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 best English footballers of his time, and is
widely regarded to be one of the best 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 178 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 (146
league goals) and 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 second place in both
the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or.
Internationally,
Lampard has been capped 90 times by England since making his debut in
October 1999, and has scored 23 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 in June 2011.
