Frank Lampard has praised Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola for inspiring him to set his own world-record.
Speaking as he officially entered the Guinness World Records for scoring goals against 39 different clubs in the top flight, the New York City midfielder said that the attitude of the then-ageing Italian forward had inspired him to show a similar commitment.
Between 1997 and 2014 Lampard managed to hit the net against teams from Arsenal to West Brom, with only five teams managing to keep him out in the 17 years.
It was at Chelsea that he established his reputation as one of the world’s best goalscoring midfielders and the club’s record scorer puts that success down to Zola, the team mate he claimed has influenced him most.
“I came to Chelsea as quite a shy boy; I think it was a big fee I came for. I’m not sure I felt that comfortable in the dressing room straight away because of the big names around me,” Lampard said.
“Zola took me under his wing. I was fascinated by the way that at 35, and very established as a world-class player, he still trained and practised his free-kicks daily. He was always the last on the training ground, always looked after himself impeccably, really lived well and I learned from that.
Sports stars in the Guinness World of Records
“I watched how he played, how he was a gentleman off the pitch. I thought ‘that’s how I’d like to be’ if I could get anywhere near what he has done in the game. He was certainly someone I looked up to.”
Lampard followed in his mentor’s footsteps and remained a goalscoring threat in the Premier League until he left Manchester City in May, scoring his 177th goal on the final day of last season.
Of all the 177 goals against 39 clubs none were as emotive as the late equaliser he scored for Manchester City on 20 September 2014, against former club Chelsea. Nearly a year on from the goal Lampard admits he is still unsure how he feels about scoring against the team where he made his name.
“It’s quite hard to put into words,” he said. “I still have such a great relationship with the club and particularly the fans, who supported me from day one. Coming from West Ham, an east London boy to west London, it’s not necessarily an easy move.
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"But they took to me very quickly and I never forgot that. We had a really close bond. I never imagined scoring against them. I never imagined coming to Manchester City, but that’s what happens in football.
“It was a strange feeling, I was really pleased when I came home on the day. At the end I was fortunate enough that I had all the Chelsea fans singing and appreciating me, having just scored against them, and the Man City fans, my new club at the time, doing the same. I was very lucky there.”
And now he is a world record holder. It’s quite the achievement for the “shy boy” from Romford.
