Frank Lampard Photo: Александр Мысякин
Frank Lampard further cemented his status as a Chelsea Football Club legend at the weekend by scoring two goals for the club against Aston Villa to give his team a vital win in the English Premier League.
Aside from securing three points for his team, the midfielder’s two goals matched and then surpassed the record total of 202 goals scored for the club by Bobby Tambling in 1970. Lampard is now Chelsea’s top scorer of all time with 203 goals in all competitions, even more astounding when you remember he’s not even a striker.
And the three points all but secure Chelsea a place in the Champions League next season. Tottenham Hotspur are three points behind with one match left to play, so even if Tottenham wins and Chelsea loses on May 19, Chelsea will almost certainly qualify ahead of its London rivals due to a vastly superior goal difference.
In an eventful match on Saturday, Chelsea was a goal and a man down by half time, Ramires having been sent off for two bookable offences. Aston Villa’s goal scorer Benteke also saw red early in the 57th minute, and Chelsea’s Gary Cahill had a shot frantically booted off the goal line as Chelsea pressed for an equaliser. For a Chelsea fan like me, the wait for a goal was torturous.
Step up, Frank Lampard. A fizzing, curling shot from just inside the box at 61 minutes and a poised close range finish from Eden Hazard’s pass two minutes from time were typical Lampard goals; cool, composed and skillfully executed. They were also so characteristic of his knack throughout the years of scoring vital goals just when his team needed them most.
Photo: Lynchg at en.wikipedia
To set the goal scoring record while securing Champions League qualification was really the icing on the cake.
But this was just one of many memorable days in a Chelsea shirt for Lampard. Who could forget his audacious bend against Lazio in 2003, his brace at Bolton to seal the title for Chelsea in 2005, his 25-yard stinger in the 2009 FA Cup final? In 12 years at the club he has won numerous trophies, and with Chelsea has the chance to add another winner’s medal to his collection on Wednesday in Amsterdam.
He joined the West London club in 2001 after spells at West Ham and Swansea City, immediately becoming part of the first choice line up, making 37 league appearances in his first season, and joining exciting young talent such as Eiður Guðjohnsen, William Gallas and John Terry alongside club superstars Gianfranco Zola and Marcel Desailly.
This was a couple of years prior to Roman Abramovich’s multi-million pound takeover of Chelsea, a club with a fair level of debt. Certainly Lampard’s motivation to leave West Ham was ambition rather than money, to join an elite team of players at a club on a swift ascension.
Still, West Ham fans have an unfounded dislike of Lampard due to his decision to leave the club and certainly let him know it when Chelsea play at Upton Park.
But the tirade of abuse can be seen as a backhanded compliment; it simply shows their regret for under-appreciating his talent while he was there, and jealousy that he reached his peak at rival club Chelsea.
Aside from his performances on the pitch, in post-match interviews and at press conferences he seems so strikingly likeable. It’s hard to genuinely say that about too many footballers of the modern era; he is humble and utterly down to earth, a dedicated professional unfazed by the glamour and glitterati nonsense.
As his late mother said about him before her passing: “I’m proud he’s a decent human being. People come up to me at games and say, ‘we love Frank, he’s so down to earth,’ or ‘he’s so polite, he always gives people time and signs autographs’. The pride I feel as Frank’s mum means more to me than any football success.”
Frank’s contract at Chelsea runs out in the English summer and talks of renewal have been ongoing all season. Reports have indicated that owner Roman Abramovich is unprepared to renew his contract because of his age. But the 34-year-old is as fit as a fiddle and on Saturday was zipping around the pitch with the vitality of an upcoming youngster.
He is still such an asset to the club and thousands want to see him stay. As a player he’s astute and aware, inclined to burst forward on the attack, and he is the club’s leading scorer this season.
Sometimes I think what a great centre forward he would have made. In the box he finds space when there should be none, and has a powerful and precise shooting boot. He’s the first choice penalty and free kick taker, having scored some free kicks from ridiculously long ranges over the years. Sometimes his ability to score just seems so effortless.
Much of last season he played a more defensive midfield role under Roberto Di Matteo, once again proving his versatility. A resolute and commanding defensive midfielder when he needs to be, he can produce a pinpoint pass to his teammates up the field. He plays with grace and dignity, and has bags of confidence and a cool temperament. It’s clearly apparent how much he still has to give to Chelsea.
I would love to see him stay at the club at least another season. Aside from the football, it would be strange to see him wearing any other club kit. I’ve always been a huge fan of his: he’s a national treasure and one of the great sportspeople of the century. And thanks to him, I can breathe a sigh of relief after weeks of anxiety over the possibility of my club missing out on a Champions League place.
