Chelsea have added Thiago Silva to their ranks, a player against whom Frank Lampard came across while on England duty.
Paris Saint-Germain cam across the expressive and exhausting Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. At the heart of their defence was Thiago Silva, a 35-year-old defender.
Silva did not let his age define him and was assured at the back. The Parisians only allowed a single goal and would have been European champions. Neymar Jr or Kylian Mbappe couldn’t get past Manuel Neuer, and the rest is history.
It was the last hurrah for Silva in the French capital, who sought adventures away from Parc des Princes. Chelsea offered him an interesting project and he will now ply his trade in the English Premier League.
The experienced defender will now play under Frank Lampard, someone against whom he faced-off across the pitch.
Lampard has endearing memories of that encounter, and hailed the tough test Silva and Co. presented.
“I got sent that picture the other day, of us shaking hands at the kick-off. Unfortunately, I am a bit older now and memories of all these games are not crystal clear!” Goal quoted Lampard.
“But I do have memories, it was a special game, I think it was the reopening of the Maracana.
“It was a very difficult game and I remember Thiago Silva and Neymar and all those players. It was a tough game, we got a good result there.”
Chelsea broke their transfer policies to sign Silva. Players over the age of 30 do not have a shelf life at the Stamford Bridge, but exceptions were made for the Brazilian.
Lampard hailed the hardworking Silva and believes he will add those values to his young squad.
“It was a pleasure to play up against him because when a player has had the career he has had and achieved what he has achieved, it is not by luck, it is not by anything other than hard work and pure talent and hopefully he is bringing that to the club,” Lampard added.
Chelsea showed that they need defensive maturity in their preseason friendly against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Blues conceded a goal in the final minute to finish on level terms with the Seagulls.
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