Lampard urges Chelsea to take the lead at the Bernabeu
As Chelsea plays Real Madrid on Wednesday, Frank Lampard urged his young team to show leadership qualities.
The opening leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between the Blues and Los Blancos will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Blues have struggled this season and are currently 11th in the Premier League.
N'Golo Kante, Thiago Silva, and Mason Mount will be available for Chelsea following injury concerns, according to Lampard, who took over as coach for the remainder of the season last week after Graham Potter was fired.
Lampard said to reporters on Tuesday, "You can only become a leader in action — there's no use in being dubbed a leader until you show it on the pitch.
"We must give the young players we have recruited the opportunity to mature into the leaders we desire.
"I see a leader in (Enzo Fernandez), but he is only 22 years old. Events like the one tomorrow are excellent opportunities to shine and display the leadership qualities that define you."
Together with other club greats like Didier Drogba and John Terry, Lampard was one of Chelsea's leaders in the team's push to win the competition for the first time in 2012.
After Andre Villas-Boas was fired as the Blues' interim manager in March 2012, Roberto Di Matteo took charge and guided the team to success in Europe.
Before playing Real Madrid, a team that defeated Chelsea in the quarterfinals of the previous season, Lampard said he had not spoken to Di Matteo.
Although we are both ex-players and he accomplished an outstanding job, there are some similarities, according to Lampard, "my situation is different in practice."
"I have to use caution when drawing that comparison because we have a lot of hard games ahead of us starting tomorrow.
We shall make an effort to write our own piece of history, but the challenges ahead are undoubtedly great.
Last season, Madrid defeated Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge before overcoming a 3-2 loss at home to get to the semi-finals.
After Chelsea had gone up 3-0 thanks to a spectacular Luka Modric assist, Rodrygo Goes scored a late goal to force extra time.
Madrid's remarkable comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on their road to capturing the trophy for a record 14th time made it another unforgettable match at the Bernabeu.
The players need to recognize that this is a great stadium and a wonderful football club, Lampard said. "One thing I would say, having seen Real Madrid and having a relationship with Carlo Ancelotti, who's been incredible in his time here," Lampard added.
"There are some things you can't control, but we have to take responsibility for the things we can, and recognize the caliber of the Real Madrid team."
