Frank Lampard Happy To Return To Chelsea After Disappointing World Cup
After returning from a disappointing World Cup campaign with England, Frank Lampard revealed that his number one priority was defending the Premier League title. Chelsea won the Premier League and FA Cup in an emphatic style, scoring a total of 100 plus goals in the League, with Drogba claiming the golden boot, goalkeeper Petr Cech sharing the golden glove with Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina, and Lampard scoring 27 goals – a career best.
Despite their win last season, Lampard admitted that there was work to be done if they hoped to repeat last season’s success. Especially going on their pre season friendlies, which have ended in 2-1 losses to Frankfurt and Hamburg. Lampard is hopeful Chelsea will find their form, ahead of the Sunday clash with rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield. He is also confident that Chelsea will be fully equipped to take on West Brom, as they kick of their title defense at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
“Obviously we're not going to be quite there yet, but that's what it is this pre-season. I think a lot of clubs are having the same problem, trying to get players who played in the World Cup fit as quick as possible. My main concern is to be fit for the first game of the season. We haven't had the best results but its normal because a lot of big players for us have came back late, the important thing is what happens when the business starts on Sunday and next week.” Lampard told reporters.
Lampard said that returning to Stamford Bridge was a pleasure after the World Cup disappointment England faced. “It's almost a breath of fresh air to come back to Chelsea, we won the Double last year and there's no negative mental effect from that at all. It's exciting to be back. The rest [after World Cup elimination] was about a month, and I was ready to be back by the time it came around.”
But before Chelsea can start their title defense, Lampard and the rest of his England colleagues will put on their England shirts once again to take on Hungary in a friendly at Wembley. Some managers do not think the friendly comes at a good time, and Lampard agrees with them. He said he also felt that the international fixture was not ideal as the Premier League was about to kick off, but admitted that England needed to prepare for the Euro 2012 qualifying games.
Lampard praised Michael Essien, who was missing for the large part of last season due to injury and who also missed the World Cup, but has a made a comeback for The Blues. Essien was crucial for the Blues as he performed the role of the holding midfielder to perfection and played an important role in capturing the 2005-2006 Premier League title. “He's been a huge loss, you can never underestimate what a player like Michael Essien can do in your squad. He's one of the best players around in any position he plays in, I think we need that because we've lost a few players.” Lampard said.
The missing players that he was referring to were obviously Joe Cole, who moved to Liverpool on a free transfer, Michael Ballack, who returns to Germany this summer and Brazilian Juliano Belletti and Portuguese Deco, who transferred to Fluminense. Blues manager, Ancelotti was expected to spend big and sign some big names this summer, having been previously linked with Aguero, Kaka, Fernando Torres and Ozil. However, the only major signings he has made so far are former Liverpool player, Yossi Benayoun and the 23 year old Brazilian Ramires.
However, Lampard is trusts Ancelotti to make the right decisions. “It's very nice, he obviously fitted in very quickly last year and the players respect it. Everyone understands he's a very good man and the way he works looks very decent from the outside, and he was obviously brilliant for us.” Lampard said. The transfer window closes 31st August, and there might still be some surprise signings by Chelsea.
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