Frank Lampard: Champion of Europe
Chelsea were supposed to win this trophy under Jose “the Special One” Mourinho and then were one penalty kick away from winning it in Moscow in 2008 under manager Avram Grant. You would have bet on them to win back then. And very few would have bet on the Blues to win the coveted European trophy this season – especially after a 6-place league finish and the firing of the highly touted manager Andre Villas-Boas. But that’s just what Chelsea did and as a result, according to fading star Frank Lampard, the win was sweeter than it could ever have been:
“I’m pleased we haven’t won it before, because it feels even more special,” he was quoted as saying in the Sun. “That might sound stupid but to wait so long and to do it the way we did with the season we’ve had, the spirit in the team – it’s amazing.
“I’ve been here 11 years and I’ve been waiting for this baby for a long time. I’ve never been so emotional in a game. Players were crying, tears in their eyes. Football can do that to people. It’s the best footballing night of my life – the hour we spent on the pitch with the fans afterwards.
“Right now it feels like the crowning moment of my career. The feeling of not winning it for so long almost makes it feel better. No one wants to have sad moments and miss out on it a lot.
“But the circumstances of the season, everything from where we were to where we are now, the circumstances make it feel absolutely massive. You can see that in the celebrations.
“If you had asked me three months ago if we would win this competition, I would have laughed. But we have done. The key players have been there a long time and we want to win, we are determined to win, in the dressing room we have a tough group.
“We struggled earlier in the season, confidence was low, but there is a real determination here, and when times are hard, we dig in. Teams are always changing, but why should we stop now? We want to carry on, move forwards.
“We’ve won the FA Cup and now the Champions League and the determination and spirit we have shown, it’s been fantastic. Robbie’s got to take a lot of credit and it shows an amazing spirit and group we’ve got here.”
I must say that I am very happy for Frank. I have been one of his biggest critics over the years – mostly because I have thought him over-rated and thought that he thought himself to be better than he actually was. I also thought that AVB was correct in limiting his playing time.
But he is now a champion of Europe and he deserves credit for being one of the eleven men on the pitch for the whole match and one of Chelsea’s penalty-shoot-out scorers.
Well done Frank. I also think that this type of win is especially sweet and you will be able to savour it to the end of your days.
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