Frank Lampard insists he ‘LOVES’ his rivalry with Leeds and plays down the ‘one little tiff’ he had with with Marcelo Bielsa amid the infamous Spygate row while he was Derby County boss
- Chelsea will renew an old rivalry on Saturday when they face Leeds United
- The bad blood between the pair which is even more now Frank Lampard is boss
- Lampard clashed with the club after the infamous Spygate row while at Derby
- The now-Chelsea boss played down the ‘little tiff’ he had with Marcelo Bielsa
Frank Lampard insists he loves his rivalry with Leeds and doesn’t even mind the song the Yorkshire club’s fans made up to mock him.
As if there is not already enough simmering bad blood between Chelsea and Leeds, Lampard’s return to his old club as manager has only added to it.
After his infamous Spygate row with Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa last January, Leeds fans made a chant poking fun at Lampard following his complaints.
Frank Lampard insists his Spygate row with Marcelo Bielsa is long gone and a thing of the past
Bielsa sent a spy to try and gather some secrets while watching Lampard’s Derby side train
A Leeds fan holds a spy-related banner for Leeds’ clash against Derby in January 2019
Lampard’s Derby had the last laugh that season when they beat Leeds in the play-off semi-finals, celebrating with a rendition of ‘stop crying Frank Lampard’ at the Yorkshire club’s expense in the dressing room.
But Leeds did not forget and it was among the songs belted out by their players after their promotion was confirmed last season, setting up a reunion with Lampard.
He said: ‘I love it. I’m not just trying to laugh about it because it is important and us winning that game in the play-offs is one of the proudest most enjoyable games of my career because Leeds are such a strong team.
Lampard was in charge of Derby at time and side beat Bielsa’s Leeds in Championship play-offs
‘I don’t mind the ‘Stop Crying Frank Lampard’. I had my moment when we won and I’m very aware that when you have your moments there will be people that will glory in the moments that don’t go for you in football and it’s not a problem, I’ve got a lot of respect for Leeds.’
Lampard insists that what he described as ‘one little tiff’ between him and Bielsa after he sent a spy to snoop on Derby training is ‘long gone now.’
He added: ‘There are two things, long term rivalry and that’s great and that’s football and then the rivalry with myself and Marcelo but there’s nothing in that. I respect him. We’re only focussing on our teams and trying to win this game. We’re fighting different battles and trying to do our best for our clubs.’
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