Family are usually the first to
celebrate the success of a relative, but one member of Frank
Lampard's is hoping Chelsea fail against Bayern Munich in
Saturday's Champions League final - his uncle, Harry Redknapp.
Although they are close and Lampard played under Redknapp
early in his career at West Ham United, he now manages Chelsea's
Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur who finished fourth and
are currently heading for a place in the Champions League next
season.
However, if Chelsea win on Saturday, they and not Tottenham
will take England's fourth place in the competition, relegating
Spurs to the Europa League instead.
Redknapp said this week he hoped Chelsea lost and Lampard
joked he would not have expected him to say anything else.
"I know he said that. But if he'd said anything other than
that with a straight face I wouldn't have believed him anyway,"
the England midfielder told reporters this week at Chelsea's
training complex south of London.
"That's understandable what he's saying from his point of
view."
And while he might well hurt his uncle's feelings, Lampard
is totally focused on winning the final at the Allianz Arena and
celebrating what he says will be the greatest night in Chelsea's
107-year history.
"For Chelsea it would be the greatest achievement for sure.
We've got four players out, some of our best performers of the
season. I think every step has been a huge achievement - the
Barcelona games, the turnaround against Napoli. It would be
Chelsea's best ever achievement if we win it now."
BANNED FOUR
Chelsea go into the game with skipper John Terry suspended
along with defender Branislav Ivanovic and midfielders Ramires
and Raul Meireles.
It is the latest obstacle for them to overcome in a
difficult season during which manager Andre Villas-Boas was
sacked in March and replaced by caretaker Roberto Di Matteo, who
has helped turn the club's fortunes around.
However, Chelsea only finished sixth in the Premier League,
their lowest position for a decade, and know that if they do not
win on Saturday they, not Spurs, will be playing in the Europa
League next season.
Lampard, who will most likely captain Chelsea in Terry's
absence when he plays his 100th European club match, was not
thinking about that outcome, especially as they have
consistently defied the odds to get this far.
"I think we were pretty unfancied to get this far at
different stages - on the way out against Napoli, then drawn
against Barcelona.
NICE THOUGHT
"Not that we have surprised ourselves but when you don't see
it coming the fact that you're there is even more enjoyable in a
way.
"We've obviously still got to go and win it but it's been a
nice thought for the past couple of weeks."
There were times when even Lampard doubted Chelsea could get
through, especially when he was on the bench during the last16 3-1 defeat at Napoli.
"We were struggling. It's not just because I was sitting
watching it from the outside but you could see that. You
wouldn't have looked too far ahead of yourself and seen this [getting to the final].
"At the same time we're experienced enough to know things can
change very quickly. But on that night we were very despondent
in the dressing room afterwards and it took a big effort in the
weeks in between the two games to turn things around.
"The home game was obviously a massive turning point - the
major turning point - in our season."
Chelsea won that game 4-1 to advance 5-4 on aggregate and
Lampard believes that had a huge effect on everyone.
"With experience you know that football changes in two
seconds. You go from the worst to the best in a second and the
other way around pretty quickly as well.
"That's the nature of the game. We always knew we had the
quality. Losing the Napoli game, we knew we were better than
that and it took a big effort from everyone at the club - staff,
players included - we all had to improve."
Subsequent wins over Benfica and an epic semi-final success
against Barcelona put Chelsea into the final, their second in
five seasons after losing to Manchester United in 2008.
"We need to show the spirit we showed in Barcelona," Lampard
said.
"It's nice to know that we beat Barcelona. But we're clever
enough to know that if you lose the final, people quickly forget
who you beat in the semi-finals.
"I am not sure we have been building towards something
special this year. I hope so but every year we get asked the
same questions around the knockout stages 'Is this the year? How
inspired are you by past failures?' And every year we've failed.
"We haven't done it. There's only destiny if you make it
yourself. And we're one step closer to making it."
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