GENERAL LAMPS
FORMER TEAM-MATE HAILS HUNGRY’ FRANK Zenden: He’ll get bigger and bigger as Chelsea boss
Zenden, the Dutchman who has been both a team- mate and a coach of the former England ace, recognised Lampard as a natural leader of men when he arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2001.
The ex- Holland star was so impressed by Lampard’s ability to read the game that he nicknamed him ‘The General’.
Zenden said: “Frank is such a warm person. He always has time for the people around him. As a player, when you saw him getting stuck in it was hard to imagine that off the pitch he was always a kind and wonderful person.
“By the end of his career his trophy room was well-filled. Three league titles, four FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League.
“Frank was always crazy about winning – both individually and as part of the team.
“He used to be really sick after a defeat. When things went wrong for his team Frank changed into a different person. He was not afraid to stick the boot in.
“But as soon as the match was finished he was enough of a gentleman to shake hands.”
Both Zenden and Lampard arrived in the same summer.
The Dutchman’s stay lasted just two seasons – while Lampard became Chelsea’s record goalscorer over the next 13 years. “Frank came from West Ham and I had been at Barcelona,” said Zenden. “But as new boys and young players we both had to fight for a place in the team.
“Chelsea already had a lot of big names in their team, with Emmanuel Petit, Marcel Desailly and Gianfranco Zola.
Leader
“But one thing I soon noticed was that Frank could read the game better than anyone. On the pitch I called him ‘The General’ because he was a real strategist.
“Frank is also a born leader. You could see that in the way he grew i nto the player that controlled Chelsea’s midfield.
“He directed the play, like the conductor of an orchestra, but he also had an unbelievable hunger for goals and trophies. His development was like a snowball rolling down a hill – getting bigger and bigger – and I can now see that happening as a manager.”
Lampard has put his faith in a group of young English players from Chelsea’s academy after being forced to work under a transfer ban that will only be lifted next summer.
And Zenden said: “Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-odoi and Fikayo Tomori would not have been given a c hance under di f f erent circumstances.
“But they are doing brilliantly – much better than people expected.
“That is down to the quality of each of those players – but it is also a big credit to Frank for the way he is working with them.”