Club Details
Chelsea Star Frank Lampard Alleged To Have Genius IQ
Like the kid at school that is an outstanding achiever in all facets of life, Frank Lampard has combined weighty brain power to his playmaking, ball-pinging, goalkeeper-slaying and net-bulging form.
Mar 5, 2009 9:36:17 AM
A-grade magnet Lampard - who turns 31 this summer - recently took an intelligence test along with several other Blues and is believed to have recorded a score that exceeds 150.
Fellow Englishman John Terry also scored highly and was placed third, but Lampard stole top honours.
Dr English is quoted by Eurosport as saying, "John Terry was in the top three but Frank Lampard scored one of the highest sets of marks ever recorded by the company doing the tests - higher than me!"
A score of 150 would rank Lampard in the top 0.1 per cent in the country, which would be enough to secure the international a place in respected high-IQ society, Mensa.
Lampard obtained 12 GCSEs while at school in Essex and is even alleged to have secured an A* in Latin.
IQ Table
| 140 +
| Genius/ Almost Genius
|
| 120-140
| Very Superior Intelligence
|
| 110-119
| Superior Intelligence
|
| 90-109
| Average/ Normal Intelligence
|
| 80-89
| Dullard
|
| 70-79
| Borderline Intelligent Deficiency
|
| Under 70
| Feeble-Minded
|
*Source: Increasebrainpower.com
Michael Essien May Start For Chelsea Against Juventus, Admits Hiddink
Michael Essien could be in line for a shock return to the starting line-up
Didier Drogba, the Chelsea striker, dedicated his latest goal to Michael Essien, the Ghana midfield player, who could start for Chelsea in tomorrow’s Champions League game with Juventus in Turin. Guus Hiddink is considering playing Essien for the first knockout round, second leg, in which Chelsea hold a 1-0 advantage.
After scoring against Coventry City in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, Drogba promptly raced to celebrate with Essien, who later came on as a substitute to make his first appearance after six months out with a knee injury. “I know what it feels like,” Drogba explained. “I was happy for him that he was on the bench. I think he can make a big impact. We need people like him, physically and technically.”
Hiddink admitted that he is weighing up starting Essien. “Michael did a very good job after his very heavy injury,” the interim manager said. “He is fit, but there is a difference to be game-fit. I have time to think.”
Nicholas Anelka, who has an ankle injury, is less likely to play. “I doubt it,” Hiddink said. “He’s working but he’s been out many days. We’ll see what is his reaction to treatment and training. It’s very close.”
Eyes on the prize: Deco, left, believes Chelsea can still lift the Premier League title but must win every game
If Ashley Cole seems determined to give footballers a bad name, at least one of his teammates is setting a better example. Instead of spending four-figure sums at West London restaurants, Deco, the Chelsea and Portugal midfield player, is putting money into his charitable organisation, Deco Institute, in the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba, near São Paulo, where he grew up.
The institute gives children aged between 6 and 17 a chance to develop and prepares them for adult life in conjunction with the country’s apprenticeship scheme. “We really wanted to change something and if you want to do that, you have to start where you live,” he said. “All countries have social problems, but in Brazil they live in a place with many difficulties — they are offered drugs at 10, 11. This gives them the chance to be someone.”
Other players have football schools, but Deco’s operation has gone farther. “Sport is important, but not sport alone,” he said. “These kids need to get a job, to work. At 16 or 17, when they pass out of the institute, what can they do then? That’s the difference between our institute and others.
“We have 200 kids, and another 200 who belong to other institutes but use our space. We put in about £400,000 a year, but we are doing this because we believe in it. The responsibility is big, but I think we’re doing well and we see the progress in the kids.”
Some Chelsea supporters worried earlier in the season whether they would see as much progress in their team, and Deco admits that injuries have prevented him from contributing as he would have liked since moving to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in the summer. A continuing hamstring problem makes him a doubt for tomorrow’s Champions League first knockout round match away to Juventus, which Chelsea lead 1-0 from the first leg. But rumours of a summer move to the Turin club may mean that Chelsea never see him at his best. “We can only see on the final week whether it was a good or a bad season. I don’t want to make an excuse, ‘I was injured.’ I will try to show the real Deco for the rest of the season. But it’s important to be without injury and then I can play better.”
The team also struggled as a whole, which led to the departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager who brought him to London and who had managed him at international level. “We started well but after injuries to some important players, maybe we had to play the same team in too many games,” Deco said. “We lost something that we had early in the season. Maybe Scolari should have had more time, but in football you don’t get it. It’s always results.
“Of course it’s difficult when a coach wants you and then he leaves. Yes, I worked with Scolari for many years in the national team, but I also played without him for years. I have a contract with Chelsea, not Scolari. I need to prove that Chelsea made a good decision to bring me here.” Deco, 31, has been impressed by the approach of Guus Hiddink, Scolari’s replacement, even though it is based more on a Dutch work ethic than Brazilian fantasy. The successive 1-0 wins in Hiddink’s first three matches remind Deco of José Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager and his coach at Porto, where he won the first of his two Champions League medals in 2004, the second with Barcelona in 2006.
“Barcelona played beautiful football, but I think our team in Oporto was stronger,” Deco said. “When we scored first, the game was finished. The mentality that Mourinho built was fantastic. [Frank] Lampard and the others are great players anyway, but I can see a Mourinho influence on them because they played for him for years.”
With that mentality rediscovered, what can Chelsea win? “Chelsea has a big team, big players that can decide a game,” he said. “I had offers from other clubs, but I chose Chelsea, not just because of Scolari, but because I wanted to win titles again and, for me, Chelsea was the best club to do that. So Chelsea can win the Champions League. The Premier League? If we just had to win our games, we could win the Premier League, but when you depend on other teams, it’s difficult. The worst thing would be if Manchester United lose games and we don’t win ours.”
Deco is the newest ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which addresses social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports-related community development initiatives. Since its inception in 2000, Laureus has raised more than €15 million (now about £13.5m) for projects that have helped to improve the lives of more than 750,000 young people, and supports almost 70 projects worldwide.
Juventus v Chelsea
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Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is unlikely to have recovered from an ankle injury in time to face Juventus.
Blues boss Guus Hiddink, whose side lead 1-0 from the first leg, said: "Will Anelka be fit? I doubt it.
"He is working but has been out now for many days. We'll see what his reaction is to some treatment plus training."
Midfielder Michael Essien could return to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in Saturday's 2-0 win at Coventry, his first game in six months.
Hiddink added: "Essien has played and trained with the second team. Now he is fit but it is different to be game fit if you are playing very tough games.
"I have hours to think whether we start with him (against Juventus), yes or no, and see what his reaction is from Saturday - but it is good to have people on the bench who can slot in easily."
If Anelka is absent, Hiddink will hope that Didier Drogba maintains his impressive run of form up front.
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The Ivory Coast striker, who did not play regularly under Hiddink's predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari, opened the scoring as Chelsea eased past the Sky Blues in their FA Cup quarter-final win at Highfield Road - his third goal in five games since the Dutchman took charge.
As well as his scoring streak, Drogba's application has also impressed Hiddink, who revealed the player is taking part in extra training sessions.
Hiddink said: "From the first day, when I saw him at Watford in the FA Cup, and after that, for me he has been a guy who has been working hard.
"I have had no complaints about his attitude and commitment and he is working hard in training and in games.
"I don't want to judge what happened before I came here but outside of training sessions with the whole group, we are also doing a specific programme with him and that is paying off.
"He likes to do it. It is not that I have to force him to do extra work. We focus on what is asked and demanded in the game.
"He wants to do it and, when it is paying off like at Coventry, it is perfect."
Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko will miss the game at the Stadio Olimpico after breaking a bone in his left foot during his side's derby win over Torino in Serie A on Saturday.
Cech speaks to end speculation
Chelsea and Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech spoken to refute claims that he was in any way responsible for the sacking of former Blues boss Phil Scolari who was dismissed in February after a comparatively poor run of results and replaced by current albeit temporary manager Dutchman Guus Hiddink.
After he left the club, Scolari blamed senior players such as Cech, Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and German international Michael Ballack among others although the Brazilian cited the three as the main instigators of his dismissal after it emerged that the three players had met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to discuss the then crisis situation at Stamford Bridge.
However, speaking to the News of the World, Cech said: "We stayed with him and tried to help him. We helped both with our attitude and our performances on the pitch. But in the end he came out with such comments."
He went on: "I will say only one thing. Every time something similar to this happens there are always a lot of rumours and speculations. I was rather surprised that this came out from the coach because mostly managers stay together with their team."
He went on: "However I do not worry about it now. I just try to focus on my current performances to finish the season as well as we can."
Since the arrival of Hiddink, Chelsea have won the five matches they have played, six including the FA Cup win at Watford where the team were managed by Scolari and then Hiddink's assistant Ray Wilkins.
Saturdays result against Coventry meant that Chelsea went through to the FA Cup semi finals and will play either Arsenal or Hull City with Manchester Utd facing Everton in the other game.
Chelsea won 2-0 with the goals coming from Drogba and Alex. Talking to the Sunday tabloid about that match, Cech said of Drogba: "Didier was unlucky with injuries at the beginning of the season. It took more time to get back to his full physical condition. Also he was only coming on for the last 20 minutes."
He added: "It was even worse for him than for me. But he has played full games in our last few matches and we all saw his contribution to the team."
Whatever Cech said about Scolari, he is positive that Hiddink's arrival has been a good thing: He said: "You can see the work we have done since the change of managers. Our team performance is back and I still believe we will finish higher than Liverpool."
Jose Mourinho admits he wants Chelsea to win the Champions League if his own Inter Milan team fail.
He said: “People like Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba are my present friends. They are not just my former players. Frank is without doubt the best midfield player in Europe not to have won the European Cup and that is not right, it needs to be rectified.
“If he wins it at Chelsea or somewhere else, he needs to win it. He is too good not to. If we qualify I would very much like to draw an English club again. I loved my time in England and I know they would be great games.
“Liverpool would be a good one for me. I still feel I owe them one in Europe and Rafa has been my toughest opponent in European competition. I hear about my name linked to the Liverpool job, but they link Jose to everything.”
Mancini ahead of Rijkaard to succeed Chelsea's Hiddink
Chelsea have a three-man shortlist for manager next season.
The Sunday Mirror says Chelsea will select from a three-man short-list of Guus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini when they make a permanent managerial appointment this summer.
Caretaker coach Hiddink maintains he will leave and return to his post as Russia's national coach.
Although he is earning considerable favour among key Chelsea players and owner Roman Abramovich, they seemed resigned to his departure.
Mancini's prospects are gathering pace, with the Italian highly thought of inside Chelsea and rumours rife he is looking to buy a house in London.
Chelsea keen to sign permanently Inter Milan's Quaresma
Chelsea are ready to open talks with Inter Milan over a permanent deal for Ricardo Quaresma.
The London Evening Standard says Quaresma joined Chelsea on loan for the rest of the season in January after struggling to settle at the Italian club. The 25-year-old set up the winning goal for Didier Drogba against Portsmouth and also crossed for Alex to score the second in the win at Coventry.
The Portuguese international, who is ineligible to play against Juventus in the Champions League tomorrow night because he is cup-tied, has also settled in quickly with his new team-mates and is highly-rated in the dressing room.
Didier Drogba’s fortunes have been transformed under Guus Hiddink, but the striker says Chelsea’s new manager has largely ignored him since taking charge.
Drogba has now scored three goals in his last four games following his predatory strike in the win over Coventry.
The Ivorian, so central to Chelsea’s success under Jose Mourinho, was a peripheral figure under Felipe Scolari, and had only scored three goals all season until Hiddink’s arrival last month.
Hiddink has been credited for reviving the striker, though the legendary Dutch manager has apparently spent little time working closely with Drogba.
"Guus hasn't said anything to me – that's normal, you don't have to speak every day to a player. Just being in the team is enough and it means a lot,” said Drogba.
"He doesn't need to speak to me – he has just picked me in the squad and put me in the team – then I know what I have to do.
"I've been in this situation before – you just work, work and work, and you want to improve. If you continue to do that, something good will happen to you. I kept working hard and now people have forgotten what happened over the past few months."
Looking back to his uncomfortable time under Scolari, Drogba said: “The start of the season was non-existent for me really – I was out with injuries and, when I came back, it was very difficult for me.
"That's football. When everything is going well, and you are scoring goals, your confidence is getting higher and nobody speaks to you because they don't need to.”
Hiddink’s influence has injected fresh confidence into Chelsea ahead of their Champions League meeting with Juventus, when Michael Essien could return to add his unique brand of energy and ability into the mix.
"He [Essien] can make a big impact,” said Drogba. “In the pressure of big games, we need people like him, physically and technically. We are in a difficult situation and we need to be clever if we are to end the season with success."
Hiddink tells Chelsea to buy Real Madrid's Van der Vaart
Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink is keen on Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.
The People says Hiddink has told Roman Abramovich to sign Real Madrid star Van der Vaart.
Hiddink recommended his fellow Dutchman to the Chelsea owner - sparking suggestions he could remain at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.
Temporary Blues boss Hiddink claims he will step down in the summer to concentrate on his other job as Russia's national boss.
But whether he stays or goes, Hiddink is fully involved in planning for next season - and Van der Vaart is at the top of his shopping list.
Hiddink is a long-time admirer of the Dutch international midfielder and is convinced he would be a success at the Bridge. A bid in the region of £8million is being prepared.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink brings back Jose Mourinho model
Chelsea touch down in Turin this morning transformed by Guus Hiddink’s restorative influence.
Roman Abramovich may have paid north of £20 million to dispense with Jose Mourinho more than 18 months ago, but Hiddink appears to have taken one look at the changes that have since been wrought within this squad and decided: out with the new, in with the old.
The Dutchman’s first six matches in charge have all illustrated Mourinho’s indelible mark upon the club, but none as emphatically as this dismembering of Coventry.
It would be a disservice to Hiddink to argue that he simply retrained Chelsea’s players to secure an early 1-0 lead and then shut the game down, even if this is largely what transpired in a one-sided quarter-final at the Ricoh Arena, because there has been a revival in every department.
Against Coventry John Terry chased down every ball, Michael Essien was reinstated in his marauding midfield role and Alex, once a liability at centre-half, scored the type of winning goal of which a centre-forward would have been proud. Why, even Didier Drogba was unrecognisable from the dawdling dilettante of late, dispatching his first-half strike ruthlessly and rushing to the touchline to embrace Essien in a convincing show of unity.
Essien, the “bison”, is the all-action playmaker whose six-month absence with cruciate ligament damage has cost Chelsea so grievously.
Hiddink’s return of six wins out of six represents an even more impressive start than Mourinho managed at Chelsea, and a significant reason seems to be the sense of calm authority he has engendered. Any hint of a returning confidence among his players has been harnessed and Drogba, in particular, has not so much been revived as reborn.
The Ivorian’s future appeared untenable when he turned in a display of supreme indifference at Old Trafford in January, but the desire detectable in his play since Hiddink arrived means he will start against Juventus tomorrow in his usual capacity, leading the line and making a nuisance of himself only among the opposition defence.
“When you’re scoring goals, your confidence is getting higher,” Drogba said. “The more you play, the more chances you have to score.”
From the outset Hiddink has made Drogba integral to his plans, trying to forge the long-awaited regular strike partnership with Nicolas Anelka, who is unlikely to have recovered from an ankle injury in time for tomorrow’s game.
“For me he [Drogba] is a guy who has been working hard,” the manager said. “I have had no complaints about his attitude. When it is paying off like at Coventry, it is perfect.”
The impact of Drogba was not lost on Chris Coleman. “Chelsea put out their best players and that was a massive compliment to us,” the Coventry manager said.
“It’s like they were back to where they were before.” Just like under Mourinho, was the subtext.
Gudjohnsen: Chelsea will win in Turin
Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen believes that Chelsea will win against Juventus in Italy. The former blues legend thinks that Didier Drogba's finish in the first leg is all the West London club need to secure a result.
Gudjohnsen told goal.com:
"I believe that they will win through against Juventus because with that one goal lead I think that will give them something to hold on to and they can win in Turin as a result," he revealed.
"I really like (Claudio) Ranieri too and know that he is doing a good job at Juve, but I do not see them being able to beat Chelsea."
Cech speaks to end speculation
Chelsea and Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech spoken to refute claims that he was in any way responsible for the sacking of former Blues boss Phil Scolari who was dismissed in February after a comparatively poor run of results and replaced by current albeit temporary manager Dutchman Guus Hiddink.
After he left the club, Scolari blamed senior players such as Cech, Ivorian striker Didier Drogba and German international Michael Ballack among others although the Brazilian cited the three as the main instigators of his dismissal after it emerged that the three players had met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to discuss the then crisis situation at Stamford Bridge.
However, speaking to the News of the World, Cech said: "We stayed with him and tried to help him. We helped both with our attitude and our performances on the pitch. But in the end he came out with such comments."
He went on: "I will say only one thing. Every time something similar to this happens there are always a lot of rumours and speculations. I was rather surprised that this came out from the coach because mostly managers stay together with their team."
He went on: "However I do not worry about it now. I just try to focus on my current performances to finish the season as well as we can."
Since the arrival of Hiddink, Chelsea have won the five matches they have played, six including the FA Cup win at Watford where the team were managed by Scolari and then Hiddink's assistant Ray Wilkins.
Saturdays result against Coventry meant that Chelsea went through to the FA Cup semi finals and will play either Arsenal or Hull City with Manchester Utd facing Everton in the other game.
Chelsea won 2-0 with the goals coming from Drogba and Alex. Talking to the Sunday tabloid about that match, Cech said of Drogba: "Didier was unlucky with injuries at the beginning of the season. It took more time to get back to his full physical condition. Also he was only coming on for the last 20 minutes."
He added: "It was even worse for him than for me. But he has played full games in our last few matches and we all saw his contribution to the team."
Whatever Cech said about Scolari, he is positive that Hiddink's arrival has been a good thing: He said: "You can see the work we have done since the change of managers. Our team performance is back and I still believe we will finish higher than Liverpool."
Mancienne wants to partner Chelsea's Terry for club and country
Michael Mancienne is convinced he can be Chelsea skipper John Terry's defensive partner - for club and country.
He told the People: "One of my dreams is to play alongside the England captain on a regular basis, especially as I have grown up here watching him.
"Jt has been a massive influence and as a person he has been great for me as well.
"He's definitely very interested in the kids coming through at Chelsea and is a great role model for us.
"It's great to watch a player come from the Chelsea youth ranks to captain England because obviously you would want something like that to happen to yourself.
"With Hiddink, it seems to be different than it is with a lot of big clubs because he is not afraid to throw in his youngsters.
"It's a great confidence booster.
"There's a lot more light at the end of the tunnel for me. And I hope that I will get more of a sniff of a first-team place.
"I hope Hiddink doesn't leave in the summer."
Yet ANOTHER apology from the media: John Terry
What again? Yet ANOTHER apology from the Mirror to a Chelsea player or Abramovich? Yes indeed! The Mirror ran a story recently stating that Guus Hiddink had partly blamed John Terry for Ashley Cole’s recent arrest for drunken behaviour – they have now printed the following apology:
“Mirror.co.uk would like to apologise to John Terry for wrongly suggesting in a headline that Guus Hiddink had blamed him for Chelsea team-mate Ashley Cole's arrest.”Some sections of the media got so hysterical that they practically demanded Terry have the England captaincy removed!
You have to laugh at the double standards and hypocrisy from the media on certain clubs – especially Chelsea. Gerrard was recently involved in an alleged attack on a barman yet the slant from the media was sympathy – Terry gets accused of making remarks on 9/11 and he gets banned from playing for England!
I’ve lost count of the amount of apologies The Mirror and The Times have issued so far – two is it to Terry? A couple to Shevchenko? One from each to Abramovich?
This won’t be the last apology – the press have carte blanche to attack, invent and say what they like.
Make no mistake – there is a definite agenda against us and until the media are more vigorously regulated it’s not going to stop.
The Last one was this
THE DAILY MIRROR
August 1 2008
The Daily Mirror have been forced to print an apology to Roman Abramovich after claiming that he approached Turkey national coach Fatih Terim behind Grant’s back during the crucial run-in of last season. This apology is just another in a line of apologies issued from the media after various defamatory stories against Andrei Shevchenko and John Terry.
The media have it well in for us and they know they have an easy market of plebeian masses that will only too gratefully lap up any negative stories on Chelsea – I can’t see them stopping but again they have had to apologise (after the damage was done obviously):
The Mirror apology read as follows:
“On March 22 we published a story which we claimed to be an exclusive both in the newspaper and on our website stating that Roman Abramovich was drawing up a secret hit list of potential managers and had authorised the sounding out of Turkey boss Fatih Terim.”
“We now accept that Mr Abramovich had authorised no such approach and nor had he drawn up any secret hit list.”
“We apologise to Mr Abramovich for the upset and distress caused by the publication of this article.”
Abramovich lawyers said that:
Cheers ~ Come On Chelsea ~The story has caused substantial damage to his reputation, and caused him considerable distress and embarrassment.” The Mirror had made no attempt to check the allegations with him, press officers, or Chelsea, or warn him before publication.
The Mirror also failed to apologise to him, or take proper steps to mitigate the damage, and of failing to respond fully to his complaints.The compensation is reported to be £150,000 from the Daily Mirror publishers but Abramovich is also going to seek aggravated damages as well as also suing over the website version of the story which was not taken off-line until April 28th.
To add more icing to the cake Abramovich is further seeking an injunction as well as damages as he believes the invented negative stories about him and Chelsea Football Club will not cease (The Mirror has already had to apologise twice to Shevchenko).
Probably won’t make that much difference – but maybe certain quarters of the media will think a bit longer before adding fuel to the thirsty anti-Chelsea bandwagon?
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