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Lampard appointed at Chelsea as Sarri's successor

Chelsea have replaced Maurizio Sarri with club favourite Frank Lampard, despite having just one season of managerial experience at Derby County.

Frank Lampard

Bengaluru, July 4: Frank Lampard has been named Chelsea's new head coach to replace Maurizio Sarri who joined Serie a champions Juventus, returning to the club where he spent 13 years as a player.

The 41-year-old returns to the club after having served as the head coach of Derby County, a club that currently plays in the Championship, the second-division league in English football.

Lampard served the club for a season, having been appointed in May, 2018.

Chelsea, who finished third in the Premier League and won Europa League after beating Arsenal 4-1 in the final, made the announcement on their club website, which was shared on their Twitter handle.

"I'm 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'm here to work hard, bring further success to the club and I cannot wait to get started," Lampard told the club website after inking the deal.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia welcomed Lampard on board, "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's one of the most talented young coaches in the game".

Despite his limited coaching experience, many television pundits and former players like Rio Ferdinand and Harry Redknapp had opined that Lampard is the best suited for the Chelsea job.

But at Stamford Bridge, to begin with, Lampard will have to start on the backfoot as he will be unable to bring in new players due to the transfer ban imposed on the club and will also have to cope with the departure of star winger Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Derby County wished Lampard all the best for his new venture.

"Derby County can confirm that Frank Lampard has parted company with the club and has been appointed as the new Head Coach of Chelsea. Thank you and good luck, Frank," the club tweeted.

Lampard, who took his first step into coaching with Derby in 2018-19 had come within one win of guiding the club to Premier League promotion as they lost to Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final.

His imminent departure to Chelsea was more less confirmed when Lampard was excused from reporting back for pre-season training.

Story first published: Thursday, July 4, 2019, 14:24 [IST]
Other articles published on Jul 4, 2019