Frank Lampard, born on June 20, 1978 in Romford, London, is an English midfielder. He is the son of Pat and Frank Lampard Sr., the former England full-back and two-time winner of the Football Association Cup. His uncle, Harry Redknapp, is Portsmouth coach, and his cousin, Jamie Redknapp, retired in 2005 after seventeen caps for England and twelve seasons with Liverpool.
Frank Lampard was spotted by Peter Taylor, the England Under-21 team manager, and made his international debut for the Under-21 team against Greece on November 13, 1997. During his 16 appearances for the Under-21 national team, Frank Lampard scored 8 goals. His first appearance for the England national team was in October 1999 against Belgium. He scored his first goal for the English squad in the Euro 2008 qualifying match against Croatia on August 20, 2003, and he was also a key player in helping the team win the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. As of 2008, Frank Lampard has scored 14 goals during the 63 national team appearances he has made.
Frank Lampard started his football career as an apprentice with the West Ham United youth system for a year and signed his professional forms on July 1, 1995. Later that year, he was loaned to Swansea City, a second division team, and made his league debut in during the club’s 2-0 win against Bradford City on October 7, 1995. During his time with Swansea City, Frank Lampard scored one goal in his nine league appearances and also played in two cup competitions. After his return to West Ham, he represented the club for the first time on January 31, 1996 against Conventry City. He was also a part of the West Ham team that won the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Intertoto Cup in 1999.
On May 15, 2001, Frank Lampard joined Chelsea for a whooping fee of £11 million and was one of the first players to be signed by Claudio Ranieri, the manager of Chelsea at that time. He made his debut for the club in its draw match against Newcastle United in August 2001. In the 2004-05 season, he played in all thirty-eight Premiership matches and completed the season with thirteen goals.
In the following season, Frank Lampard hit a career-high of 16 goals in league matches and led the team as captain in 2006-07, when John Terry was injured. He scored seven goals in eight matches and also scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in the club’s third-round tie against Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007.
On February 16, 2008, Frank Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score one hundred goals. His made his 100th goal during the club’s 3-1 FA Cup win over Huddersfield Town. Later that year, he signed a new 5-year contract worth £39.2 million with Chelsea, making him the highest-paid Premiership player.
Frank Lampard was a part of the Fédération Internationale Des Associations de Footballeurs Professionels (FIFPro) World XI team for the 2004-2005 season. He was chosen as the Football Writers Association (FWA) Player of the year in 2005, as well as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year for the 2007-08 season. In 2005 and 2006, he was a part of the Professional Footballers Association Premier League Team of the Year.
Totally Frank, an autobiography by Frank Lampard, was published in August 2006.
