Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard arrived from West Ham in June 2001 for £11 million, still carrying the ‘manager’s nephew’ tag from Upton Park. He left thirteen years later as the greatest goalscorer in the club’s history. Most of modern Chelsea fits between those two points.

His numbers look like a misprint for a midfielder: 648 appearances and 211 goals in all competitions. He played 164 consecutive Premier League matches, a Premier League record. In 2004–05 he scored 13 league goals (19 in all), led the league with 18 assists and was named FWA Footballer of the Year. On 11 May 2013 a brace at Villa Park took him past Bobby Tambling’s 202.

The haul: three league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the 2012 Champions League and the 2013 Europa League.

The moment everyone keeps is 30 April 2005 at Bolton. Chelsea had waited fifty years for a league title. Lampard scored both goals in a 2–0 win and the championship was sealed that afternoon. Seven years later, with John Terry suspended, he wore the armband in the Munich final.

To supporters he was the late run into the box, the 20-goal season from midfield, the player who chose to stay. He later returned to the dugout as manager, but ‘Super Frank’ was written on the pitch.

Sources

• Chelsea FC — Team of 120 (record goalscorer in the fans’ all-time XI)
• Wikipedia — List of Chelsea F.C. players (648 apps / 211 goals in all competitions)
• Chelsea FC — All-time record goalscorers (211 goals, passing Tambling at Villa Park in 2013)
• Chelsea FC — Leading appearance-makers (648 appearances over 13 years)
• Wikipedia — Frank Lampard (2001 transfer, 164 straight games, honours)
• Wikimedia Commons — Frank Lampard against AS Roma 2013 (5).jpg (photo: thearcticblues from United States of America, CC BY 2.0)