Lampard the perfect player, says Mourinho

JOSE MOURINHO paid record-breaking Frank Lampard the highest possible tribute by declaring he would not swap the England international for any other player in the world.

Lampard will break the record for the most consecutive appearances in the Barclays Premiership when he takes the field against Portsmouth at Fratton Park today.

It will be his 160th successive game, beating the previous best of 159 held by Manchester City goalkeeper David James, which Lampard equalled against Newcastle last Saturday.

Mourinho also insisted he saw no reason to rest Lampard after he sets a new appearance best for the top flight and would only consider such a course of action if the Blues were involved in the later stages of the Champions League next year.

“This record for Lampard is unbelievable,” said Mourinho. “I would not swap him with any player. There are other players with great talent - Ronaldinho, Kaka and Andrei Shevchenko are unbelievable players - but this is my favourite player.

“He plays every day, he plays every game. Cold, hot, rain, snow, against tough opponents, against soft opponents, at home, away from home and with somebody trying to kill him man to man.

“He can play in every system I want to play. This is what I call a player for every game. For me he is perfect. He is the player I wouldn’t change with anyone. You could give me any player and I wouldn’t change.”

Mourinho believes Lampard’s feat should be applauded even more because, unlike James, he is an outfield player.

“David James’ record before was unbelievable but he was a goalkeeper and Lampard is a midfield player,” said Mourinho. “He has no injuries, no suspensions and no bad performances for two different managers.

“Neither Claudio Ranieri nor I left him out or rested him. The record is unbelievable and shows not just the player he is but the man he is. It’s fantastic.”

“I don’t think he needs a rest to be fair. Maybe in February or March if we’re in the Champions League quarter-final I can give him a rest, but I don’t think so.”

Mourinho predicted that Lampard’s physical condition was so good that he expected him to go on until he was well into his mid-30s and said the rest of his team-mates found his improvement remarkable.