Frank Lampard dismisses criticism of aging players at Stamford Bridge
English Premier League Champion, Chelsea, seems to be the most in-form team in England at present. But there has been criticism regarding its increasing number of aging players.
There is this feeling that the number of games involved in one season that include League games, Cup games and Champions league might have an impact on those Chelsea players who are more on the wrong side of 30.
However, Chelsea’s midfielder Frank Lampard has dismissed this criticism saying that he has no worries as far as the aging players in the team are concerned. He added that Chelsea is ready and capable of going all the way this time in the Champions’ League; with the final of this season being played at Wembley it would be the perfect time to break the European curse.
Chelsea completed a league and cup double last season, which was the first for Carlo Ancelotti. Lampard believes that his team is playing great football but is yet to hit its best form. Lampard is 32 while the trio of Nicolas Anelka, Yossi Benayoun and Didier Drogba is 30. Similarly, Captain John Terry and Ashley Cole are both 29 years old.
Lampard maintained that age factor isn’t that important, rather it is the understanding between the players that has its significance. Lampard has just recovered from a hernia operation. He did not play in the Euro 2012 qualifiers for England.
In an interview, he said, "It is a load of rubbish when I hear talk about there only being one or two years left in our spine. This has been going on for a year or so now. Sometimes, that is mind games from other managers, or press talk. But we proved them wrong last year. We have got players here who are experienced and you can't buy experience in football. Look at Didier; he will overpower any player who is 24 or 25”.
The England midfielder stated that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs of Manchester United are two prime examples that age doesn’t have much of a bearing on the performance of a player. Both these players have been playing at the highest level for almost two decades, and until now never has the suggestion been made that it’s time for them to hang their boots. He further added that Ferguson knows how to blend experience with youth and that is the secret of his long term success. He hoped that the same would happen at Chelsea.
The former West Ham player said that Ancelotti is an experienced man and has enjoyed success in different parts of Europe. He would know how to blend in the youngsters but that does not mean that the whole outlook of the team has to change.
The midfielder admitted that in the early part of his career he did not get the success he had hoped for, but now he is enjoying the best time of his career and is looking forward to many more silverware at Stamford Bridge. Frank Lampard has won 3 Premier League Titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Carling Cup trophies with Chelsea and it would be at least 3 or 4 more years before he decides to call it a day. He said that by the time he is done with the game he would like to have a trophy cabinet filled with great memories and he would give it his all to achieve that.
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