Chelsea: Success with Frank Lampard
Chelsea; the English Champions have produced some wonderful players over the past decade. Since the takeover of the club by the Russian oil tycoon, Roman Abramovich, the club has bought some big names that have helped Chelsea bring home 3 Premier League
titles, 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, runners-up in the UEFA Champions League in 2007-2008 and 3 times in the Premier League. This is a great achievement for a club that had won just one premier league title since it was established in 1905. A club can progress
so much in a decade due to a bunch of reasons; a stable financial state, a supportive owner, a sharp and intelligent manager, a good coaching staff and last but not the least, a great team.
Chelsea has had a great team over the past decade and they’ve had some incredible players; home-grown and international. Players like Dennis Wise, John Terry, Gianfranco Zola and Carlo Cudicini are the prominent names in helping the club towards success.
During all these years there was a player amongst all of these great names growing in stature as well as maturity; Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard began his youth career at West Ham United and made his premier league debut at the club as well. In 2001, he transferred to Chelsea for £11 and what a great signing it proved to be for the Londoners. He played 164 consecutive games in the
premier league after making his debut in the 2001/2002 season. He’s made 477 appearances for Chelsea scoring 159 goals in all competitions, a remarkable feat. Lampard has been named the PFA Player of the season twice, UEFA Midfielder of the year and was runner-up
to Ronaldinho when he was nominated for Ballon D’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
When Jose Mourinho was given the job to manage Chelsea in 04/05, the likes of Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and many others were brought to the club. Many thought that Lampard would leave due to the competition
to get a spot in the starting eleven as he said ‘I admit I was somewhat concerned when we started to sign so many players - naturally you are going to worry about whether you can retain your place in the side.’ But he proved everyone wrong, helping Chelsea
to their first premier league title in 50 years and getting the PFA Player of the year award in his first season. He’s scored over 20 goals in every season for the past 5 years. He has, arguably, been the most influential player for Chelsea after his arrival
at the Club. When Mourinho left, many thought Lampard would leave for Inter the following season and reunite with Mourinho in Italy but he remained loyal to Chelsea, the club that gave him so much fame, respect and loving fans.
Lampard was already established at Chelsea and was named the vice-captain when mid-fielders were coming and leaving the club around him. Essien, Deco, Ballack, Joe Cole, Malouda, Makelele, Maniche and many other names have played alongside Lampard in midfield.
He never let any other midfielders endanger his spot due to his extraordinary performances. His trademark runs, always being at the right place at the right time for the rebounds, long through balls, flawless spot kicks, and great leadership skills in the
absence of his captain, made him arguably the greatest player in the history of the club.
At the age of 32, he’s still fit and plays with pride and passion for both club and country. Playing against other remarkable midfielders in the league like Steven Gerrard, Cesc Fabregas and Paul Scholes, Lampard has arguably been the best of them all when
you look at his consistency, fitness and goal-scoring form. Jose Mourinho once said, ‘Frank is the best player in the world’, and this comes from a man who himself is called the ‘The Special One’. Astounding! In the end, it would be naïve to admit otherwise,
that it would be hard to replace Lampard at Chelsea.
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