Frank Lampard lavishes further praise on ‘fantastic sportsman’ Jorginho

Jorginho could have find himself between a rock and a hard place in this post-Maurizio Sarri era of Chelsea football. Thankfully, the case has been the exact opposite for the Italian-Brazilian midfielder.

Manager Frank Lampard is one who knows quite well the business of playing in midfield. And he simply cannot stop praising the guy who has been proving himself to be more than a “one-trick pony”, or a “teacher’s pet”, in our first games under his command. Despite spending so little time working with him, he is already sold on Jorginho’s ability to ‘change’ and ‘lead a game’ from his position.

“[Jorginho has] been a pleasure to work with.

“Fans are generally pretty honest. What they’re seeing is a player – I don’t want to talk about last year – who has a drive and determination as a team player.

“He also has quality. He can change a game, lead a game, own a game from midfield areas.”

Jorginho’s good work goes far beyond the pitch. As per Lampard’s words, the midfielder gets to lead the effort of elevating the level of our training sessions once they fall. Something that shows once he gets to be on our matches, moving up and down the pitch and creating passing options, while always instructing his teammates.

“I see day-to-day what playing for this club means. He’s just a fantastic sportsman who cares deeply.

“When you have a training session that might fall below standard, or drop even for a moment, he’s the one who drives it up again.

“When the fans see that on the pitch, as they did at Norwich, that’s why they sing his name. All I see now is a really good player who is a leader in the group.”

This high level of play from Jorginho is something that has been carried over from great performances he had at the end of last season. Once he grew used to the pace of the game, the criticism that never really got to him was mostly over.

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Lampard was already paying attention to that last season, and he was glad to find that Jorginho would be able to perform in a similar way in his plans. Perhaps most importantly, the midfielder continues to show himself as a determined player that will not shy away from hardships, and is always looking for paths towards victory.

“From watching Chelsea closely last year, I thought he finished the season brilliantly.

“If you’re going through a tough time with the fans, it is really easy to hide. But he never hid from receiving the ball on the edge of his own box or a tight area.

“That’s a sign of character: you need to believe in yourself, stand up and play. That’s what he does.

“When Jorginho goes on the pitch he wants to win and contribute.”

Even then, Jorginho remains a few steps away from the importance of a world champion such as N’Golo Kanté. The Frenchman missed his national team’s most recent call-up due to injury; and he will also be out of contention for our game against Sheffield United tomorrow, as he has been granted time to properly heal from his ankle problem.

“Sometimes it all comes on top and you get a couple of niggles, so you just have to clear the decks and get them right.

“It’s about showing him a little bit of TLC, about getting the ankle right and then starting afresh.”

-Frank Lampard; Source: Guardian

So, we will not get to have Chelsea’s best form yet since Kanté and several others (Pedro, Antonio Rüdiger, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek) are out due to fitness problems. Still, we should be good enough to get that first Stamford Bridge win for Frank Lampard.

COME ON, CHELSEA!