Posts Tagged ‘Frank Lampard’

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Lampard: We are not afraid of Ronaldo

September 18th, 2008

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard insisted that his side has nothing to worry even if Manchester United’s hit man Cristiano Ronaldo is declared fit for the coming game.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men will face European Champions on Sunday at Stamford Bridge with high morale after they scored seven goals in the last two wins over City and Bordeaux.

Ronaldo received PFA Player of the Year after he was instrumental in United’s double in the previous season.

Reports confirmed that the Portuguese winger was edging back from his ankle surgery. However, Lampard said ‘I have no idea about what his current situation and I’m not concerned too.

‘Going with the present form, Ronaldo might be the world’s best player. After what he achieved during the previous season for his club, you are ought to be impressed by the player. However if Red Devils put him on the field, we will have no other options but to deal with him.’

‘Our current lot can handle United’s strongest team. There is no reason why will we be looking to face a weakened side. The only thing in our mind is to beat them.’

Meanwhile, the availability of John Terry for the crucial encounter has also given a boost to Chelsea’s preparation.

A red card decision, which could have ruled England International Terry out for 3 games, has been overruled by a panel after Blues filed an appeal against it.

United’s boss Sir Alex Ferguson, whose midfield star Michael Carrick will miss out with injury that he sustained during the Liverpool Game, will be looking forward to have his best men on the field against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Man U

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Scolari hoping for fit key players before City clash

September 11th, 2008

Scolari, the current Chelsea boss, has been keeping his fingers crossed so that no more players of his team reports of being injured (in the process become unavailable) after their international duty. In fact, Chelsea has an all important match against Manchester City within a few days.

In recent times, the London based club have been rocked by a series of injuries from its key players including midfielder Michael Essien, who has been ruled out for six months after suffering from a ruptured anterior ligament while he was away with Ghana.

With no immediate replacement available for Essien, who needs an extensive period of rehabilitation after a surgery and the transfer window closed till the month of January, the plans of Chelsea’s manager has taken some serious blows.

The only good news lies in the fact that John Obi Mikel from Nigeria is expected to be fully fit after he was suffering from a leg problem and is likely to face City.

Luiz Felipe Scolari also hopes for an injury free John Terry, Ashley Cole, Wayne bridge, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, when they return to Cobham shortly.

Michael Ballack from Germany still remains troubled by his foot injury adding to Scolari’s woes.

With the likely return of key striker Didier Drogba on Saturday, Chelsea is expected to receive a welcome boost.

Drogba has been out too with a knee problem and failed to feature in any of the matches this season. But, the coach expects him to play only 45 minutes against Manchester City, as he is still yet to recover fully.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Chelsea Vs Portsmouth: Scolari’s Brazilian flair helps The Blues thrash Pompey 4-0

August 18th, 2008

Chelsea came out all guns blazing in their first game of the new season, as they won 4-0 against a Portsmouth side that seemed to have had lost its bearings completely in a goal fest. This game announced the arrival of Luiz Filipe Scolari, the revival of Frank Lampard and the debut of playmaker Deco.

The scoring started as early as in the 12th minute, when Joe Cole scored a brilliant goal to set the home crowd dancing and cheering on their feet.

The second goal came from the only senior striker available in Stamford Bridge Side at the moment, when Nicholas Anelka found the goal with his nearly perfect header to a cross from full back Jose Bosingwa.

Just when the first half was to end, a cross from Cole was ‘hand balled’ by Pompey defender Distin. When Frank Lampard was about to take the spot kick, Portsmouth keeper David James witnessed the only booking of the match, a yellow card for kicking the ball. Nevertheless, Lampard scored from the spot, as the crowd went louder.

Peter Crouch failed to impress with his play and understanding with Jermain Defoe.

Barring some forced saves from Peter Cech and a great block of a Niko Kranjcar’s shot by Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea were driving without any breaks from the start and a crisp finish by Deco in the 89th minute brought the game to a 4-0 finish for the home side.

Meanwhile, Manchester United lack the flair shown by the London Club and were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle in Old Trafford. Another match saw a hat-trick from Agbonlahor, England U-21 International, as Aston Villa came on top against Manchester City 4-2 at Villa Park.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Portsmouth

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Frank Lampard to stay with Chelsea till 2013

August 14th, 2008

Frank Lampard has signed a new five year contract with Chelsea that extends his stay at the club till 2013. The charismatic midfielder, who hails from England, is at present one of the highest earners in Chelsea.

According to reports, his decision to stay with the football club was more an emotional one rather than professional.

Lampard lost his mother Pat in April this year and at that time got a lot of support from his teammates.

During the London Club’s face off against Manchester United in last season in which the Stanford Bridge’s side emerged winners, the players came out with a shirt having Lampard’s name on it. According to sources, the midfielder received a lot of emotional support from his teammates after the death of his mother.

Lampard said that he was very much helped by his teammates in those trying times and the support he received from the club was something he would never forget. It was because of this loyalty, the England midfielder has decided to stay with the club despite lucrative offers from Inter Milan.

The midfielder said that he made his decision after prolonged thoughts on what would be best for him. The player was very determined to get a five year deal despite turning 30 this year, as he felt there would be no compromise in his play due to his age.

Lampard has said that he had no qualms about his decision of continuing to play at the Stamford Bridge and not joining former Chelsea manager and close friend, Jose Mourinho, at Inter Milan and wished him all the best for his future.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Chelsea thrashes Chengdu Blades 7-0

July 31st, 2008

Chelsea continued their Asian tour on a high by beating the Chinese league club Chengdu Blades 7-0 on Saturday. The players who gave the Stanford Bridge side comfortable lead in the half time at Macau Stadium were Nicolas Anelka, Solomon Kalou and Frank Lampard. In the second half, Chelsea was handed an extravagant lead by Franco Di Santo, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Philips.

Paulo Ferreira came in to replace injured Bosingwa who plays in right-back, and the other players, who were included into the club, were Alex and Wright-Philips. In their last match against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Wednesday, Chelsea defeated the side 4-0 at the expenses of key players like Ricardo Carvalho, Mikel Obi and key midfielder Michael Essien.

In the match against the Blades, Chelsea gained possession and dominated all the exchanges and the proceedings similar to the start they had on Wednesday’s pre-season opener. There were some excellent shots from Kalou & Essien but both of them were saved dramatically by the Chengdu goalie Lan Yi. Chelsea opened scoring after fifteen minutes of play in the first half.

Anelka went unmarked charging into the opposition’s. When the France striker went passed the Blades’ offside traps, he artistically rounded Lan to hit the ball rolling into the goal. In another terrific attempt, Kalou crossed Lampard to fire the ball into an empty net and the Chinese goalkeeper Lan made a vain attempt to save the goal.

Chelsea made five half-time changes. Cole was introduced as his first pre-season appearance, since he missed the opening game due to lack of fitness. Cole was effective after 2 minutes of his introduction and scored a wonderful goal deceiving the goalkeeper completely.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Ballack hits back at Ferguson on Chelsea’s behalf

July 31st, 2008

Following remarks from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that Chelsea is too old a team this season to win any silverware, midfielder Michael Ballack has hit back pointing the example of last season when Claude Makelele, 34 set the stage on fire with Chelsea.

Mekalele is no longer with Chelsea, but Ballack believes that the performance by the midfielder was exactly the counter to the allegations by Ferguson.

German Captain has recently joined the rest of the club squad for a match later today with Chinese Super League side Chengdu Blades at Macau.

Coach Scolari has confirmed that the German playmaker will not participate in today’s match, or Tuesday’s one against a weak Malaysian select XI in Kuala Lumpur. However, he has said that Ballack can get a chance during the Railway Cup at Moscow in the start of August.

Ballack’s late joining to the squad made him come back to the team sans Steve Sidwell, who has left for Aston Villa and Claude Makelele, who has been sold to Paris St Germain. A new and top quality addition to Stamford Bridge this season is Portugese attacking midfielder Deco, who has impressed one and all at the club.

Talking of the transfer fiasco involving Frank Lampard, Chelsea and Inter Milan, Ballack said that he would be more than happy, if Lampard stays at Stamford Bridge, and that all the squad members support him.

In the end, Ballack said that he feels that the squad is better, and they will progress a lot with new coach Scolari.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Premier League

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Kaka move to Chelsea gets thumbs down

July 24th, 2008

AC Milan has finally sealed all the news regarding a Kaka transfer, at least for now. The club was reportedly offered a huge amount of money by Chelsea. However, they have refused, bringing all the speculation and wild guesswork to an end.

Looking at the condition Chelsea are already in, this try to get Kaka is no more than another ‘business minded’ plan by the Russian owner Roman Abramovich, since the club has already three attacking midfielders in Englishman Frank Lampard, German Michael Ballack and the newly acquired Brazil-born Portuguese international Deco.

However, this may seem to be a great investment for the ‘not-so-near’ future, since both Lampard and Ballack have said that they are in no great hurry to sign contract extensions at Stamford Bridge. With their contracts left for only a year each, it can be a dangerous position for the Blues.

Chelsea, during this transfer season lost some key players in Hernan Crespo and Mekalele, and potentially good youngster Steve Sidwell.

Still, according to executive Peter Kenyon, the London Club is not interested in pursuing this deal as they know the Italian side is not interested.

In an English transfer season which seems to be plagued by ‘refusals’ rather than transfers and ‘complaints’ by managers for conduct, which they too are later accused of, it is not a rare thing to see. Much of the transfers are hyped more than required, just to be refused in the coming days.

Whether or not this seemingly cancelled deal is bagged by Chelsea, they have a great side and seem to be in great shape in their pre-season in China. Premiership teams – Beware!

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, General

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Scolari accepts gamble to bring world-class football Chelsea

July 14th, 2008

Former Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has admitted the fact that Chelsea has surely “gambled” by choosing him to be the new manager for the upcoming season. However, he also insisted that he will be striving hard for repaying the London based club by getting extraordinary football at Stamford Bridge.

Scolari was named successor of former Chelsea’s coach Avram Grant in the middle of the Euro 2008, when he was managing Portugal. Despite having some good records which includes the world cup victory with Brazil, people doubted Scolari on his lacking knowledge of the European clubs football in top flight.

The 59-year old Scolari have told the media that his focus will be confined on European success and has not chosen to cast his net wider. He continued to say that his pressure will not only be to win just Champions League, but to desire to be world class as always.

He added that he wants his players to get motivated to do good not only in Champions Cup, but also in other competitions like the FA Cup, Premier League and the Carling Cup. He insisted saying that he is not afraid of his job and will try his best to bring glory to Chelsea.

With his latest acquisitions including Portugal midfielder Deco and almost standing in front of the transfers of stars Didier Drogba & Frank Lampard from Stanford Bridge, he looks all set to make an impact in his first tenure with an English Club.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, General

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Lampard and Drogba to stay at Chelsea

July 10th, 2008

Chelsea F.C. coach Luiz Filipe Scolari has insisted that the club is not willing to sell its star players, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. He added that both these players have a future with him at Stanford Bridge.

An official 7.95 million pound offer was made by Italian side, Inter Milan, for midfielder Frank Lampard, after former Chelsea Coach Jose Mourinho took their charge. In response, Chelsea have reportedly rejected this offer, saying that they are not willing to sell Lampard and have ‘no interest’ in any negotiations on this issue with Milan.

It has been said that Lampard, the player with most Chelsea caps and goals in the current squad, has told coach Scolari that he is happy staying at Stamford Bridge disregarding the statement issued by his agent, who stated that his future with the club remained ‘unresolved’.

Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast captain, was also pursued by Inter Milan’s rival AC Milan. According to Scolari, the blues are waiting for an offer just to reject it and keep the forward in their squad.

Although no words of confirmation have yet come from Drogba or his agent, still the 2006-07 Premiership Golden Boot winner and African Footballer of the Year has given enough indication for his desire to stay longer at Stamford Bridge.

New manager Scolari, who is also the 2-time South American Coach of the Year and known to have a friendly reputation with his players, looks to be all set for propeling Chelsea to a better and well-organized team, and henceforth, leading them to more success.

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Posted in AC Milan, Chelsea FC, General, Inter Milan, Premiership

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Christiano Ronaldo

June 20th, 2008

 Christiano Ronaldo: Inter also showing interest in United’s Star Winger

There has been a lot of speculation over the future of Manchester United and Portugal star, Christiano Ronaldo. There has been a rife all through this summer for the current FIFA Player of the Year. However, the major focus has tilted upon the debate in between Real Madrid and Manchester United, his current club.

Now there is another twist in the tale, as yet another European Club is seemingly in the race for this wonderful winger from Portugal.

Jose Mourinho, new manager of Inter Milan, is sure to start the coming season with some fresh faces and has Deco (Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Chelsea) & Frank Lampard (Chelsea) topping his wish list. Inter Manager might also add the name of the Portuguese winger, if the club will be offered big money from Nerazzuri, which has been in the news for long. However, it seems unlikely for him to sign the player, as Spanish Giants clear desire for him.

The only advantage with Mourinho is that he shares the same agent with Ronaldo, Jorges Mendes, who might simplify negotiations between Star of Old Trafford & former boss of Chelsea. Again, there are reports that both of them share respect for one another, which might encourage the move.

Manchester United is continuing to fervently deny their willingness for selling him. Still, with the massive bid from Real Madrid going along with another one from Inter Milan, it is very much unlikely to see Christiano Ronaldo in the Red Devil’s jersey this season.

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Posted in Barcelona, Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, General, Inter Milan, Man U, Premier League, Premiership

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