Former Chelsea attacking midfielder Frank Lampard has retired from playing at the age of 38
On Thursday one of the Premier League’s greatest ever players Frank Lampard called time on his playing career at the age of 38-years-old.
He will always be remembered as a Chelsea hero after spending 13 years with the Blues.
During that time Lampard became the club’s leading ever goal scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances.
The attacking midfielder also played a key part in the Blues establishing themselves as a major force in the English game under Jose Mourinho.
Fantastic career in football
Lampard enjoyed a glorious career starting at West Ham prior to his move to Chelsea. He also enjoyed a short stint at Manchester City on before finishing his career in the MLS with New York City FC. Some West Ham fans have never forgiven him for making the move to the Blues where he enjoyed such success.
His swansong in New York will be largely forgotten, as by then he was in the twilight of his career. It is easy to forget that Lampard also won 106 caps for England, scoring 29 times in his international career.
However, it is at Chelsea that he will always be loved and admired the most. Former teammate and Blues captain John Terry described him as Chelsea’s greatest ever player, which is high praise indeed for the attacking midfielder.
Goals, trophies and hard work
Frank Lampard as an attacking midfielder may never be matched for goals in the Premier League. Few midfielders have quite the ability to ghost into the goalscoring positions that Lampard had during his career.
He would score twenty-plus goals season after season in the top-flight. His goals help Chelsea become Premier League champions for the time and established the star as one of the best attacking midfielders in the game.
Lampard won 13 trophies with Chelsea, including the Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League. He literally won every trophy there was to win with the Blues in club football.
The attacking midfielder worked at his game tirelessly. Doing extra training after training, and doing everything he could to improve his game, to make himself a more productive player on the pitch for club and country.
The hard work obviously paid off with a trophy-laden career and hero status assured at Stamford Bridge.
What next for Frank Lampard?
Lampard retiring from football will not have come as a major surprise, considering his age and the fact that time was starting to show on his body in his final playing stint in the MLS.
Lampard obviously has a number of avenues to explore now that he has hung up his playing boots. He is an intelligent guy and no doubt will make his decision on his future in due course.
An obvious course of action would be pursuing a career in coaching and eventually management. Lampard always came across as a leader at Chelsea. According to John Terry, he is friends with Chelsea youth team boss Jody Morris, so he may be returning to Chelsea at some point to help out in the youth ranks. According to reports he is already looking into taking his coaching badges
Lampard seems to have the sort of character to make a good manager. Of course, great players do not always make great bosses. However, Lampard seems to have the work ethic and willingness to learn that could help him be a successful boss.
If he needs any advice then he will not have to look far, as his uncle is former West Ham and Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, while his dad Frank Lampard Snr worked alongside Redknapp at West Ham as his assistant manager.
He could also follow in the footsteps of his cousin Jamie Redknapp and become a television pundit. Whatever Lampard does in the future I am sure he will be successful. I certainly would not bet against Lampard becoming a successful manager in the future.
Is Frank Lampard Chelsea’s greatest ever player?
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