Chelsea have appointed Frank Lampard as their new manager in a three-year deal.
Lampard will replace Maurizio Sarri who left for Juventus after leading Chelsea to the Europa League and a third-place finish in the Premier League.
One of the best midfielders in the world during his playing days, Lampard spent 13 years at Chelsea as a player, making 640 appearances. Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time top scorer with 209 goals and also provided 150 assists for the club.
After leaving Chelsea, Lampard had short stints with Manchester City and New York City before retiring in 2016.
Last summer, Lampard became Derby County’s manager and nearly took them to the Premier League. Derby managed to beat Manchester United in the Carabao Cup while narrowly losing to Chelsea.
A few days back, Derby issued a statement where they granted Chelsea permission to hold talks with Lampard about the managerial job. And now, the 41-year old who is widely regarded as Chelsea’s greatest footballer ever, is Chelsea’s new manager.
Upon his appointment, Lampard said, “I am immensely proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach. Everyone knows my love for this club and the history we have shared, however, my sole focus is on the job in hand and preparing for the season ahead. I am here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started.”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said of Lampard’s appointment, “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Frank back to Chelsea as head coach. Frank possesses fantastic knowledge and understanding of the club and last season, he demonstrated he is one of the most talented young coaches in the game.
“After 13 years with us as a player, where he became a club legend and our record goalscorer, we believe this is the perfect time for him to return and are delighted he has done so. We will do everything we can to ensure he has all the support required to be a huge success.”
One could argue that Lampard does not have sufficient managerial experience to manage a club of Chelsea’s stature. However, Lampard’s stint at Derby County and his understanding of Chelsea’s culture is enough to suggest that he will do a good job at the club.
Lampard’s stint at Chelsea will begin next week when the club travel to Dublin to play a friendly against Irish club Bohemians.
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