hazard made an impressive play in a 5–2 loss at Club Brugge on May 16, 2013 from the penalty spot.

Chelsea and Waregem decided on July 15th, 2013-2014, Hazard will be loaned back to Hazard for another year until the end of the 2013-14 season. Zulte defeated Lierse on July 27 with a free kick and assisted a goal. Hazard scored a free-kick and assisted a goal.

Hazard would be replaced as club captain by experienced defender Davy De fauw on August 2nd, a reaction from a minority of the club's followers. Hazard recovered the captain's armband just less than 24 hours after receiving it. Following the incident, Chelsea reportedly agreed to make Thorgan the club captain, as one of the conditions in the loan agreement.

Hazard defeated Wigan Athletic 21-0 in the UEFA Europa League group stage match at the DW Stadium on November 28, 2013. He was named Zulte's Player of the Season and played in 53 games in all leagues. Hazard has also been named the Belgian Player of the Year Award.

Hazard was loaned to Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga from July 5th, 2014 to the 2014-15 season. Hazard wore the number 26 throughout his loan. Hazard made his debut in the DFB-Pokal 16 August 2014 by beating FC 08 Homburg 3–1. He was a substitute for Branimir Hrgota in the 78th minute. He appeared on the bench in the 67th minute on his first appearance in league against VfB Stuttgart on August 24th.

Hazard scored twice in Gladbach's 7–0 victory over FK Sarajevo in the UEFA Europa League play-offs on August 28, 2014, including a curling free-kick from 35 yards out. Hazard made his first appearance in the Bundesliga on September 24th, against Hamburger SV, who were 71 minutes before being substituted for Fabian Johnson in a 1–0 win. Hazard made his Bundesliga debut against Hertha BSC on December 6, 2014, his second start in the Bundesliga. Tony Jantschke assisted him with the first goal of the match in the first ten minutes as well as scoring the winning goal in the 83rd minute, his first of the Bundesliga season. The match came to a 3–2 victory, snapping the club's four-match winless streak.

Hazard promised to sign permanently for Borussia Monchengladbach on February 23, 2015, beginning 1 July. He began working on a five-year contract, and that will continue until June 2020, although Chelsea also has a buy-back agreement. The four-year deal was split into four years as well as one year optional. Chelsea paid for him at €8 million (£5.9 million), 16 times as much as Chelsea paid for him. Hazard hinted that his contract does include a buy-back guarantee and that he still dreams of returning to Stamford Bridge in the future in an interview. "I am focusing on excelling at Borussia Monchengladbach, but I do want to play for Chelsea one day," he said in a tweet.

Hazard scored in a 4–1 victory over FC St. Pauli in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on August 8, 2015, his first game since his move. After losing the first five games of the Bundesliga and André Schubert's appointment, he was unable to find a spot in the starting lineup. Hazard made his first appearance under Schubert on December 20th against Darmstadt 98, eventually receiving a preference from Schubert over Ibrahima Traoré on the right side. Hazard finished the season with four goals, two of which came in a match against Hertha BSC on April 3, 2016, a 5–0 victory.

Hazard scored his first hat-trick in a 6–1 victory over Swiss club Young Boys in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round on August 24, 2016, looking to extend his playing time and goalscoring going into the year. Mönchengladbach set a new personal record of 9–2 scoresline, the highest margin of victory in a play-off tie. In a Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen on September 17, Hazard and teammate Raffael scored first-half braces against Werder Bremen.

Chelsea hoped to use their buy-back guarantee on Hazard, according to club sport director Max Eberl, Chelsea did not have an explicit buy-back clause in Hazard's deal. "I signed a deal here because I want to play here," Hazard said in response to these rumors. Hazard scored his first UEFA Champions League goal against Barcelona on September 28th, opening the scoring against Barcelona in Borussia-Park before the visitors defeated 12-0.

He scored from the penalty spot on Friday to help his team beat Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich 21-0. Hazard also scored twice in a 2–1 victory over Hertha BSC, bringing a total total of 11 goals and six assists.

Hazard, Alassane Pléa, and Raffael all scored hat-tricks in an 11-1 victory over fifth-tier BSC Hastedt in the first round of the cup on August 19th.

Hazard joined Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract for a reported €25.5 million. Julian Brandt, a new teammate who arrived from Bayer 04 Leverkusen, joined the team at the same time as a new one.

International career

Hazard is a Belgian youth international who has represented his country at under-16, under-17, and the under-18 age groups. Hazard was a regular participant on the under-16 team. He made his debut in a tournament in Hassloch on September 16, 2008, losing 5–0. Hazard scored a goal in the team's next game in the tournament, against Macedonia, a 3–0 triumph. He scored goals in matches against Malta and Poland for the remainder of the under-16 campaign. Hazard also participated with the team in the 2009 edition of the Aegean Cup in Turkey. He appeared in all three matches as Belgium lost in the group stage portion of the tournament.

Hazard mainly played in competitive matches with the Under-17 team under Coach Bob Browaeys due to his increased involvement with Lens domestically. He competed with the Toto Cup, an annual international youth tournament held in Austria, in August 2009. Hazard scored his only goal with the team in a 1–1 draw with Montenegro in the first qualifying round of the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was then called up to the team in March 2010 for Elite Round qualifier matches in Northern Ireland. Hazard appeared in all three matches as Belgium failed to secure qualification for the tournament.

Hazard appeared in only one match with the under-18 team before deciding against the age group to represent the under-19 team in the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championships. He made his debut against Belarus on February 8th in a friendly match against Belarus, scoring the team's sole goal in a 1–0 win. Hazard had scored a penalty and won a 2–1 victory over Ukraine on March 27, 2011. Hazard appeared in Elite Round qualification for the 2011 European Under-19 Championship, helping with the entire match in all three group stage matches. Hazard scored the winner in the 88th minute in Belgium's second group stage match against Estonia, giving Belgium a 3–2 victory. With one game to spare, the nation qualified for the tournament. Belgium was unbeaten in the Elite Round of the Elite Round.

Hazard appeared in two of the three group stage matches Belgium hosted at the 2011 European Under-19 Championships. Hazard scored on the team's only goal in a 4–1 loss after his shot from distance was blocked by the Spanish defense and fell into the direction of teammate Florent Cuvelier, who converted his shot. Belgium finished last in its group, resulting in the team's being barred from the tournament.

Hazard stayed eligible to play on the under-19 team for the 2011–12 season despite being an underage player in the 2010–11 season. Hazard scored the team's first game of the season against Denmark by converting a penalty in a 1–1 draw. He scored his second goal in the team's 4–1 friendly match over Turkey on September 7, 2011. Hazard scored three goals in first round qualifying for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He scored a double in a 3–0 victory in the first group match against Wales, and Hazard netted the second goal in the team's final group match against Scotland, winning by 3–1. Hazard appeared in two of the team's three group stage matches, finishing third in the group behind favourites Spain and Italy in Elite Round qualification.

Hazard received his first senior call-up after being included in Marc Wilmots' 28-man squad ahead of a friendly against the United States and a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Serbia. In the 4–2 friendly victory over the United States on May 29, he made his senior international debut for Belgium as a second-half replacement for Chelsea teammate Romelu Lukaku. Hazard was one of seven standby players selected for Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup final stages. In a 1–1 Low Countries derby friendly against the Netherlands on November 9, 2016, he took his second cap after being barred from the bench for three and a half years.

Hazard scored his first goal in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus on October 10, 2017. Hazard was named in Belgium's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia on June 4, 2018. He made his tournament debut on June 18th, playing the final seven minutes of the group match against Panama in place of Dries Mertens, who lost by 3–0, and the Belgians secured their first match in Kaliningrad in the Netherlands' next match.

He scored one goal in Belgium's Group B match, a 2–1 win over Denmark in Euro 2020. Following a 1–0 win over Belgium on June 2021, he scored his 42nd minute goal outside the box against Portugal to advance to the Euro 2020 quarter finals.

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