LONDON – After reaching the top of the mountain while playing
for two of England's biggest clubs, Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer now try to lead them back to the pinnacle from the dugout.
Lampard takes over as Chelsea manager this season while Solskjaer
begins his first full campaign in charge of Manchester United.
As fate would have it, the two square off to open the season Sunday
at Old Trafford.
Lampard steps into one of the hottest seats in English football.
He's the 12th different manager hired since Roman Abramovich bought
the club in 2003 and could be the Russian's biggest gamble yet.
That's because he has just one season of managerial experience, that
coming at Derby County in 2018/19.
"In one year as a manager, a job like Chelsea doesn't come around
very often," Lampard said when hired last month.
"People will question my experience, but I am ready for that.
"What will define me is my work ethic and what I put into it to try
to bring success."
Lampard is Chelsea's record goal-scorer and helped the club win four
league titles along with the Champions League and Europa League.
That makes him a fan favourite, something his predecessor Maurizio
Sarri wasn't able to become despite despite winning the Europa League
last season.
Lampard's legendary status should buy him some time and he may need
it with the Blues serving a two-year FIFA transfer ban and having
also sold star midfielder Eden Hazard to Real Madrid this summer.
"I am not naive," he said. "I understand fans want success.
"I don't see this as a risk, I am not fearful of the downsides."
Up in Manchester, Solskjaer will be under a bit more pressure.
The former United striker, who came off the bench to score a
stoppage-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final, was hired as
caretaker boss when Jose Mourinho was fired last December.
The Norwegian made an immediate impact by losing just one of his
first 17 matches, paving the way for his permanent hiring in March.
But United faltered down the stretch and finished sixth in the
league, putting some heat on him heading into the new campaign.
"I don't care about the outside pressure and I do very well without
it but internally at the club we have requirements, we have
standards, but I think that I am the one who demands the most from
myself and my players," Solskjaer told the Manchester Evening News.
"You have to cope with both hardship if you are to survive in this
club."
United have gone six seasons since their last title in Alex
Ferguson's final campaign in 2013.
Since then their only top-three finish was as runners-up to
Manchester City in 2018, albeit a whopping 19 points behind.
Solskjaer knows ending the barren run won't be easy.
"That's how football is now, you can never rest on any laurels," he
told Norway's TV2.
"Not that I think the club has done it, but it goes on for periods,
up and down.
"We have had a tough period after Sir Alex, but we know the Premier
League is a different competition now than when I played.
"There are five or six teams that rightly think that they should
fight for the trophy, so it is a completely different competition."