100 England Caps For Frank Lampard - A Look At The Chelsea Midfielder's International Career

An effective midfielder is said to be one who can tackle, pass and score goals.  Although England have not had too many in recent years, they do have one who is about to receive his 100^th cap. 

Over the last 15 years, Frank Lampard has become one of the most famous players in the world.  His performances have been so consistently impressive that, for most people, it is only Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard who could challenge him for the title of England’s best midfielder of the last decade.  Paul Scholes, who shone slightly earlier with Manchester United, is possibly the only other name that could be mentioned when discussing the nation’s most prestigious talents to have played recently.  The fact that Gerrard and Lampard are both on course to emulate Scholes by playing over 700 games for their respective club suggests that loyalty plays an important part in longevity.

Lampard’s overall scoring record for Chelsea is slightly better than a goal every three games, having found the net 205 times in 613 appearances for the Blues.  An astonishing tally for a midfielder, many centre forwards would do anything to possess such a strike rate.  The number of goals he has scored for the Three Lions is similarly remarkable, with 29 goals in 99 games heading into the all-important clash with Ukraine.  There is no doubt Lampard would love to mark two milestones tonight, with him scoring his 30^th England goal on his 100^th cap very much a possibility.  But the fact that a win for Roy Hodgson’s side would put them in the driving seat for qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil means that such motivation is probably unnecessary for the veteran midfielder.

Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League cups are evidence of Lampard’s domestic success, whilst last season’s Europa League win comes after the holy grail of the previous year’s Champions League victory.  Like the rest of modern England players, however, he has not even come close to winning a trophy on the international stage.

Can the 35-year-old play his part in helping the national side’s latest generation to change that?

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