Two years after being fired when Chelsea was mired in ninth place, Frank Lampard is back in charge of the team.
During his first tenure as manager at Stamford Bridge, the former Blues captain brought in a number of high-profile players, most notably German international Kai Havertz for £70 million, along with Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell.
Malang Sarr from Nice and Thiago Silva from Paris Saint-Germain, both center-backs from Ligue 1, were also acquired by Lampard on free transfers. The latter player immediately rose to prominence and has remained one of Chelsea’s most crucial players to this day.
Lampard gave Silva a picture of the two of them at the Maracana, where England and Brazil drew 2-2 in a friendly in 2013 after Silva signed a contract with Chelsea.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, Silva talked candidly about the present and what thoughtfulness meant to him.
He emailed me a photo of us shaking hands as national team captains in 2013 as soon as I replied “Yes,” he added. “It was a welcome shock.
“He likely understood what I needed at this point in my career because, like me, he had moved from Chelsea to Manchester City when he was 36.
“I didn’t hesitate when I heard that Chelsea was interested in me, not just because of their history but also because David Luiz and Willian consistently praised them.
“Frank was contacted by Marina [Granovskaia, club director] after I had accepted. I had to employ a translator because I still can’t speak English, and I had trouble with his accent, too.
Once Lampard was fired and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who guided Chelsea to a Champions League victory over Manchester City in Porto, Silva would go on to return the favor back in full.
Silva thanked Lampard through text message for signing him soon after receiving the trophy.
Lampard admitted to Gary Neville on the Overlap that it was difficult for him to watch Chelsea defeat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final after being fired.
“But, as I walked around the streets here, so many Chelsea supporters approached me and asked if I had taken part in or enjoyed certain events. “Sure,” I respond.
“But once I got past that feeling, I realized that it has been and always will be my club, and I can draw joy from players like Mason Mount and Reece James.
After the game, Thiago Silva gave me a lovely message in which he appeared to thank me for introducing him to the team. After everything has calmed down, you can definitely view that with a much more optimistic perspective than the football side of things might sometimes allow.
Although Silva’s remarks may not seem to imply much at first glance, they indicate that Lampard is well respected in the Blues’ locker room, and that respect comes from a player as important as the Brazilian.
In the summer, a new manager will take over and permanently replace the Englishman, making Lampard’s job of calming the ship at Stamford Bridge a little bit more bearable.