The story behind Frank Lampard's surprising return as a Chelsea manager

A real Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard was an icon as a player at Stamford Bridge, and then returned as a manager. His first managing spell in West London was far from a success, but he has recently been given the chance to prove himself for the second time. Here is the story of how he ended up on the Chelsea sideline again, from start to finish.

Lampard started his footballing career at youth club West Ham United. With a short loan spell at Swansea City in between, he played 175 games for the Hammers, scoring 33 goals and giving 18 assists.

Lampard's good performances at West Ham earned him a transfer to Chelsea. In 2001, The Blues paid 16 million euros to sign Lampard on a long-term basis.

It would not take long for Lampard to make his mark in Stamford Bridge, too. In his first season, he played 53 games in total, totaling 7 goals and 2 assists.

In the 2004-05 season, Lampard won his first trophies in a Chelsea shirt. He crowned himself the Premier League champion and took home the League Cup as well.

With 19 goals and 21 assists in all competitions that season, Lampard had a huge impact on Chelsea's success, earning himself the 'Footballer of the Year' and 'Barclays Player of the Season' titles.

Throughout the years, however, Lampard would fill his Chelsea trophy cabinet with many more prizes. He won the championship in the 2005-06 and 2009-10 seasons, and also won four FA Cups, amongst other club trophies.

Lampard did not only shine in the Premier League, but also at the European level. In 2012, he triumphed in the Champions League, also bagging the Europa League one year later.

The summer of 2014 marked the end of an era, as Lampard left Chelsea on a free transfer to New York City FC. After a long and successful spell at West London, Lampard departed as a real legend, having played no less than 648 games for the club (211 goals, 145 assists).

His Premier League farewell would be a short one, however, as he signed for rivals Manchester City on a loan deal two days later. Initially, Lampard would stay only stay six months in the Etihad Stadium, but the deal was later extended to a full season, enraging New York City FC fans, who were looking forward to seeing Lampard play in the MLS.

In total, Lampard played 38 games for the Citizens, bagging 8 goals and giving 4 assists.

One year later, Lampard returned to the Big Apple, where he eventually would stay for less than two more years. The Chelsea legend totaled 31 appearances for the club, with 15 goals and 4 assists, before retiring in February 2017.

It would not take long for Lampard to return to where he celebrated his biggest successes as a player, as he was appointed a Chelsea youth coach in the summer of 2017.

In 2018, Lampard started the next phase of his managerial carer, signing a three-year contract with Derby County.

Lampard had a successful first (and last) season at Derby, as he helped the club reach sixth place in the Championship. Derby would go on to play the play-off final, losing to Aston Villa 2-1.

Lampard's good performances at Derby sparked interest from Chelsea, where there was a vacant managerial position at the time. Not being able to resist the Chelsea call, Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge on a three-year deal.

Lampard got off to a bad start as a Chelsea manager, as The Blues lost 4-0 in their 2019-20 season opener against Manchester United.

In his first season as a manager at Stamford Bridge, Lampard led Chelsea to fourth place in the Premier League and guided The Blues to the FA Cup final, which they lost against Arsenal.

During his second season in charge of Chelsea, Lampard got off to a strong start, performing well in the Champions League and the Premier League. But things would not end well that season.

Chelsea dropped to ninth place in January 2021, after which the club decided to intervene. The Blues sacked Lampard on the 25th of that same month, which was the end of a story that lasted a bit over one and a half year.

After having been without a club for over a year, Lampard was picked up by Everton FC in January 2022, succeeding Rafael Benitez, who was sacked after disappointing results. Lampard's assignment was clear: he had to keep Everton in the Premier League. The Chelsea legend managed to do so, after an epic 3-2 win against Crystal Palace.

The next season, Everton had to fight relegation again, but this time Lampard was less successful in his quest. Losing to West Ham 2-0, Everton sacked Lampard on the 23th of January.

Five months later, both Chelsea and Lampard surprised the footballing world, announcing that the former midfielder would take over as a caretaker manager at Stamford Bridge after the sacking of Graham Potter. In the meanwhile, Chelsea is on a quest for a new top manager for next season, with big names being cited.

As things stand, Lampard has not been able to turn things around in West Londen yet. In the Premier League, Chelsea lost to Wolverhampton and Brighton, while it was eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Chelsea's owner Todd Boehly has invested heavily in the team this season, but this has not led to the expected results and success. The Blues have been underperforming in the current Premier League campaign and are set to miss out on European football next season.

Unless Lampard pulls off the impossible and guides Chelsea to an unprecedented Premier League run this season. A feat which would rightfully earn him the title of 'miracle man'.