Chelsea appoint Lampard as head coach
The former England midfielder returns to manage his old club on a three-year contract.
"I am proud to be returning to Chelsea as head coach," Frank Lampard said after signing. "Everyone knows the love I have for this club and the history we have shared. However, my priority is my job and preparing for the season ahead. I am here to contribute and help the club achieve more success and I can't wait to get started."
According to the announcement on Chelsea's homepage, Lampard's contract is for three years. Not counting the interim coaches, Lampard is the 10th coach to sign a long-term contract with Chelsea since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in the summer of 2003.
As a player, Lampard played for Chelsea for 13 years, becoming a legend of the club with 648 matches and 11 titles, before leaving in the summer of 2014. He played for two more years at Man City, New York City and then retired in the summer of 2016.
Lampard started his coaching career last summer with Derby County in the Championship. And in his first season as a coach, the 1978-born player led Derby to the play-off final for a ticket to the Premier League. Although Derby lost that match to Aston Villa, Lampard still made a strong enough impression to convince Chelsea to invite him back as coach, the position left vacant after Maurizio Sarri returned home to lead Juventus.
Lampard brought along two close associates who worked at his old club Derby County, Jody Morris and Chris Jones, to form the new coaching staff at Stamford Bridge.
