Courtois Beats Chelsea Teammate To National Award

Courtois Beats Chelsea Teammate To National Award

Thibaut Courtois has been awarded the Belgian sportsman of the year and has beaten his very own Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard, after the goalkeeper performed ever so consistently throughout last season for Atletico Madrid and the national side, according to the Daily Mail.

Chelsea played Derby County away in the Capital One cup, and Jose Mourinho fielded a relatively strong opposition against a team in a league lower to the Barclays Premier League. Petr Cech started in goal while Hazard was also retained in the starting eleven, giving the due respect to Steve McClaren’s team. While Hazard and Filipe Luis scored a goal each to give the Blues a lead, Derby came back into it, scoring in the 71st minute through Craig Bryson. However, this joy was short-lived as Schurrle, who is in scintillating form, finished the game off with a third goal for the visitors, putting Chelsea in the semifinals of the cup.

Courtois is touted as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and the agile stopper had an excellent run of loan spells at Atletico. The Spanish outfit, under the leadership of Diego Simeone, performed at the highest level, and eventually beat both Real Madrid and Barcelona to the La Liga title. The 22-year old was appreciated for his vital role in the title win, and Mourinho eventually dropped Cech to the number two position, while Courtois captured the elusive number one spot.