FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Voted England’s Player of the Year by supporters of the national team in 2004 and 2005, Frank Lampard has been an inspirational figure for both club and country in that time. He was England’s top scorer in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup™ and provided Chelsea’s main source of goals during their successive Premiership triumphs in 2004/05 and 2005/06.
Lampard, who came second behind Ronaldinho in the 2005 voting for FIFA World Player of the Year, has worked hard to achieve his current status in the game. Steven Gerrard, his partner in England’s midfield, considers him “probably the most improved player in the world” over the last two years, describing his progress in that time as “unbelievable”.

A schoolboy cross-country runner, Lampard his shown plenty of resilience in his rise up the football ladder. It is now ten seasons since Lampard made his debut for West Ham United, the club where he grew up under the watchful gaze of his father and uncle, Frank Lampard Sr and Harry Redknapp, who were assistant manager and manager respectively.

There were ups and downs at Upton Park for the young Lampard, as he recalled when he collected his award for the English Football Writers’ Player of the Year in May 2005. “I remember running on the touchline and being told, ‘Go and sit down with your uncle and dad because you’re not good enough to get on the pitch’,” he said.

Lampard gradually began to fulfil his promise as a goalscoring midfielder, registering seven-goal hauls in each of his last two seasons with West Ham, before he joined Chelsea in an £11million transfer in 2001. By this time he was an England international, having made his debut came against Belgium in 1999, but it was not until the 2003/04 season that he finally won a regular starting place in the national side.

Since coming off the bench to claim his first goal for England in the 3-1 friendly win against Croatia in August 2003, however, Lampard has become a near-permanent presence on Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team sheet. He ended 2003/04 with ten league goals for Chelsea and then struck three times as England reached the last eight at UEFA EURO 2004, his first senior international tournament.

If those figures were impressive then in the intervening two years, Lampard has got even better. Blessed with supreme fitness, a keen eye for goal and, in his own words, “a natural determination to compete”, he has become one of the best attacking midfielders in world football.

He is vice-captain at Chelsea and together with John Terry and Joe Cole brings some English ‘spirit’ to Jose Mourinho’s multi-national collective. Of course, he brings much more than that: Lampard played 164 consecutive league games over the course of the last five seasons and was a key contributor as Chelsea captured successive league titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, scoring 29 Premiership goals in that period.

For England, Lampard was on target in five of their ten Germany 2006 qualifiers and set the seal on a successful campaign with the winning goals in the final two fixtures against Austria and Poland. He struck from the spot against the Austrians, having taken over the penalty-taking duties from David Beckham, while against Poland it was an exquisite volleyed effort that won the match – a goal struck with the confidence becoming a player at the very top of his game.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

A dynamic player who possesses a fine range of passing and devastating shooting, Frank Lampard has developed into one of the finest exponents of the midfield player's art.

Club
A graduate of the academy at West Ham United FC, Lampard made his Premiership debut in 1996. He spent a spell on loan at Swansea City FC but was back at Upton Park as West Ham won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999. He joined Chelsea FC for €16m in the summer of 2001 and missed just one Premiership game in his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge. He was Chelsea's best player as they reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2003/04, and played a starring role again the following year, scoring 19 goals as Chelsea won the Premiership title and the English League Cup. That display saw him named as Football Writers' Player of the Year, and he scored 16 goals as the London club retained the Premiership crown in 2005/06.

National team
Lampard made his international debut in October 1999, but missed out on selection for UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He bounced back to feature at UEFA EURO 2004™, scoring three times before England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Portugal, but his form was less impressive as England bowed out at the same stage, against the same opponents, at the 2006 World Cup.

Did you know?
Lampard's father Frank twice won the FA Cup with West Ham while his uncle, Harry Redknapp, is the manager of Portsmouth FC.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

A midfield player who possesses a fine passing range, Frank Lampard is also a tireless worker and regular goalscorer.

National team
Kevin Keegan was in charge when Lampard made his international debut on 10 October 1999, although he was not selected for England's ill-fated UEFA EURO 2000™ campaign, instead captaining the Under-21s. Was selected for Sven-Göran Eriksson's first match but again missed out when the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad was announced. However, Lampard bounced back to play in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying.

Club
Like team-mate Joe Cole, he is a graduate of the academy at West Ham United FC. Lampard made his Premiership debut against Sheffield Wednesday FC in 1996 and by 1997/98 - after a spell on loan at Swansea City FC - was a regular. Ever present in 1998/99, he then played 64 matches over the next two seasons to take his tally at Upton Park to 148, scoring 23 goals.

2001: Joined Chelsea FC for €16m and missed just one game in a debut season which saw him net five goals in 37 Premiership matches and feature in the UEFA Cup.

2002/03: For the second time in his career, Lampard did not miss a game, scoring six times as Chelsea finished fourth to reach the UEFA Champions League qualifying round, where they eliminated MŠK Žilina in August 2003.

2003/4: A memorable season for Lampard whose midfield displays earned him second place in the PFA Player of the Year awards. Despite a flood of big name buys, he was consistently Chelsea's best player as they reached the Champions League semi-final and finished second in the Premiership.

Did you know?
Lampard's father, also Frank, twice won the FA Cup with West Ham and his uncle, Harry Redknapp, is the manager of Portsmouth FC.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

BBC's UEFA EURO 2004 player's profile

Lampard has been in superb form for both England and Chelsea this season.

The midfielder scored a brilliant goal in the friendly against Croatia and impressed in the match against Denmark.

Lampard has matured into a fine example of the modern midfield player since his move from West Ham and has established himself as a regular in the Chelsea team despite intense competition for places.

He is defensively aware but also has the ability to burst forward from midfield and scores more than his fair share of spectacular goals.

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