Frank James Lampard OBE (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Chelsea. As a player, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.[4]
Lampard was a creative and technically gifted box-to-box midfielder who began his career in 1995 at West Ham United, the club where his father, Frank Lampard Sr., also played. He is best known for his time at London rivals Chelsea, after he signed for the club in 2001 for £11 million. In his thirteen years with the team, Lampard established himself as a prolific scorer from midfield, becoming Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 211 goals scored in all competitions.[5][6] He also won a number of trophies, including three Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, four FA Cups, a UEFA Europa League title, and two Football League Cups. In 2005, he was named FWA Footballer of the Year, and finished runner-up for both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Lampard was released by Chelsea in 2014,[7][8] after which he played for league rivals Manchester City[6] and Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City before retiring in 2017.[9]
Lampard is one of seven players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is fourth in the Premier League’s all-time assists table, with 102 assists.[10][11] Lampard also holds a number of Chelsea and additional Premier League records, and has won the FWA Tribute Award and a PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award. During his career, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year three times, finished as the Premier League’s top assist provider three times, and was named in the FIFPro World XI and voted as a MLS All-Star.
At international level, Lampard played 106 matches for the England national team, after making his debut in 1999. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups – in 2006, 2010 and 2014 – and in UEFA Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament. He scored 29 goals for England, and was voted England Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. He is also his nation’s most prolific penalty taker, with nine goals scored from the spot. After retiring from international football, Lampard was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015 for his services to football.[12]
After retiring, Lampard served as a team captain on the ITV sport panel show Play to the Whistle from 2015 until 2017. He has also written a number of children’s books.[13]He began his coaching career with Championship club Derby County in 2018, to whom he led to the final of that season’s play-offs. He was appointed as Chelsea’s head coach a year later.