RANIERI DESERVES CREDIT FOR CHELSEA SUCCESS
Claudio Ranieri deserves to be credited with transforming Chelsea from a team of also-rans to champions – that is the view of Frank Lampard and current manager Guus Hiddink,
The Italian was at the Stamford Bridge helm for four years from 2000 before Roman’s Revolution took over in 2003.
And he was sacked for Special One Jose Mourinho after one season under Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich – despite finishing second in the Premier League.
The 57-year-old, who is now in charge of Juventus, Chelsea’s Champions League opponents on Wednesday, bought Lampard from West Ham for £11m in 2001.
And the England midfielder believes that if it wasn’t for Ranieri, who also reached the FA Cup Final with the Blues, he would not be the player he is today.
“I think Claudio should take a lot of credit for Chelsea’s success,” said Lampard. “A lot of things have happened at the club and Claudio is part of that.
“He bought a lot of good players to the team, even before the Abramovich era and without him I would not be here.
“I have the utmost respect for him and think he is a great man as well as a great manager. He opened my eyes in football terms.
“I think Claudio has to take a lot of credit of what he has done for the club in the time he was here (at Chelsea).”
The 30-year-old continued: “He elevated John Terry to captain and now he has developed in to one of the best captains in the world.
“Claudio achieved a lot when he was at Chelsea. He oversaw the transition of Chelsea being a good team who were not challenging for titles to one that was.
“He certainly gets credit for that in-house – I appreciate what he did for me and for the team.
“The fans, who are the most important people at Chelsea, hold him in very high regard because of the way he took the team on.”
Chelsea’s new Dutch manager Hiddink, who won his first game in charge of the Blues at the weekend, also praised Ranieri.
He said ahead of last-16 clash: “He is a gentleman coach and very intelligent.
“He knows how to cope with the press and cope with the pressure in this job and I respect him very much.
“He has several abilities. When he was at Chelsea he made a team that was very competitive for the Premier League.
“I have seen that he is a very good organiser of his teams – they have enormous tactical discipline.
“It is difficult to play against the teams he is managing.”
Claudio Ranieri deserves to be credited with transforming Chelsea from a team of also-rans to champions – that is the view of Frank Lampard and current manager Guus Hiddink,
The Italian was at the Stamford Bridge helm for four years from 2000 before Roman’s Revolution took over in 2003.
And he was sacked for Special One Jose Mourinho after one season under Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich – despite finishing second in the Premier League.
The 57-year-old, who is now in charge of Juventus, Chelsea’s Champions League opponents on Wednesday, bought Lampard from West Ham for £11m in 2001.
And the England midfielder believes that if it wasn’t for Ranieri, who also reached the FA Cup Final with the Blues, he would not be the player he is today.
“I think Claudio should take a lot of credit for Chelsea’s success,” said Lampard. “A lot of things have happened at the club and Claudio is part of that.
“He bought a lot of good players to the team, even before the Abramovich era and without him I would not be here.
“I have the utmost respect for him and think he is a great man as well as a great manager. He opened my eyes in football terms.
“I think Claudio has to take a lot of credit of what he has done for the club in the time he was here (at Chelsea).”
The 30-year-old continued: “He elevated John Terry to captain and now he has developed in to one of the best captains in the world.
“Claudio achieved a lot when he was at Chelsea. He oversaw the transition of Chelsea being a good team who were not challenging for titles to one that was.
“He certainly gets credit for that in-house – I appreciate what he did for me and for the team.
“The fans, who are the most important people at Chelsea, hold him in very high regard because of the way he took the team on.”
Chelsea’s new Dutch manager Hiddink, who won his first game in charge of the Blues at the weekend, also praised Ranieri.
He said ahead of last-16 clash: “He is a gentleman coach and very intelligent.
“He knows how to cope with the press and cope with the pressure in this job and I respect him very much.
“He has several abilities. When he was at Chelsea he made a team that was very competitive for the Premier League.
“I have seen that he is a very good organiser of his teams – they have enormous tactical discipline.
“It is difficult to play against the teams he is managing.”
Labels: Champions League, Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri, Frank Lampard, Guus Hiddink, Juventus
