Chelsea fired his coach Frank Lampard for poor results this season, the team reported on Monday through their social networks, and would be replaced by the German Thomas Tuchel, as he knew ESPN.
With this decision, the former Chelsea midfielder, aged 42 leaves the position after only eighteen months, with the team in ninth position in First league after 19 games, after the recent loss to Leicester City.
Their last victory was this Sunday, when the club won 3-1 in the FA Cup against Luton.
“It was a very difficult decision and one that was not easily taken by the owner (Roma Abramovich) and the Council,” the club said in a statement.
According to Chelsea, “Recent results and performance have not met the club’s expectations, leaving it in the middle of the table with no clear path to improvement.”.
The club calls Lampard a “legend”, but believes a change is needed to give the team time to straighten out the season.
In the same note, Abramovich emphasized the “excellent personal relationship and respect” he feels for the coach, but considered it appropriate to replace him “in the current circumstances”.
“He is an important icon of this great club and his status here does not diminish. He will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge,” the owner stressed.
Lampard, who took over in July 2019 with a three-year contract to replace Maurizio Sarri, will be replaced by Tuchel, former coach of German club Borussia Dortmund and French club PSG, from where he was fired in December last year to make way for Argentine Mauricio Pochettino.
Not even Abramovich’s large investment in transfers last summer, with the addition of figures such as Kai Havertz, Timo Werner or Hakim Ziyech, failed to secure Lampard on a bench as hot as Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had a long unbeaten streak of 17 games this season, before collapsing in mid-December in a series of defeats to direct rivals for the Champions League places.
Chelsea Football Club split the company today from head coach Frank Lampard.
– Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 25, 2021