Frank Lampard gave a speech to his players about his Champions League success in 2012, referring to how he won Europe’s biggest honour during his worst season at Chelsea.
The 44-year-old won the competition in unlikely circumstances under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo and hopes his side can channel that spirit to overcome 14-time champions Real Madrid over two legs.
Speaking at Santiago Bernabeu, Lampard was cautious to draw too many parallels between 2012 and 2023 in front of the media.
He said: “There are parallels in probably a simple sense, we are ex-players. But the year Roberto was here, he was an assistant and had a big awareness of the squad and got the job earlier in the year than I did.
“He did an amazing job. I remember big parts of why he achieved what he achieved. My situation is different in practice.”
However, speaking alongside him was the club-record signing Enzo Fernandez. He explained how Lampard spoke to his 24-man group onto his way to Spain about his experiences in the competition.
Enzo added: “Frank talked with the group a bit and he told us to keep our heads straight. Chelsea is a club with a huge history. He told us he won the Champions League in 2012, and he mentioned it was in his worst moment at Chelsea. A great example for us.”
“We are not afraid. Of course there is respect because we know the quality they have and the forwards they have. But we will try to counteract them with our defenders and try to make a wonderful match.
“We know the history of the Bernabeu, it is a big stadium and I am really happy to play here. It has beautiful memories.”
Lampard confirmed N’Golo Kante, Thiago Silva and Mason Mount are all back after spells out injured, and said of the talismanic France international: “N’Golo is a special player. I understand what you mean in terms of consistency and the problems N’Golo has had with injuries.
“But in terms of coming back and playing at a really high level, I have witnessed him do it. He did it for me in the Super Cup against Liverpool for me a few years ago.
“He passed a fitness test, hadn’t trained in a long time and was the best player in the pitch for 120 minutes. I think he has the capacity to do it because he’s a special player.
“Hopefully he can do that because he’s that high level a player and when we miss him as a club we miss him because of how good he is. It’s a positive that he’s back.”
