Chelsea considered late move for Portuguese legend Vitor Pereira before deciding on Lampard

Frank Lampard beat off a late bid from Portuguese coaching legend Vitor Pereira to land the Chelsea job. Pereira, now at Shanghai SIPG, emerged as the only serious rival to Lampard when Chelsea whittled their shortlist down to two. Lampard overcame the last remaining competition because of his connections to the club as one of […]

Frank Lampard beat off a late bid from Portuguese coaching legend Vitor Pereira to land the Chelsea job.

Pereira, now at Shanghai SIPG, emerged as the only serious rival to Lampard when Chelsea whittled their shortlist down to two.

Getty - Contributor

Reuters

Lampard overcame the last remaining competition because of his connections to the club as one of their legendary figures.

Former Porto and Fenerbahce chief Pereira, 50, has won titles in Portugal, Greece and China during a varied coaching career.

He only played football at amateur level and quit aged 28.

But he was sounded out by Chelsea, although ultimately he could not compete with Lampard’s history and association with the club.