Frank Lampard is still burning bright after 10 years

Simon Johnson
7 Oct 2009

Frak Lampard celebrates his 10-year anniversary as an England international this weekend and there is a danger he may mark the occasion as quietly as the first time he represented the national team.

Back in October 1999, the midfielder came across as a subdued and nervous figure to the rest of his team-mates as he prepared to make his debut in a friendly against Belgium at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

An impressive 74 caps and 20 goals later, Lampard's days as a shy and retiring figure among the squad is a distant memory. Instead, he has firmly established himself as one of the most important members of the national set-up and played a key role in helping Fabio Capello's side secure their place at the World Cup next summer with two games to spare.

However, when he starts as expected against Ukraine in what is now a meaningless qualifier on Saturday, there may be a slight sign of a hangover - not from overcelebrating his achievement of course, but from his low-key start to the season with Chelsea.

It is a credit to the high standards Lampard (below) has set that questions have been raised about his club form because he has scored only two goals in as many months so far.

Yet for a man who had found the net 100 times in the previous five seasons for Chelsea, it is a small return, particularly when you consider that one of his strikes was from the penalty spot against Sunderland in August and the other was in the Community Shield.

New Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti has generally asked him to play further forward in a diamond midfield and it appears to have affected his ability to find space and make his customary late runs into the penalty area.

While Ancelotti's tactics have clearly paid some dividends with Chelsea sitting top of the Premier League going into the international break, it has meant the 31-year-old is not quite as vivacious on the football pitch as we have come to expect.

Still, one of the players who played alongside him when he made his first appearance in an England shirt believes there is nothing to be concerned about.Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown had no doubts Lampard would make the grade at the highest level back in 1999 and certainly has no worries about him now.

He said: "Frank was a quiet individual when he first broke through into the England squad but you could detect that inner belief and focus before that game against Belgium and he still has that focus in his character now.

"Sometimes he takes note of things that are said in the press or what people are saying but he has a tough exterior. He knows he is playing well and we are just talking about very fine margins.

"People are making an issue over his lack of goals. He has such a great record, so now he has fallen below his standards everyone starts to question it but I don't think it's a problem.

"It's true that he is at his best when he is arriving later in the penalty area. In his current role he is starting a bit higher up the pitch for Chelsea and that element of surprise is lost. Defenders are finding it easier to pick him up than when he is coming from deep and drifting into space.

"He might not be scoring but Chelsea are winning games. He is a team player and while he might not be happy about not scoring, he will be pleased with Chelsea's position."

Lampard's career has been the epitome of a man's determination to overcome the tough times, something he has certainly had to do during his 10 years in an England shirt so far. He may have made his debut under Kevin Keegan in 1999 but he had to wait four years to become a regular under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Lampard's £11million transfer from West Ham to Chelsea in 2001 was crucial for his international ambitions as it allowed him to play at a higher level, with world-class players like team-mates like Gianfranco Zola and Marcel Desailly.

He won over the circumspect crowd with a string of fine performances and was voted England player of the year by supporters in 2004 and 2005. That acclaim vanished after the team's failure to go beyond the last eight at the last World Cup and subsequent inability to qualify for Euro 2008.

The cheers turned to jeers as he was made scapegoat No1 for the back-to-back disappointment.

Yet the inner belief Keown noticed on Lampard's first day as an England player kept him going and now his problems are a thing of the past for he has thrived since Capello took charge in December 2007.

Five goals in his last five England games, where he is noticeably playing in the deeper role he favours, has helped even the fiercest of the boo-boys realise his worth.

Keown added: "He had a slow start to his international career but now he plays an important role in the team. It's strange how he came in for criticism over the years. That's maybe because of fans from other London clubs and there was always a debate about whether he could play with Steven Gerrard. Maybe that was difficult for him, being compared with Gerrard but now no one looks at that because of the way they and the team are playing.

"He's been a huge part of that success, Capello has asked him to play in different roles and he has shown his discipline in an orthodox midfield two. I don't think his ability as a player was ever in question, it's been about the England manager getting the best from him. "Capello has given him and other players a platform to perform."