Frank Lampard is one of the greatest goalscoring midfielders in football history, having amassed 267 goals over his club career, 211 of which came during his 13-year spell with west London club Chelsea.
Whilst the majority of his playing career was spent playing in the Premier League, starting out as a teenager with West Ham United, before playing a season – his final in the English top flight – with Manchester City during the 2014/15 campaign, Lampard was also an established member of the England national team that was considered the ‘Golden Generation’.
But whilst on duty representing the Three Lions in 2007, he was met with a flurry of boos on a few occasions, which left his teammates ‘dumbstruck’, just two years after England fans had voted him as their player of the year.
England Fans Booed Their Star Midfielder
Players including Gareth Barry and Joe Cole were left astonished by fans’ reactions
Despite being considered one of the greatest English footballers of all time, and scoring almost 30 times in over 100 appearances for his country – an impressive return for a midfielder – Lampard’s international career wasn’t always rosy.
In fact, after being part of the England team under Sven-Goran Eriksson that was eliminated on penalties at the quarter-final stage of the 2006 World Cup, the Chelsea star was subject to a ring of boos under the lights of the newly-opened Wembley Stadium in 2007 when he was introduced as a substitute against Estonia in their Euro 2008 qualifier with 20 minutes remaining on the clock.
After the match, which England won 3-0, Lampard’s teammates were quick to jump to his support, with midfielder Gareth Barry bewildered by the response from Three Lions fans to Lampard’s introduction, with him labelling it as ‘wrong’.
It’s always harsh for any player to get booed, especially someone like Frank with what he’s achieved and what he’s done for his club and his country. So it was very wrong. Frank’s experienced enough and a good-enough player to come through it.
Joe Cole, who was then teammates with Lampard at Chelsea, also spoke on record at his disbelief at his club and country teammate receiving such a negative reaction from the fans, noting how England fans had voted the midfielder as their player of the year just a few seasons prior in both 2004 and 2005.
I don’t really know what to say because, for me, Frank has been one of England’s most consistent players over the years. It’s not nice to hear one of your mates getting that, because he’s a top player. For me, he’s one of the best players in the world and doesn’t deserve it.
I don’t understand it. He was voted England’s player of the year and rightly so because he was brilliant. It’s something that should not happen, and you’ve just got to keep on going.
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Frank Lampard – Career Statistics |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistic |
Club |
Country |
|
Appearances |
896 |
106 |
|
Goals |
267 |
29 |
|
Assists |
172 |
12 |
Frustrations Mounted on ‘Golden Generation’
England’s failure to progress into the latter stages of tournaments was a huge disappointment
After receiving boos during multiple games in 2007, Lampard himself spoke out about this, and believed it was as a result of the expectations that he would have got onto the scoresheet during the World Cup the previous year.
He would also express how it was a ‘bit upsetting’ for him personally, though he accepted it as part of playing at the highest level for his country.
It’s part of playing for England, I suppose. This time last year, I had just won their player of the year twice on the spin – that’s just how English football is.
It’s not helpful to the team or the players, and it can be a bit upsetting, but you have to be big enough to take it, and I’ve got no problem with it – I’ve had much worse when I’ve gone back to West Ham.
I know I was expected to score at the World Cup, it didn’t happen, and I’m fighting to get back in there knocking in the goals again.
An argument can be made that England fans were growing more disappointed with the results of their supposed ‘Golden Generation’ having been knocked out in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 by Portugal on penalties – a game in which Lampard had scored the equaliser in extra time – and then were eliminated in 2006 via yet another penalty shootout against Portugal.
Following the events in 2007, Lampard would go on to be part of the squad that failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Furthermore, in the 2010 World Cup, England were eliminated by Germany in the round of 16 after a 4-1 defeat, a match in which Lampard’s infamous strike that clearly crossed the line was disallowed by the referee.
Who knows what the final scoreline would have been had the goal been given, which would have seen the game tied at 2-2.
Nonetheless, the ‘Golden Generation’ would fail to progress past the quarter-final stages in major tournaments, with Lampard hanging up his international boots in 2014. His 106th, and final, international appearance came in the 2014 World Cup group stages, where he captained the side to a 0-0 draw as they were eliminated after finishing bottom of the group.
All statistics via Transfermarkt and FBRef – correct as of 26/11/2024.
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