Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wants playmaker Eden Hazard to keep putting the needs of the team ahead of his own personal glory after his starring role in the FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur. I never will understand this. He's always available to work and improve his weaknesses.
When the quote was put to Conte, however, the Italian reacted in an exasperated manner, suggesting he would rather lose games if it meant Hazard stopped pulling his weight for the wider effort. "They have been playing together for a while, yes they are a young side, but they competed for the title past year, they are four points behind us, they are in the FA Cup semi-final, they are a team that are where they are because they are playing very well and they are competitors".
"I don't want this and I can't accept this and I don't want it in my club". I hope to continue in this way.
Chelsea don't exactly have a habit of selling their best players under Roman Abramovich, but Hazard has revealed he's not yet close to extending his current contract.
Still, Conte's adherence to football's team ethic is a commendable one, even if major success is only ever guaranteed by individual star power adding a flourish to a hard-working core.
Still, Hazard's improvement has seen rumours of a possible departure from Stamford Bridge resurface, with Real recently linked with a big move to lure him to the Bernabeu.
That Poll About Trump Voters Having Zero Regrets? It's Bullshit
One of the interesting findings in our poll was that the economic anxiety for most Americans declined after the elections. Toomey says American troops could be headed there if the U.S.is serious about removing President Assad.
Chelsea are four points clear of second-placed Spurs with six league games remaining.
But Conte reckons players can only be great by playing as part of a team. "He's a really good player, a talented player". His sister [Melania] is a great striker in Italy for the national team, also.
Chelsea's on-field skipper Gary Cahill has recovered from gastroenteritis and is in contention to feature against Southampton after missing Saturday's FA Cup showdown.
Conte said: "First of all it's important to win for us and to look at ourselves". I don't want this for my club. But I think it was a very 50-50 game that could have gone either way. I was pleased for his performance.
Neither top scorer Diego Costa nor the player of the year front-runner Eden Hazard were selected to start the game with both players dropping to the bench.
Liam is ESPN FC's Chelsea correspondent.
Comments