Published 17:54 IST, July 17th 2020
Chelsea's drinking culture: Former player opens up on 'norms' of getting high with Lampard
Former Chelsea star Damien Duff recalled the time he spent at Stamford Bridge, bonding with teammates Frank Lampard and Jonh Terry over drinks.
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Two-time Premier League winner Damien Duff opened up on his time at Stamford Bridge and recalled the Chelsea drinking culture that cemented a bond in the team's dressing room. The former Irish winger spent three seasons at Chelsea and was part of Jose Mourinho's side that secured the club's first Premier League title in the 2004-05 season. Despite excelling on the pitch, the Chelsea team did not stop themselves from enjoying off it as Duff revealed that being partial to drinking helped unify the team.
Damien Duff opens up on the Chelsea drinking culture
In conversation with the Open Goal podcast, Damien Duff stated that even though Chelsea were playing around 60-70 games in a season, the team was out drinking together on a weekly basis. "A few of the foreign lads would join us from time to time. They wouldn't drink alcohol so they would be fine the next day, but the British, Irish, and Icelandic boys would get absolutely lamped", Duff admitted, while recalling his Chelsea days. "This happened every week and it was a norm", he added.
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Duff explained that spending time together helped strengthen the bond between the players but the English stars had a collective name for themselves. Chelsea's team had a strong English core with Frank Lampard, John Terry and Wayne Bridge playing a big part in the club's success under Mourinho. Duff went on to admit, "They called themselves 'The Bulldogs', but I never wanted to be a part of it because I was Irish. The group consisted of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Wayne Bridge, and a few other English club physios. Iceland's Eidur Gudjohnson was also involved".
The Chelsa drinking culture might have played a big part in Chelsea winning trophies as Duff also won the English League Cup and one English Super Cup with the Blues. Duff scored 14 league goals in 81 appearances for the west London side. Prior to joining Chelsea in 2003, Duff had discussions with Manchester United and Liverpool over a potential transfer. He even met with Sir Alex Ferguson but a deal never really materialised. Claudio Ranieri was the manager at Chelsea when Duff joined the club with Roman Abramovich's reign underway.
Image Credits - AP
Updated 17:54 IST, July 17th 2020
