Former Ivorian soccer player Yaya Touré, in an extensive analysis dedicated to the importance of the “butt” in football to eliminate rivals, praised the clever use made of it by Belgian captain Eden Hazard, whom he considers the best in the world maneuvering with his buttocks in the melee.
“It has almost become a joke how big his butt is,” the 38-year-old former FC Barcelona and Manchester City player and assistant coach of Russian Akhmat Grozny said about Hazard in an article published by the American media The Athletic .
In a text entitled “Why the asses are so important in football”, Touré recounts his own experience going from Spanish football, with more space and less contact, to English, where the defenders jumped on him as soon as they received, the Referees were more forgiving in melee and he had difficulty playing, until a City physiotherapist told him that he had to gain strength in his buttocks and hips.
From there, the Ivorian analyzes the use made of their glutes by different top-level footballers, such as the French Paul Pogba, the Scottish John McGinn, the English Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane or the Belgian Romelu Lukaku. And it stops at Hazard.
“When the ball hits Hazard, he can already feel the opponent coming towards him, so he waits until the last moment and uses his butt to block it. He pushes the opponent, almost like a punch, and then when he has opened that space between him and the defender, he will move away and start the attack, “he writes.
Touré says that there are other footballers who use the same technique, such as the French Antoine Griezmann, the Uruguayan Luis Suárez or the Argentine Sergio Agüero. “But there’s no one better at it than Eden Hazard. The way he can control the ball after using his butt, the way he uses his butt, his body and his hips to protect the ball when defenders run towards him, the way it can spin in any direction after impact … it’s amazing, “he writes.
The Ivorian regrets the many injuries the Belgian has suffered since his arrival at Real Madrid two seasons ago and wishes him to regain his best form, as when he played for Chelsea, because “when Hazard is at his best, there is no many players in the world who are better. ”
“Eden Hazard uses both legs, a big butt and can turn in any direction,” adds the ex-footballer, who ends the article by recommending that fans look at the players “who use their butts when the ball hits them.” “It is a secret weapon and nobody talks about it,” he concludes.
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