MOURINHO HAILS
'FANTASTIC' LAMPARD
Jose Mourinho paid record-breaking Frank Lampard the highest
possible tribute by declaring he would not swap the England
international for any other player in the world.
Lampard will smash the record for the most consecutive appearances
in the Barclays Premiership when he takes the field against
Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday.
It will be his 160th successive game and he will beat the previous
best of 159 held by Manchester City goalkeeper David James and
which Lampard equalled against Newcastle last Saturday.
Mourinho also insisted that he saw no reason to rest Lampard after
he sets a new appearance best for the top flight and would only
consider such a course of action if the Blues were involved in the
later stages of the Champions League next year.
"This record for Lampard is unbelievable," said Mourinho. "I would
not swap him with any player. There are other players with great
talent - Ronaldinho, Kaka and Andrei Shevchenko are unbelievable
players - but this is my favourite player.
"He plays every day, he plays every game. Cold, hot, rain, snow,
against tough opponents, against soft opponents, at home, away from
home and with somebody trying to kill him man to man.
"He can play in every system I want to play. This is what I call a
player for every game. For me he is perfect. He is the player
wouldn't change with anyone. You could give me any player and I
wouldn't change."
Mourinho believes Lampard's feat should be applauded even more
because, unlike James, he is an outfield player.
"David James' record before was unbelievable but he was a
goalkeeper and Lampard is a midfield player," said Mourinho. "He
has no injuries, no suspensions and no bad performances for two
different managers.
"Neither Claudio Ranieri nor I left him out or rested him. The
record is unbelievable and shows not just the player he is but the
man he is. It's fantastic."
The Chelsea coach has no plans to rest Lampard and says it will be
difficult for anyone else to overtake his achievement.
"It's very difficult to beat the record because you can always get
a suspension," said Mourinho. "To get five yellow cards during a
season is normal. You need a bit of luck with injuries but also
need a strong mentality.
"I remember last season he was playing with some problems. He had
surgery at the end of the season but another player would have had
it in the middle. He's an unbelievable character and I have many
doubts in modern football that the record can be broken.
"I don't think he needs a rest to be fair. Maybe in February or
March if we're in the Champions League quarter-final I can give him
a rest, but I don't think so."
Mourinho predicted Lampard's physical condition was so good that he
expected him to go on until he was well into his mid-30s and
revealed the rest of his team-mates found his improvement
remarkable.
"The players who have been with him at Chelsea since he arrived
keep speaking about his evolution," he said. "His evolution is
amazing in their opinion.
"He is a complete player in this moment, very strong in every
aspect of the game. Tactically he's very strong but didn't lose the
great quality of scoring goals from midfield. This makes him a
different midfield player because normally midfield players don't
score 20 goals a season.
"He has everything, physically, technically and tactically. What he
has in his brain is also fantastic. He has to keep at this level to
the end of his career.
"Every player has a life and they know that between 33 and 35 the
end will arrive. But they also learn how to play different when the
qualities are changing.
"I can imagine when Lampard is 33 he will be a different player,
maybe not arriving so much in the box and not pressing so much. He
can play for many many years because of the way he works and the
quality he has naturally. I look to him as a long-term
player."
- credit: Sporting
Life
