Hazard names Chelsea manager he didn't enjoy working under despite 'best' spell

19 February 2024 , 09:56

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Eden Hazard has opened up about his time working under Antonio Conte (Image: Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Eden Hazard has admitted he did not enjoy training when Antonio Conte was Chelsea boss, despite admitting the Italian's spell in charge was his "best time" at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard enjoyed great success in his seven seasons at Chelsea, which saw him work under a number of managers including Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Maurizio Sarri, Guus Hiddink and Roberto Di Matteo.

However, he believes it was Conte who got the best out of him, despite the forward not enjoying his intense training session. In an appearance on the Obi One Podcast with his former Blues teammate John Obi Mikel, Hazard said: "I think my best time at Chelsea was with Antonio Conte."

And when Mikel pointed out that Hazard did not enjoy training under Conte, the Belgian simply replied: "Not at all. All the week training. I was going out Saturday, I need to enjoy a little bit because I know the day after is going to be back on the training ground.

"I have to do something, it's my only 90 minutes I can enjoy. You remember him, stopping, tactics, 'no we have to do that'. Saturday was the best day for me." Hazard spent two seasons working under Conte, scoring 34 goals in 94 appearances as the Blues won the Premier League and FA Cup.

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Despite not enjoying his training methods, Hazard has previously admitted the Italian had a big impact on him. Speaking after Conte's first season in charge of the club, Hazard said he felt he had improved after just one week of working with the 54-year-old.

"Even after a week I think I had progressed with him," Hazard said back in 2017. "But I think he's shown not just at Chelsea but also at Juve that he's a good coach and I think he has some good years ahead of him.

"There's a lot of tactics. It's not always nice as a forward as you have to run, defend and everything, but at least at the weekend, you know exactly what to do, you can even close your eyes and play. That's good.

"We work a lot. It's not always easy in training, there are a lot of hours of training, but it bears fruit on the pitch. We play well, we won last year. You can see that that's the key to success: work."

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Matthew Cooper