Frank Lampard

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 is the vice-captain for his club side. He is considered to be one of the best English footballers of his time, and one of the best midfield players of his generation. Lampard is a box-to-box midfielder known for "his work-rate, range of passing and goalscoring ability." Lampard began his career at West Ham United, for whom his father Frank Lampard, Sr. had also played. He 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, 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 year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists. In the 2011–12 season, Lampard captained Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League title.

A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year, Lampard is the club's third highest all-time goalscorer with 186 goals in all competitions. Lampard is one of five players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 91 assists. He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was voted FWA Footballer of the Year and was runner-up in both the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or. In 2010 he received the FWA Tribute Award. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's player of the decade by official statistics.

Internationally, Lampard has been capped 93 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 26 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 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker with 8 goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer. He was named the 49th highest earning athlete in the world in June 2011.