Frank Lampard Sabet Penghargaan Pelatih Terbaik LMA 2026

Manajer Coventry City, Frank Lampard, resmi menerima penghargaan Pelatih Terbaik dari League Managers Association (LMA) pada Selasa malam di London setelah berhasil membawa timnya promosi ke Liga Primer Inggris.

Klub berjuluk Sky Blues tersebut mengakhiri penantikan selama 25 tahun untuk kembali ke kasta tertinggi sepak bola Inggris sejak musim 2000-2001 dengan finis di puncak klasemen Championship.

Dilansir dari BBC, tim asuhan Lampard mencatatkan keunggulan hingga 11 poin di akhir musim sekaligus menjadi tim paling produktif lewat torehan 97 gol dari 46 pertandingan serta memiliki pertahanan terbaik.

Trofi utama Sir Alex Ferguson tersebut diserahkan langsung oleh Manajer Timnas Inggris, Thomas Tuchel, yang hadir menggantikan Sir Alex Ferguson karena sang legenda Manchester United sedang menjalani masa pemulihan medis.

Sebelum menyerahkan penghargaan, Thomas Tuchel menyampaikan pesan langsung dari sang legenda mengenai ketidakhadirannya dalam acara tersebut.

"It is of course not the same without Sir Alex himself and we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery so that he is hopefully with us next year on stage again," ujar Thomas Tuchel, Manajer Timnas Inggris.

Tuchel kemudian melanjutkan prosesi dengan membacakan teks lengkap dari surat pribadi yang ditulis khusus oleh Ferguson untuk mengapresiasi pencapaian Lampard.

"Dear Frank, many congratulations on being named LMA manager of the year. You should be very proud of what you and your team have accomplished. Your personality as a manager and a leader is so clearly defined in how your team has played great football this season – with confidence and self-belief and I have enjoyed watching you. I know from speaking with you that you have great humility and that important quality of a curious mind for learning. I'm sure winning this award will mean a great deal to you, Frank, and I wish you the best of luck in the Premier League next season." kata Sir Alex Ferguson, Mantan Manajer Manchester United.

Dalam pemilihan tersebut, Lampard berhasil mengungguli tujuh nominator lain termasuk manajer Arsenal Mikel Arteta dan manajer Manchester City Pep Guardiola, di samping dirinya yang juga menyabet gelar Pelatih Terbaik divisi Championship.

Setelah menerima penghargaan, Frank Lampard merefleksikan perjalanan kariernya dan menyampaikan apresiasi atas dukungan yang ia terima dari sesama rekan pelatih.

"Wow. I moved from player to manager really quickly and I did not know much. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. British managers are pretty good. It is true. They are not idiots saying old school stuff. I have had messages from a lot of managers – and I will drop Pep Guardiola in there – and a lot of British managers know the score. It means a lot when managers like Steve Bruce and Sean Dyche send you a message after a game." kata Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.

Lebih lanjut, seperti dilaporkan BBC, Lampard menegaskan bahwa skuatnya saat ini sangat layak mendapatkan kesempatan untuk membuktikan kemampuan mereka di kompetisi kasta tertinggi pada musim depan.

"We haven't got Premier League minutes in our team. We've got a couple of boys that played, who got 30 appearances or whatever. The reality is that these boys have deserved a chance because of the hard work that they did." tambah Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.

Sebagai bagian dari persiapan menuju Liga Primer, Coventry City kini mulai menyusun kekuatan tim dengan melepas gelandang Jamie Allen serta bersiap mempermanenkan status pinjaman Frank Onyeka dari Brentford pada 1 Juli mendatang.

"Sometimes I think it's not being humble, it's actually just acknowledging and crediting the players, who want to get to the Premier League. So, we go for it, right? You have to understand what they did. The accomplishment has been amazing from the players because they are the ones who go and do it." ujar Frank Lampard, Manajer Coventry City.