The 24-year-old managed to help France shut out Belgium in the 2018 World Cup semi-final
Bayern Munich right-back Benjamin Pavard has said that Real Madrid‘s Eden Hazard is the toughest opponent he’s faced in his career.
The pair faced off in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, with Pavard and France edging out Hazard and Belgium by a 1-0 scoreline.
France would go on to win the World Cup, with Pavard and co taking home their country’s second world title after Zinedine Zidane led France to the 1998 World Cup on home soil.
Unsurprisingly, Pavard named Zidane as his childhood hero when quizzed by SPORT1 in a rapid-fire Q&A, adding that Hazard is the toughest opponent he’s faced.
Pavard said that playing in the World Cup and emerging as a champion would change his life, as the then-Stuttgart defender earned a move to Bayern Munich six months after lifting the trophy in Russia.
“I won the World Cup title and play at Bayern Munich, one of the largest clubs in the world, because people pay more attention to you,” Pavard said.
“All of a sudden, a lot more people knew my name after the World Cup and since I started playing at Bayern, it has increased again. I am under closer scrutiny, but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve always dreamed of winning titles. I won the World Cup, the biggest title ever – but I don’t rest on that.”
The 24-year-old developed as a centre-back but with France and Bayern he has played mainly as a right-back. Though he is happy anywhere on the field, Pavard has admitted that playing in the middle is his position of choice.
“When I’m on the pitch, I’m happy – whether as a right-back or a centre-back,” Pavard said. “Apart from that, I prefer to play in central defense. Overall, I see myself as a defensive player who can be used flexibly. I think it’s very important and helpful for a coach that I can play in all four positions in defense.”
Pavard and Bayern Munich are currently sidelined as the coronavirus pandemic has brought football all over the world to a halt. The Bundesliga is targeting a return next month but should Pavard and his team-mates return to the field, they will do so without fans in the stands.
With Bayern currently leading the Bundesliga by four points, Pavard admits it would be strange to lift a league title without supporters around to celebrate.
“We would rather win the title in front of our fans, after all we play for them to make them happy,” Pavard said. “In addition, the fans are our 12th man and incredibly important to us.
“But it is also important that football continues. We are all competitors who want to win titles in the end. So we’ll do everything we can to get as many titles as possible, even if it wouldn’t be the same in front of empty stands.”
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