Thomas Tuchel was modest and full of praise for his predecessor
The Champions League final is still set to be held on the 29th of May, with the original Istanbul location set to be moved to Wembley, following recent UK travel restrictions which saw Turkey added to the red list.
With an all-English final of Chelsea vs Manchester City, both coaches are looking to win either their first Champions League trophy for the club, or their first altogether. In Thomas Tuchel‘s case, it is the latter and whilst he has done well to take his team to the final of the competition, he was quick to defer credit to the man that came before him.
Speaking in the press conference ahead of the derby against Arsenal, the German manager said that his Chelsea side wouldn’t be where they are without Frank Lampard: “You can only arrive in a Champions League final if you make it through the group stage and Frank had an amazing record in the group stage. This lays the foundations for getting to the final and I will never forget this”.
He went on to speak of his admiration for the club legend, stating that “[f]rom the first day when I came in here I was aware that Frank created his own legacy at Chelsea and it is well deserved. When I came in it was halfway through the season and it was about continuing the job he had done”.
You can watch the full press conference below (starts at 9:07):
He was full of praise for the former Derby and Chelsea manager both as a player and as a coach, commenting that “when you think about Chelsea you think about Frank Lampard” and that he showed grace following his replacement:
“One or two days after I arrived he sent me a message and wished me all the best – that was very nice to receive and it was very polite. I was very happy to get that message.”
The former PSG manager went on to say that he had no preference over where the final would be played, so long as it is still set to be played. This would be his first European trophy after finishing runner-up in last year’s CL final against Bayern Munich.
