Frank Lampard

Frank James Lampard, Jr. (born 20 June 1978) is an England football (soccer) midfielder currently playing for Premier League club Chelsea F.C. and the England national football team. Frank Lampard plays most often as a Midfielder .22Box-to-box.22_midfielder and has also enjoyed spells in a more advanced Midfielder Attacking_midfielder role. Lampard is Chelsea's top active goalscorer with 130 goals, the most in club history for a midfielder, and is the second midfielder in Premier League history to score 100 goals, after Matthew Le Tissier.

Lampard began Frank Lampard career at West Ham United, Frank Lampard Frank Lampard, Sr. former club. Joining the youth team in 1994, Frank Lampard had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–1998 season. Frank Lampard helped the team to their highest ever finishing position Premier League in the West Ham United F.C. season 1998-99. The following season Lampard scored 14 goals in all competitions from midfield. With progress stagnating at West Ham, Frank Lampard moved to rival London club Chelsea in 2001 for £11 million.

From Frank Lampard debut onwards Frank Lampard was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. Frank Lampard established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and won Frank Lampard first major honours in 2005, winning the Premier League and League Cup. Lampard won more club honours under coach Jose Mourinho; the 2005–06 Premier League title and a The Double FA Cup and League Cup Double in 2007. Frank Lampard signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer, Frank Lampard uncle is Tottenham Hotspur F.C. coach Harry Redknapp, and Frank Lampard cousin, Jamie Redknapp, spent twelve seasons with Liverpool F.C. and earned 17 caps for England before retiring in 2005.

Lampard was educated at Brentwood School (England), an independent school in Essex, where Frank Lampard was a classmate of television personality Jodie Marsh. Frank Lampard gained an A- in Frank Lampard Latin General Certificate of Secondary Education, one of the 12 GSCEs Frank Lampard took. Frank Lampard reportedly has an IQ higher than 150, putting Frank Lampard in the most intelligent 0.1 per cent of the population.

Club career

West Ham United

Lampard joined West Ham, where Frank Lampard Frank Lampard Sr. was the assistant coach, as an apprentice in July 1994 as part of their The Academy of Football, and signed Frank Lampard professional forms a year later. Frank Lampard was loaned to Football League Second Division team Swansea City F.C. in October 1995, and debuted in a 2–0 win over Bradford City A.F.C., and scoring Frank Lampard first senior goal in a game against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.. Lampard made nine league appearances for Swansea City before returning to West Ham in January 1996, with whom Frank Lampard played Frank Lampard first match at the end of the month against Coventry City F.C., and spent the remainder of the season as a reserve.

The next year, a broken leg suffered in a March game against Aston Villa F.C. prematurely put an end to Lampard's 1996–97 season after thirteen appearances. Frank Lampard had to wait until the 1997-98 in English football to score Frank Lampard first goal for West Ham, which came in a road victory over Barnsley F.C.. Frank Lampard became a starter in 1998-99 in English football and appeared in every match as West Ham finished fifth in the Premier League standings, which saw the club qualify for Europe. In the 1999-2000 season, Lampard finished as West Ham's third highest scorer, with a total of 13 goals, which was Frank Lampard highest single season total. These included Frank Lampard first ever European goals, with a total of four in the club's UEFA Intertoto Cup 1999 and UEFA Cup 1999-2000 campaigns. Following the sale of teammate and friend Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United A.F.C. after the 2000-01 in English football season, combined with the departures of Frank Lampard father and Redknapp, Lampard followed suit and left West Ham, but chose to stay in London by joining Chelsea for an £11 million fee.

Chelsea

2001–2004

Lampard's Premiership debut with Chelsea came on 19 August 2001 in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United F.C., while Frank Lampard first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. on 16 September. Frank Lampard scored a total of seven goals in all competitions. Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and scored eight goals in the 2001–02 season. Frank Lampard netted the match-winner in Chelsea's FA Premier League 2002–03 season-opener against Charlton Athletic F.C..

The FA Premier League 2003–04, Frank Lampard was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. Frank Lampard reached double figures in league goals (10) for the first time in Frank Lampard career, in addition to four goals in fourteen UEFA Champions League 2003–04 matches, as Chelsea advanced to the UEFA Champions League 2003–04 Semi-finals.

2005–2007

Lampard played in all thirty-eight Premiership matches for the third consecutive season in FA Premier League 2004–05. Frank Lampard finished with 13 goals (19 in all competitions), in addition to leading the league in assists with sixteen. Frank Lampard won the first major trophy of Frank Lampard career as Chelsea bagged their first Premiership title in fifty years, by a twelve point margin. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the UEFA Champions League 2004–05 UEFA Champions League 2004–05 Semi-finals by league rivals Liverpool F.C., they took home the Football League Cup 2004–05, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches. Frank Lampard landed Frank Lampard first personal award by being named the FWA Footballer of the Year.

Frank Lampard netted a career-high 16 league goals in FA Premier League 2005–06, which marked an increase for the fifth consecutive season. In September 2005, Lampard was selected as a member of the inaugural FIFPro World XI. Frank Lampard record of consecutive Premiership appearances ended at 164 (five better than previous record-holder David James (footballer)) on 28 December 2005, when Frank Lampard sat out a match against Manchester City F.C. due to illness. The streak began on 13 October 2001, during Frank Lampard first season with the club. Frank Lampard finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho for both the Ballon d'Or and 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Due to a back injury sustained by John Terry, Lampard spent much of the FA Premier League 2006–07 campaign as team captain in Frank Lampard absence. Frank Lampard enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games and scored Frank Lampard 77th goal for Chelsea in a 3–2 win over Everton F.C on 17 December, overtaking Dennis Wise as Chelsea's highest scoring midfielder. Lampard finished with 21 goals in all competitions, including a career-high six FA Cup 2006–07 goals; Frank Lampard had scored seven Cup goals in Frank Lampard first eleven seasons combined. Frank Lampard scored Frank Lampard first Chelsea hat-trick in the FA Cup 2006–07 Third Round Proper against Macclesfield Town F.C. on 6 January 2007. Frank Lampard scored two goals to help Chelsea to a FA Cup 2006–07 Sixth Round Proper with Tottenham Hotspur after having trailed 3–1, and Frank Lampard was named the FA Cup player-of-the-round for Frank Lampard performance. In a post-match interview following Chelsea's 2007 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United F.C., Lampard said Frank Lampard wanted to stay at the club "forever."

2007–present

Lampard's 2007-08 season was riddled with injury, managing to play 40 matches, 24 of which in the league—the fewest Frank Lampard had played in a season since 1996–97. On 16 February 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score 100 goals for the club in a 3–1 FA Cup 2007–08 fifth-round win over Huddersfield Town F.C.. After the final whistle, Lampard removed Frank Lampard jersey and flashed a T-shirt to the Chelsea fans with "100 Not Out, They Are All For You, Thanks" printed across the front. Frank Lampard scored four goals in a 6–1 rout of Derby County F.C. on 12 March. On 30 April, Lampard, grieving the loss of Frank Lampard mother a week earlier, decided to play in the second leg of Chelsea's UEFA_Champions_League_2007–08 Semi-finals, who were eliminated on 4–3 aggregate due to a penalty Frank Lampard took in the first period of extra time. In the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Frank Lampard scored an equalising goal in the 45th minute. The match ended 1-1 after extra-time and Chelsea lost on penalties.

On 13 August 2008, Lampard signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea worth £39.2 million, making Frank Lampard the highest-paid Premiership player. Frank Lampard started the Premier League 2008–09 by scoring five goals in Frank Lampard first eleven league matches, and scored Frank Lampard hundredth career Premiership goal in a 5–0 victory over Sunderland A.F.C. on 2 November. Eighteen of Lampard's hundred goals were penalties. Frank Lampard was named Premier League Player of the Month for the third time in Frank Lampard career in FA Premier League Player of the Month 2008–09. After a streak of matches without scoring, Lampard scored three goals in the span of two days, the first being against West Bromwich Albion F.C. and the latter two against Fulham F.C... On January 17, 2009, Frank Lampard made Frank Lampard 400th Chelsea appearance against Stoke City, scoring a stoppage time winner. Frank Lampard scored twice against Liverpool in the second-leg quarter finals of the Champions League, and provided two assists in the next game against Arsenal. Lampard finished the Premier League season with 12 goals, and won the Chelsea player of the Year for 2009. Lampard's 20th goal of the season was the winning goal in the 2009 FA Cup Final. It was the fourth consecutive season that Frank Lampard scored 20 or more goals. Frank Lampard was named later named Chelsea's Player of the Year for the third time.

International career

Lampard was first spotted by England national under-21 football team manager Peter Taylor (footballer born 1953), and Frank Lampard under-21 debut came on 13 November 1997 in a match against Greece. Frank Lampard played for the under-21 side from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers.

Lampard earned Frank Lampard first cap for England national football team on 10 October 1999 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium national football team, and scored Frank Lampard first goal on 20 August 2003 in a 3–1 defeat of Croatia national football team. Frank Lampard was bypassed for UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and had to wait until UEFA Euro 2004 to participate in Frank Lampard first international competition. England reached the quarter-finals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches, and Frank Lampard was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA. Frank Lampard became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes, and was voted England Player of the Year by fans in 2004 and 2005.

Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 FIFA World Cup matches, Frank Lampard went scoreless as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal national football team on penalties. Frank Lampard was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia national football team on 13 October 2007, and finished with one goal (a 3–2 loss to Croatia national football team on 21 November) as England failed to qualify for the tournament. Frank Lampard scored Frank Lampard first international goal in two years in a 4-0 win over Slovakia in March 2009, and also created another for Wayne Rooney. Lampard's goal was the 500th England goal scored at Wembley stadium.

Personal life

Lampard lives in Surrey and has two children with Frank Lampard former fiancée Elen Rives, Luna and Isla; the latter was born just hours after Chelsea won the 2007 FA Cup. Frank Lampard autobiography, Totally Frank, was published in August 2006. In mid-February 2009 it was reported that Lampard and Rives had split, with Rives taking between £1m to £12.5m in settlement fees from Lampard's estimated £25m net worth.

A year after the death of Frank Lampard mother, on April 25, 2009, Lampard was involved in a radio confrontation with James O'Brien (radio presenter) on the London radio station LBC 97.3. Newspapers had reported that following Lampard's split from Rives their children were living with her in a small flat while Lampard had converted their family home into a bachelor pad. Lampard phoned-in, objecting to the assertion that Frank Lampard was "weak" and "scum" for allowing Frank Lampard children to live in inferior conditions to him, and that Frank Lampard had not fought "tooth and nail" to keep Frank Lampard family together. Public comments on Lampard's reaction praised Frank Lampard 'brave' and 'articulate' handling of the situation.

Frank Lampard is a supporter of the Conservative Party (UK), but admitted that Frank Lampard had yet to vote in an election. British media reported that Lampard showed an unusually high IQ score during neurological research carried about by the Chelsea Club doctor, Bryan English. English stated that "Frank Lampard scored one of the highest set of marks ever recorded by the company doing the tests".