Conte would give Ballon D’Or to Kanté over Hazard
Antonio Conte has admitted that he would give N’Golo Kanté his vote for the Ballon D’Or – not Eden Hazard.
However, he does accept that the Belgian is the more likely man to win it in the future, purely due to the glamorisation of forward players.
The Chelsea duo both made the Top 20 list for this year’s award, which was eventually won for the fifth time by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Conte thinks that the coaches’ choice would be the current PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year, Kanté, despite Hazard being long considered, alongside Neymar, to dethrone Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He said;
For me, Ballon d’Or is Ballon d’Or but for a coach, Kanté has to win – for every coach.
If you ask coaches we would take this decision. But in reality, it would be very difficult for him to win.
Paolo Maldini never won, and he was the best defender in the world. Gianluigi Buffon never won, he was the best goalkeeper in the world.
But this is the story of the Ball d’Or. You have to respect it is a particular classification.
Honestly, I don’t know if Kante can win it because of his characteristics. He doesn’t score a lot of goals but he is a great worker.
Despite favouring the French midfielder, Conte admits that Hazard has the ability to win it. On Hazard’s fantastic form, Conte said;
I like to call it a ‘sacred fire’. Every one of us, we have this sacred fire and we have to find the right solution to improve it.
When you have an inferno it means you are like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar. Eden has right characteristic to try to fight with these giants.