FRANK SETTLES FOR
Lampard is denied top award by Ronaldinho
CLampard included Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Italy coach Marcello Lippi, Holland captain Edwin van der Sar and Sweden captain Olof Mellberg.
Given that coaches and captains cannot vote for players from their own association, Sven Goran Eriksson chose Ronaldinho first and David Beckham voted for Real Madrid team-mate Ronaldo. Beckham was the last England player to make the top three of the vote for the world’s top players in 2001.
Lampard said: ‘I have to say that when I began my career I wanted to get to the top and left all my options open to achieve that. But now I’m a Chelsea player and I cannot fill my mind with thoughts of playing anywhere else. Chelsea have helped make me what I am and I have fantastic team- mates who have helped me get there. I’m looking forward to more success with Chelsea this season.’
But while Lampard basked in the limelight, his manager, Jose Mourinho, came under attack from FIFA president Sepp Blatter when he made his Presidential Award to referee Anders Frisk for his outstanding contribution to the game.
Mourinho’s stinging criticism of Frisk after last season’s Champions League clash with Barcelona was followed by the Swedish official quitting football and Blatter said: ‘He (Frisk) was a victim of physical and psychological abuse, and that is sad and unacceptable behaviour. He wanted to continue but when there were threats made to his family he decided to end his career.’
Mourinho was banned for two games and labelled ‘ an enemy of football’ for his part in the fiery encounter with the Spanish club.
Lampard, who scored in the home leg of last year’s tie as Chelsea progressed 5-4 on aggregate, called for calm ahead of the the rematch in February. He said: ‘There will be no problems with the game and the other things that happened should not overshadow what a great match it was. What happened off the pitch should not diminish what happened on it.
‘We know that playing Barcelona will be one of the toughest games we could have. I’m looking forward to it because it will be the top team in England against the top team in Spain.
‘ I enjoyed the games last year because you want to test yourself against the best in the world like the two (Ronaldinho and Eto’o) I am sat with here. I’ve been watching Barcelona and they’ve been winning by four or five goals and I think we need to take a good lead from the first leg at Stamford Bridge to the Nou Camp.’
Ronaldinho predicted the contest between the English and Spanish champions would be even more exciting this time round. He said: ‘It will be a really great game and both teams are playing at a really high level. Even more so than last time and since we have both won titles. This will be the match of the year — everyone is saying it — and we are motivated and want to be in top shape when it comes round.’
Eto’o was less effusive and in his own subtle way he echoed the battle cry of his Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who has not held back since the draw was made last Friday, claiming that his team want sporting revenge for ‘all Catalans’ after what happened last year.
Eto’o said: ‘We have two different ways of playing football. Chelsea are No 1 in England and have their own style of playing and we are leaders in Spain. We have a very different style. We are both leaders in the respective leagues and I hope that home turf will be in our favour, though we know that Chelsea are stronger away than at home.’
Lampard has split loyalties as his Catalan fiancee — Elen Rives — is a Barca fan by birth and all of her family remain loyal to the club. Since then the couple’s daughter, Luna, has been born and Elen has visited her native city to introduce their baby to the place of her birth.
For the man of the house, there is no question of where support will lie next time round, though he admitted the extended family were harder to convince.
He said: ‘ Elen supports me and her family support Barca. They were very angry at the result last time but the draw last year was fantastic, and it is again. With two fantastic teams it will be the same again.’
i.mcgarry@dailymail.co.uk
HELSEA may be looking to do the double
over Barcelona when
they meet again in the
Champions League, but Frank Lampard has again had to accept second best to the Catalan club’s Brazil wizard Ronaldinho.
The England midfielder lost out to the Barcelona striker for the second time this year after becoming the first Englishman to be voted second best player in both World and European awards in same period. But in another fillip for the Spanish club, Ronaldinho’s strike partner, Samuel Eto’o, came third.
Lampard accrued 306 points in the world vote by national coaches and team captains from FIFA’s member countries behind Ronaldinho on 956. Those voting for