Frank Lampard hired to coach Coventry City in second division

Ex-Chelsea manager Frank Lampard returned to soccer on Thursday when he was hired to coach Coventry City in the second division.

The 46-year-old Lampard signed a 2 1/2-year contract.

Lampard would bring a “clear understanding of exactly what is needed to succeed at the very top level," Coventry owner Doug King said.

Lampard has been out of work since June last year, the end of an interim spell in charge of Chelsea.

He previously managed the English Premier League club from 2019-21 and followed that with less than a year at Everton.

He also has experience of the second tier of English soccer, having begun his managerial career with Derby.

“Frank cut his teeth in the Championship and knows what is needed in this league to be successful,” King said.

The move to Coventry is a step down for Lampard, who was considered a rising talent when hired by Chelsea after only one season in management with Derby.

One of Chelsea's greatest players, he was fired after a run of bad results in January 2021 and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who went on to win the Champions League that season.

At Everton, Lampard managed to steer the club away from relegation when taking over midway through the season in 2022, but was out just under a year later with his team second from bottom of the standings.

As interim at Chelsea he managed one win in 11 games, losing eight of them.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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New Coventry City manager Frank Lampard walks, during a training session at the Ryton Training Ground, in Coventry, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

New Coventry City manager Frank Lampard, left and and new first team coach Chris Jones meet the team players, at Ryton Training Ground, Coventry, England, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

New Coventry City manager Frank Lampard, meets the team players, at Ryton Training Ground, Coventry, in England, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

New Coventry City manager Frank Lampard, right, meets player Fabio Tavares, at Ryton Training Ground, in Coventry, England, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

FILE - Chelsea's caretaker manager Frank Lampard looks out from the bench before the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea, at the Molineux Stadium, in Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court on Thursday asked the official electoral authority to recount and verify all of the ballots cast in the first round of the presidential election, which was won by a far-right outsider candidate, sending shockwaves through the political establishment.

The Constitutional Court, or CCR, in Bucharest voted unanimously in favor of the recount, and said the decision is final. The Central Election Bureau is expected to meet on Thursday afternoon to discuss the request.

Calin Georgescu, a little-known, far-right populist, won the first round, beating the incumbent prime minister. Georgescu, who ran independently, was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi, the leader of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, in a Dec. 8. runoff.

Georgescu's unexpected success has prompted nightly protests by people who are concerned with previous remarks he's made in praising Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and believe he poses a threat to democracy.

The vote recount was prompted by a complaint made by Cristian Terhes, a former presidential candidate of the Romanian National Conservative Party who obtained 1% of the vote, who alleged that the USR had urged people to vote before some diaspora polls had closed on Sunday, saying it violated electoral laws against campaign activities on polling day.

After the CCR's ruling, Terhes' press office said in a statement on Facebook that the court ordered the recount “due to indications of fraud,” and alleged Terhes had “presented evidence suggesting” that valid votes cast for Ludovic Orban — who had dropped out of the race but remained on the ballot — had been reassigned to Lasconi.

It is the first time in Romania’s 35-year post-communist history that the country’s most powerful party, the PSD, didn’t have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned as PSD party leader after he narrowly lost to Lasconi by just 2,740 votes.

Lasconi criticized the CCR's decision, saying “Extremism is fought by voting, not backstage games.

“What the CCR is trying to do now is absolutely horrific for a democratic country,” she said. “I am here to defend democracy and call on the Central Election Bureau to handle the vote recount wisely. The law must be the same for all, not interpreted differently for some.”

Lasconi, a former journalist, had told The Associated Press ahead of the first-round vote that she saw corruption as one of Romania’s biggest issues and vowed to tackle it.

“Romania deserves better, not a group of old politicians who use institutions strictly for their personal interest!” Lasconi added in her Thursday statement.

The CCR on Thursday also rejected a request by another unsuccessful first-round candidate, Sebastian Popescu, to annul the ballot.

Popescu alleged Georgescu — who declared zero campaign spending — had not disclosed financing linked to a massive TikTok campaign, which many have credited for his success.

Popescu, who got 0.15% in the first round, also alleged in his appeal that Georgescu had used widespread disinformation and “defrauded the electoral law by illegally financing the entire electoral campaign, having support from outside the country’s borders, from state entities with the aim of destabilizing Romania.”

Georgescu, who said a network of Romanian volunteers helped his campaign, has denied any wrongdoing. “They want to ban the right of the Romanian people to speak freely,” he told a local news channel Wednesday, adding the first-round vote “was perfectly democratic and legitimate.”

Youngsters shout slogans and flash the light of their mobile phones in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, during a protest against Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A woman shouts next to a banner depicting a grumpy cat with a text that reads "I feel like barking" in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 during a protest against Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Youngsters shout slogans and flash the light of their mobile phones in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, next to an altered version of a classic painting, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Calin Georgescu, the independent candidate for Romanian presidency who won the first round of elections making it to the Dec. 8, runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Calin Georgescu independent candidate in the presidential elections speaks to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it into the December 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president gestures while delivering a speech to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it to the Dec. 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A journalist records Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president gestures while delivering a speech to media, in Izvorani, Romania, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, after making it to the Dec. 8 election runoff. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)