Frank Lampard BiographyFrank James Lampard, Jr. was born on the 20th of June 1978 in the town of Romford in the London borough of Havering. He is a midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea in the English Premiership.
Lampard comes from an extremely distinguished footballing family. His father Frank Lampard Sr. was a left back who played for West Ham United. His cousin is 'Spice boy' Jamie Redknapp, who played for Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur amongst other clubs. His uncle is Jamie's father Harry, who currently manages Portsmouth F.C.
Lampard went to the Brentford school in Essex, the same school former Milwall striker Neil Harris and model Jodie Marsh attended. He joined West Ham as a part of the East London club's revered youth system in July 1994. About a year later, he signed his first professional contract. Welsh club Swansea City, who were then playing in Divison 2, took him on loan in October 1995. His first senior goal came for the Swans against Brighton and Hove Albion. After his return in January 1996, he was a regular in the youth team of the Hammers and was captain of the squad which reached the FA Youth Cup finals that year.
His first goal for West Ham came against Barnsley in the 1997-98 season. The following season saw him establish his place in the West Ham starting 11 and in that season he did not miss a single game as the Hammers finished 5th. It was the first glimpse of the now very well known fitness of the man. Along with Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand, Lampard formed a formidable quartet which was hailed as the future of English football. He made his senior debut against Belgium in a friendly in October 1999, and played for 76 minutes before being substituted for Dennis Wise. He also scored 9 times in his U-21 career. Only Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers have scored more times for the English U-21 side.
When his father, uncle and close friend Rio Ferdinand all left Upton Park in quick succession, Lampard decided it was time to move on. He moved to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea signing him for �11 million. Lampard's first goal for his new club came in a pre season friendly against Northampton Town and soon after he made his Premiership debut against Newcastle United. He was sent off in the game against bitter rivals Tottenham, which to date still remains his only dismissal in the Premiership. October 13, 2001 marked the starting of a new record in English football as Lampard went on to play 164 games non stop for the Blues. His first two seasons at the club did not reveal all what he was capable of, and he was often overshadowed by Gianfranco Zola.
The arrival of Roman Abramovich heralded a new beginning for Lampard, and there has been no looking back from then. He has grown into one of the Premiership's most feared midfielders. His pinpoint passing and shooting abilities from the edge of the box are his exceptional strengths, and he is one man who is turned to when set pieces and penalties have to be taken.
The 2004-2005 season was one of the most successful ones in the history of Chelsea and Lampard played a stellar role, bagging 19 Premiership goals. He also scored 4 as Chelsea reached the last four of the Champions' League and also helped the Blues to win the league Cup.
He was not selected for Euro 2000 and missed the flight to Korea and Japan for the 2002 World Cup. His first international goal for the Three Lions came against Croatia in 2003 and he has gone on to win more than 50 caps for England. He currently wears the No.8 jersey which Paul Scholes vacated after his retirement. Lampard has often been accused of not being able to perform as well at the national level as he does at club level. Many view that he and Steven Gerrard are similar players, and that there is room for only one of them in the squad. But there is no doubt that the man puts in nothing less than 100% when on the pitch.
Lampard is regarded as one of England's finest players of this generation. He came second behind Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho in the poll for the European Footballer of the Year (2005) and FIFA world player of the Year (2005). He won the Football Writers' Association player of the year award in 2005. He was also part of UEFA's all star Euro 2004 squad. He has been described by his manager, the charismatic Jose Mourinho, as the "best player in the world''.
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