flag
back Back
Jorginho’s comments about Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel speak volumes after Chelsea exit

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard failed to impress when he returned to the club as manager but has received glowing praise from one of his former players

Jorginho sung his former manager Lampard's praises
Jorginho sung his former manager Lampard's praises

Arsenal midfielder Jorginho admits he was starstruck by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard when he took over as the Blues' manager.

Lampard, who spent 13 years as a player at Stamford Bridge, returned to the club in 2019 to take the reins. However his two-year stint in charge was ultimately unsuccessful, with Chelsea finishing fourth in his first season and struggling at the start of his second before he was eventually replaced by Thomas Tuchel.

Despite Lampard's relatively short and unsuccessful time as Chelsea manager, Jorginho, who has since joined Arsenal, has revealed that he enjoyed working under the Englishman. He also revealed he idolised the midfielder as a young player.

"When I came to England, people would look at me and say: 'He can only play under Sarri.' So when he left, I saw an opportunity for me to show that I have my own qualities, that I'm here because I deserve to be and I can add to the team and contribute," Jorginho told the Seaman Says podcast via Betway.

"Then Frank Lampard came in and I had I never met him before. I was a little kid watching an idol. In the first weeks, I would be like: 'Wow, I'm working with Frank Lampard,' it was like an amazing experience for me."

Jorginho's £50million move to Chelsea in 2018, came on the same day Maurizio Sarri was announced as the club's manager. The move sparked speculation that the Italian midfielder was brought in to appease the new boss as Jorginho had been a key player for Sarri at Napoli, reports the Mirror.

"I made some jokes like: "I was playing with you on PlayStation a few years ago! The first season was really good with Frank," Jorginho added. "Then, things didn't work out the way we wanted.

Jorginho previously followed Maurizio Sarri from Italy to England
Jorginho previously followed Maurizio Sarri from Italy to England

"We were not getting the results back that we wanted. Then there was a change, Thomas [Tuchel] came in with his ideas and everything just went smoothly, like, crazy. It was so good.

"On the pitch he was really hard, and then he had a good balance because afterwards he'd be like a good friend having a chat. He created this really amazing connection and that's why it worked well straight away."

However, Tuchel's reign was also short-lived, lasting just over a year before he was dismissed in September 2022. His successor, Graham Potter, fared no better, lasting just over 200 days before his time was up.

Lampard spent just two seasons as head coach
Lampard spent just two seasons as head coach at Chelsea

Notably, it was under Potter's tenure that Jorginho was allowed to leave for a mere £12m, making his way to the Emirates. In a twist of fate, Lampard was recalled to the helm, after a brief period under Potter's deputy Bruno Saltor, to stabilise the club as an interim before a new man would be brought in come the summer.

That appointment turned out to be ex-Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who, in line with many before him, had a brief tenure in the Stamford Bridge dugout before Enzo Maresca took over for this season.

Sign up to our Chelsea WhatsApp service and get all the latest breaking news and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Chelsea writers direct to your phone.

By signing up to this free service you will be the first to know the news from Stamford Bridge as it happens.

To join our Chelsea community, all you have to do is click this link to join and you're in!

You can find this story in   My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.

You may like

Raheem Sterling among three Bukayo Saka Arsenal alternatives for Liverpool test

football.london 16 hours ago

Chelsea legend in talks to make surprise return to England after quitting managerial role just th

goal.com 17 hours ago

Kalvin Phillips settles the Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer debate before saying 'he's go

sportbible.com 14 hours ago

Marc Cucurella shares what Cole Palmer told Erling Haaland after their summer spat

thechelseachronicle.com a day ago

Jose Mourinho has already disclosed true feelings on daughter Matilde marrying Danny Graham

dailyrecord.co.uk a day ago

The key statistic where Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez is outperforming Ederson and Andre Onana this se

thechelseachronicle.com 22 hours ago

How the APT Ruling Relates to Man City's 115 FFP Charges

givemesport.com an hour ago

Liverpool defender says £45m Chelsea man is one of his favourite players in the Premier League

thechelseachronicle.com a day ago

Noni Madueke’s England Press Conference Goes Viral For Wrong Reasons

givemesport.com a day ago

Chelsea fans all saying the same thing after Mykhailo Mudryk’s Ukraine display vs Georgia

thechelseachronicle.com an hour ago