Lampard calls time on Chelsea career

After 13 years at Chelsea which included winning three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League, Frank Lampard will be looking for a new club this summer.

Reports suggest that no less than 16 sides are keen on a move for the 35-year-old, who has admitted that a switch to MLS is an option.

"I'm looking at different options but I want to carry on playing,” said the midfielder.

"I'd like to get it sorted soon, not in World Cup time, but after that. I'm not sure it's possible to do now.

"I can go into the World Cup with a clear head. I can handle it. It's a weight off my shoulders to a certain extent.

"I'm a big enough boy to get on and concentrate fully on this World Cup with England."

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 12:00

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England touchdown in Miami

England have landed in Miami as they continue their preparations for this summer's World Cup in Brazil.

The Three Lions take on Ecuador and Honduras in friendlies on Wednesday and Saturday respectively at the Sun Life Stadium, with plenty of places still up for grabs in Roy Hodgson's team.

The players will need to adapt to the conditions in Florida quickly, with the temperatures even hotter and more humid in Manaus, where England take on Italy in their opening game.

Monday, 2 June 2014 12:05

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Return of the king: Chelsea welcome back Drogba

Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Chelsea and Galatasaray sees Didier Drogba return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since he left the club in 2012.

The Ivorian enjoyed great success during his time with the Blues winning the three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and, famously, the Champions League in his last ever game for the club.

Jose Mourinho has already insisted Drogba will return to Chelsea in some capacity one day as he prepares to welcome the striker on what is sure to be an emotional evening in west London.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014 12:15

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Mourinho readies Chelsea bus ahead of Man City showdown

Jose Mourinho leads his title-chasing Chelsea team to the Etihad Stadium on Monday night looking to cause a shock and stop Manuel Pellegrini's free-scoring side from retaking the lead at the summit of the Premier League.

Mourinho has a number of famous career highlights in away games and although he has blamed visiting teams at Stamford Bridge for 'parking the bus', he may be wise to adopt such tactics at City.

Monday, February 3, 2014 07:23

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Bayern's sweet revenge in Super Cup

It will never completely erase the memory of that Champions League final in May 2012 where Didier Drogba's penalty crowned a history victory for Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, but Bayern Munich will have taken some pleasure in Friday's Super Cup triumph.

Javi Martinez's extra-time leveller forced the tie into a penalty shootout and it was Romelu Lukaku's soft spot kick which enabled Pep Guardiola's men to gain some revenge over Chelsea.
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Nothing separates Manchester United & Chelsea

A cagey game in which both sides were happy to settle for a point, Monday night's stalemate at Old Trafford lacked the explosiveness many had predicted.

Perhaps not as unlikely, however, were the comments from Jose Mourinho after the match, who called on Wayne Rooney to clarify his situation at Manchester United.

"If now, he doesn't want to leave, we are out of the thing. We need to know what is happening," said the Chelsea boss.
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ReMOUnion: Chelsea stars welcome back the Special One

The day most Chelsea fans have been eagerly anticipating is almost upon us.

Having ended his stay at Real Madrid on Saturday, Jose Mourinho is expecting to confirm his return to Stamford Bridge this week.

The 'Special One' is flying to London on Monday to complete the move, and the Chelsea players - particularly the likes of Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech - are likely to roll out the blue carpet for his return. 
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#bunchofcaps: Centurion Ashley Cole finally accepts England captaincy

After earning over 100 caps for England, Ashley Cole has finally accepted the captain's armband for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday night.

The left-back has been one of England's most consistent performers for over a decade, but his career has not been without controversy.

Cole was fined in October 2012 by the FA for comments on Twitter related to the John Terry racism case, having given evidence to the independent commission.

The Chelsea defender also allegedly fired an air rifle at an intern at the club's Cobham training ground in 2011.

There had also been some confusion as to whether or not Cole had actually accepted the captaincy following comments from England boss Roy Hodgson.

"Frank [Lampard] and I are happy that [Cole] will lead the team out but Frank still remains the captain of the team," he said, before later clarifying the situation.
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Benitez bolsters CV as Chelsea celebrate Europa League glory

 

Chelsea secured their second European title in two seasons on Wednesday, seeing off Benfica in Amsterdam to win the Europa League final.

Fernando Torres opened the scoring for the Blues and although Oscar Cardozo equalised for Jorge Jesus’s men, Branislav Ivanovic’s late header won the title for Rafael Benitez’s men.

The win follows last season’s Champions League triumph and means Rafael Benitez has now become just the fourth manager to win the Europa League (or Uefa Cup in its previous incarnation) more than once.

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Rafa hits the jackpot as Luiz sends Chelsea into Europa League final

 

David Luiz was the toast of Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as he completed the scoring to help Chelsea beat Basel 3-1 in the Europa League semi-final second leg.

The Brazilian has developed something of a reputation for a stunning goal, and his latest - a thunderous curling strike into the top corner - was no exception.

The victory saw Chelsea secure a 5-2 aggregate victory, giving Rafa Benitez the chance to contest a Europa League final and finish his interim stay at Stamford Bridge with a piece of silverware. 

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Goodbye Bernabeu! Mourinho welcomed back at the Bridge

 

Jose Mourinho gave the biggest indication yet that he is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after watching is side suffer elimination from the Champions League to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.

"I know I'm loved in England," Mourinho said after Madrid won 2-0, but were beaten 4-3 on aggregate by the Bundesliga side. "Loved by the fans, the media. I know I'm loved by some clubs - especially one."

Goal.com understands the Special One has agreed a deal to return to Chelsea, with Falcao set to follow him to Stamford Bridge.

And while Branislav Ivanovic has admitted the Blues 'cannot wait' for Mourinho to return, the likes of Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas might be pleased to see the back of him at the Bernabeu.

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Coaching Chelsea not so easy for Benitez

 

Struggling for consistency and on the brink of an exit from the Europa League in the last 16, things have not gone smoothly for Rafa Benitez at Chelsea so far.

The Spaniard has received little sympathy from former Blues boss Avram Grant, however, who this week stated managing at Stamford Bridge is "easy."

“I don’t think Rafa Benitez will be replaced any time soon,” Grant said. But, let me tell you something, coaching at Chelsea is very easy.

“It’s way easier than coaching West Ham, for instance, because you have a very big budget and top players to choose from. All you have to do is go after the win.”

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England's Wembley win spoils Ronaldinho's parade

 

It was set up perfectly for Ronaldinho. In his unofficial 100th game for Brazil (he has made five appearances in games not recognised by Fifa), he was handed a chance from the penalty spot to get his name on the score-sheet at Wembley. A penalty against England? Well that's as good as a goal isn't it?

WRONG! Joe Hart superbly denied the buck-toothed magician with not one, but two, fine stops to prevent the 32-year-old marking his return to the Selecao (he hasn't played for them since November 2011) with a goal.

It got worse too. Luis Felipe Scolari replaced him at half-time and England went on to win the friendly with goals from Wayne Rooney and the evergreen Frank Lampard - perfectly marking the Football Association's first glamour friendly in their 150th anniversary. 
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Benitez's little helpers give Chelsea a Magic Eight

 

After three consecutive draws at Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez got his first Premier League win at home since taking charge at Chelsea as his side gave Aston Villa a pre-Christmas stuffing on Sunday.

Fernando Torres, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, Frank Lampard, Ramires, Oscar and Eden Hazard all got on the scoresheet in the rout to give Chelsea fans a sprinkling of festive joy following their Club World Cup final defeat earlier this month.

Benitez's side are now 11 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United with a game in hand, and will be looking to close the gap over the busy Christmas schedule.

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Unhappy Torres

 

Torres uncertain over Chelsea future after 'disappointment' of missing out on Champions League final start

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Chelsea pensioners enjoy FA Cup

 

Goals from Ramires and Didier Drogba helped Chelsea to a 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Liverpool on Saturday.

The Wembley win is a concrete sign of the turnaround in fortunes at the club since Andre Villas-Boas' departure in March, with interim boss Roberto Di Matteo leading the west Londoners to silverware and a Champions League final later this month.

Now, with the Blues securing their fourth win in the competition in six years, it seems the Chelsea pensioners are enjoying the comfort of the FA Cup...

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Blues will not be following their leader

 

John Terry missed out on a chance to redeem himself for his penalty miss in the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow, after a moment of madness from the Chelsea skipper saw him knee Alexis Sanchez in the back in the first half of the Blues' semi-final second leg against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

The ensuing red card means Terry will miss the final itself this time around, as his team-mates went on to defend valiantly for the best part of an hour without a recognised centre-half to book their ticket to the May 19 final in Munich in the most thrilling of circumstances.

The Chelsea bus rolls on to their next destination, but Terry will have to hitch a ride in the Lionel Messi boat after the Argentine fluffed his penalty and will also miss the final.

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Abramovich adds another pawn to his chessboard

 

There seems no stopping Andre Villas-Boas and his rebuilding plans at Chelsea, as the arrival of Gary Cahill is likely to be the first of many through the revolving door.

However, the manager's policy of squad rotation and the disposal of several experienced heads from the team has made for an uncertain state of affairs - almost as much so as David Luiz's defending.

The ruthless style exhibited by the 34-year-old gaffer sees the Brazilian stopper likely to become the sacrificial lamb, while Frank Lampard remains in the cold despite his recent goalscoring form.

But chairman Roman Abramovich has come up with a solution - treat the game as a chess board!

Enter Ashley Cole as the queen, John Terry as the king and an unhappy Lampard as a ... rook? Told you it was confusing - and that's not even taking into account the conundrum involving Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres. 
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Lampard & Terry refuse to boogie with AVB

Last month Andre Villas-Boas dismissed reports that he had asked his Chelsea players to include him in their goal celebrations as nothing more than spurious speculation.

But on Monday afternoon his players, instructed or not, did swarm to their manager on the touchline to give him a great big hug after Ramires slotted home the opening goal against Wolves.

However, while David Luiz, Ashley Cole, Ramires and Raul Meireles were all keen to boogie with their boss, stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard stood bemused as their team-mates crowde round their manager  

 
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Lampard & Terry

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