"It was special" – Frank Lampard reveals Guardiola voice note lifted him during 'disheartening' phase at Chelsea
Frank Lampard had a turbulent start as Chelsea's manager back in 2019 but impressed Pep Guardiola, who sent the Blues legend a "special" voice note.
The former Chelsea midfielder revealed how the Manchester City gaffer sent him an unexpected voice note following the Blues' defeat against Manchester United.
Frank Lampard replaced Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea gaffer in 2019, but suffered two harrowing defeats against Manchester United and Liverpool at the start of the season. Shortly after being outclassed by United, Chelsea were beaten on penalties by the Reds in the final of the UEFA Super Cup.
Frank Lampard on Jose Mourinho...
"When I was at Chelsea and him at Spurs we had a bit of needle. I later bumped into him in the street and he gave me a big hug and said 'now you're a real manager because you've been sacked!'" 🫂
📺@GNev2 / Overlap
#CFC https://t.co/LFJvdyhNHl
However, the Chelsea gaffer received a voice note from Guardiola, the contents of which he revealed recently while in conversation with Gary Neville on Overlap Extra.
Here's what he said:
"He’s so great with managers, Pep, behind the scenes the things he does with the LMA, helping other managers. He’s sent me voice notes," explained Lampard when discussing which manager he would most like to play for. I don't like giving away private conversations but in my first game as Chelsea manager we lost at Man United 4-0. We played well for 60 minutes, then got done on the counter, then bang, bang, 2, 3, it was 4-0."
Lampard further added:
"Then we lost to Liverpool in the Super Cup. Played well, lost on penalties... I was on the plane on the way back from the game, a little bit disheartened. Got a voice note from him, saying the way my team played was incredible, loved watching it, really positive chat."
"The voice note deleted itself though. I wanted to get home and say, ‘listen to this, Pep said I’m a good manager’. Little touches like that, make an impression on you. Sometimes you get caught up in your own world and don’t see things. He’s doing the business and sends you a voice note like that, it was special," Lampard added.
Chelsea faced Pep Guardiola's Manchester City thrice with Frank Lampard at the helm
Lampard and Guardiola went head-to-head thrice with the former in charge of Chelsea.
Sadly, the Blues lost twice and won once. However, their 2-1 victory against City came at a crucial juncture, helping Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool bag the Premier League title at the Sky Blues' expense.
Guardiola sent Frank Lampard "special" voice note after Chelsea played Man Utd
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Ultimately, Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel earlier this year. Tuchel has had a monumental impact on Chelsea's roster and his tactics have played an instrumental role in helping the Blues bag the Champions League title and the UEFA Super Cup.
Lampard hasn't returned to management ever since. However, he was linked with Norwich City before the club cooled their interest in the former English midfielder.
Recently, he was in contact with Aston Villa before they appointed Steven Gerrard to lead the roster.