The manager of Chelsea football club, Frank Lampard, has admitted that his relationship with the manager of Tottenham Hotspur Jose Mourinho has changed but not negatively.
Frank Lampard was a footballer at Chelsea when Jose Mourinho was a coach at the club between 2004 and 2007 and when the manager returned to the club in 2013, Frank Lampard was still playing at the club. The former England international left Mourinho at Chelsea in 2014 to join Manchester City for a season-long deal. He then moved to Major League Soccer to play for New York City soccer club in 2015.
When he retired from football, Frank Lampard returned to England to coach Championship side Derby County between 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, agreed to allow Lampard to manage Chelsea.
A few months after, Tottenham Hotspur appointment Jose Mourinho to manage Spurs, a London rival of Chelsea. Since then, Frank Lampard has faced Jose Mourinho as a coach on three occasions, twice in the Premier League and once in the EFL Cup. Lampard won the two Premier League meetings and lost the EFL Cup match via penalty shootouts.
On Sunday, November 29, Frank Lampard will host Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in a must-win Premier League match for both teams. Tottenham is currently topping the table with 20 points and they need a win to maintain their position. While Chelsea is third on the league table with 18 points and they need a win to maintain their status as a league title contender.
So, Frank Lampard who spent 13-years of his football career playing for Chelsea and about four years of his career playing under Mourinho at the club, understands how competitive both of them are and that has changed the kind of relationship that exists between them.
He said: “I left Chelsea in 2014 and my life went in different directions, and when you are a professional generally you are so consumed and busy in your life that the relationship changes.
“We were always very cordial. If I see Jose, if I talk about him or if we send messages to each other, we’ve always had a good relationship.
“Naturally now, when we are managers of big clubs that are rivals, I think it does change the relationship. Not in a bad way – I’ve got no problem with him. We are very competitive people and we both want to do well.
“I think when I speak about Jose I always show how much respect I have for him. I’ve always felt that back from him.”
The big #CHETOT talking points covered! 💭 pic.twitter.com/t4vTte7wRX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 28, 2020
On the opportunity the owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, gave him to manage the club in 2019, Frank Lampard said: “I certainly have always felt his support over the years, as a player when he first came to the club and as the years have gone by – whether he is here or not,” said Lampard.
“I’m very thankful for him doing what he has done for the club because it changed my career as a player. Now I am fortunate enough to be working at this fantastic club as a manager…
“I am genuinely very thankful for what Roman Abramovich has brought to the club and my part of the deal is to do my absolute best to get us back fighting for titles. The gap had opened, now we’re working to try and close it.”
