A Tribute To The Centurion – Frank Lampard

 Tonight (September 10, 2013) Frank Lampard is going to be the 8^th player to make it 100 caps for England. Although my memories of Frank Lampard are more in a Blue shirt than the England kit, the only reason I watch England matches and support England is because of Lampard. I started following Chelsea during the 2000’s and when Chelsea signed Lampard in 2001 from West Ham United it was just another signing for me as I had no idea who was Frank Lampard then. A few years passed on and it was in 2003-04 season that I became a fan of Lampard and from then on he was my all-time favorite. Then sometime in 2009 was when I bought my first ‘Lampard 8’ printed Chelsea home kit. It was to me what a national treasure was to a king. From then on till today it became a ritual for me to wear that jersey whenever Chelsea played; whenever Lampard used to score I used to get goosebumps.

Frank Lampard made his international debut in October 1999 in a 2-1 friendly win against Belgium. And today he is playing his 100^th game for England against Ukraine. In 2004-05 season Lampard went on to feature in all 38 premiere league games for the third consecutive season. For a central midfielder to achieve 100 caps for the National squad is something astonishing. Central Midfield is the engine of the team where the hardest work is done and is more injury prone too. Lampard kept fitness and managed to defy all odds and showed up for the national squad time and time again with some great performances. Ashley Cole was quoted as saying

“’I could see what he did in the Premier League when I played against him, and the minute I joined Chelsea to play with him and see how hard he trains, how many goals he scores from midfield, how many assists he gets, he’s worked very hard over the year s and to score 20 goals nearly every season he’s been playing is unbelievable. He’s one of the best midfielders England as had and one of the best the world has seen.”

Lampard went on to score 29 goals for England throughout his career though we all know it should have been 30, courtesy FIFA. Lampard has been a true professional on and off the pitch. He never dives, he never whines and he doesn’t get angry even if he has the right to be a bit angry. He doesn’t throw rants at anyone. His team mates see him as their role model and seek inspiration from him. Previous centurions have been handed the captain’s armband to honor the occasion but Lampard said

“I don’t think that’s needed. We’ve got a great captain and we don’t need to change it.”