Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side. He is considered to be one of the better English footballers of his time, and is widely regarded to be one of the better midfield players of his generation.
Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father Frank Lampard, Sr.'s former club. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.
From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's Player of the decade by official statistics. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and also had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.
A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year,he is the club's third all-time goalscorer with 170 goals in all competitions, including over 100 league goals – the most in the club's history for a midfielder. Lampard is also the highest goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history (139 league goals) and second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 85 assists. He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was voted second place in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or.
Internationally, Lampard has been capped 86 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 22 goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005. He played in Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring three goals in four games. He was top scorer for England in their successful 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker ever with 7 goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer.
He was named the 49th highest earning sportsman in the world, on June 2011.
Lampard's Premier League debut with Chelsea came on 19 August 2001 in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 September.
Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and scored eight goals in the 2001–02 season. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002–03 season-opener against Charlton Athletic.
The following season, he was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. Chelsea finished 2nd in the 2003–04 Premier League behind unbeaten Arsenal and he was named in the 2004 PFA Team of the Year as he reached double figures in league goals (10) for the first time in his career, in addition to four goals in fourteen UEFA Champions League matches, as Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-final against Monaco he scored, but Chelsea lost 5–3 on aggregate. At the end of the season he came second, behind Thierry Henry, for the 2004 FWA Footballer of the Year award.
In August 2004, he scored the winning goal against Southampton in the League, and continued scoring important goals as he scored both in a 2-0 win against Tottenham. In March 2005 he scored a long-range goal from 30 yards against Crystal Palace in the Premier League which Chelsea won 4–1. Lampard continued his season strongly, and his brilliant performances for Chelsea in the Premier League and Champions League further increased his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world. In the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League he scored one of the goals in Chelsea's famous 4-2 win over Barcelona helping Chelsea to progress to the quarter-finals.In the quarter-finals, he scored 3 goals in 2 legs against Bayern Munich as Chelsea won 6–5 on aggregate. His second goal in the first leg was a spectacular one; he controlled Makélélé's cross with his chest then turned and swivelled and sent the ball inside the far post with a left-foot half volley.
In April 2005, He scored both goals against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win which was the Premier League title winning match for Chelsea,which also won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first top-flight title in fifty years, by a twelve point margin. He was named as Barclays Player of the Season for 2004-05. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches, which included the opening goal against Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final, which Chelsea won 2–1. He landed his first personal award by being named the 2005 Footballer of the Year
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side. He is considered to be one of the better English footballers of his time, and is widely regarded to be one of the better midfield players of his generation.Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father Frank Lampard, Sr.'s former club. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.
From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's Player of the decade by official statistics. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and also had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.
A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year,he is the club's third all-time goalscorer with 170 goals in all competitions, including over 100 league goals – the most in the club's history for a midfielder. Lampard is also the highest goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history (139 league goals) and second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 85 assists. He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was voted second place in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or.Internationally, Lampard has been capped 86 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 22 goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005. He played in Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring three goals in four games. He was top scorer for England in their successful 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker ever with 7 goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer.He was named the 49th highest earning sportsman in the world, on June 2011.
Lampard's Premier League debut with Chelsea came on 19 August 2001 in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 September.Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and scored eight goals in the 2001–02 season. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002–03 season-opener against Charlton Athletic.
The following season, he was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. Chelsea finished 2nd in the 2003–04 Premier League behind unbeaten Arsenal and he was named in the 2004 PFA Team of the Year as he reached double figures in league goals (10) for the first time in his career, in addition to four goals in fourteen UEFA Champions League matches, as Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-final against Monaco he scored, but Chelsea lost 5–3 on aggregate. At the end of the season he came second, behind Thierry Henry, for the 2004 FWA Footballer of the Year award.
In August 2004, he scored the winning goal against Southampton in the League, and continued scoring important goals as he scored both in a 2-0 win against Tottenham. In March 2005 he scored a long-range goal from 30 yards against Crystal Palace in the Premier League which Chelsea won 4–1. Lampard continued his season strongly, and his brilliant performances for Chelsea in the Premier League and Champions League further increased his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world. In the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League he scored one of the goals in Chelsea's famous 4-2 win over Barcelona helping Chelsea to progress to the quarter-finals.In the quarter-finals, he scored 3 goals in 2 legs against Bayern Munich as Chelsea won 6–5 on aggregate. His second goal in the first leg was a spectacular one; he controlled Makélélé's cross with his chest then turned and swivelled and sent the ball inside the far post with a left-foot half volley.In April 2005, He scored both goals against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win which was the Premier League title winning match for Chelsea,which also won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first top-flight title in fifty years, by a twelve point margin. He was named as Barclays Player of the Season for 2004-05. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches, which included the opening goal against Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final, which Chelsea won 2–1. He landed his first personal award by being named the 2005 Footballer of the Year