Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho once told Frank Lampard that he was the best player in the world.
While that's not at all an unusual tactic for a manager to instill added confidence in a player, as the second Designated Player in New York City FC history explains in a interview with NBCSN's Men In Blazers, it was hardly a typical conversation with the Portuguese mastermind.
"That [conversation] was in this country, it was in Seattle," the midfielder told his English compatriots-turned-American-soccer-championers during a recent interview in his new home of New York City (above video). "We went into the shower, he came in and it was that awkward moment with a new manger.
"You're both standing there, doing what you do in the shower, and I'm thinking, 'What do I talk about here?' He turned and said to me, 'You are the best player in the world.'
"I was like, 'What?' He said, 'No, you are. You have to believe it. The only difference between you and [Zinedine] Zidane is that he's got a trophy cabinet and medals everywhere. If you want to be the best, you have to win things this year."
It's a candid look into the always interesting management techniques of one of the world's most famous man managers, but it's not the only funny anecdote that Lampard spills with Michael Davies and Roger Bennett.
The first goal that Lampard scored in his entire life? An intentional own goal.
"It was a game going on, Under-8s or Under-7s. … I remember the ball coming to me, turning, shooting, scoring, running away all excited and I had scored an own goal. I don't know how I managed to do that, but I was five, so I can kind of let myself [off the hook] a little bit."
And what of the rest of the 36-year-old's professional playing career? He reckons he's got another few years left in the tank.
"I'd like to think I've got another three years in me, and possibly more. When I get a little bit older, and if I feel like I wasn't able to give my best, I'd probably know that and I wouldn't carry on for too long."
The entire interview is equal parts entertaining — as is the typical Men In Blazers production — and insightful into Lampard as a player and person, making it well worth a listen.
