England Player of the Year, Frank Lampard, volleys in spectacularly against Poland.
By Dan Freedman. Thursday, 02 February 2006.
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12 October 2005 |
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| GOAL: Frank Lampard v Poland |
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VIDEO: Frank's wonderful volley against Poland was one of the reasons why you voted him England Player of the Year. |
Frank Lampard is your England Player of The Year for 2005. But what does Frank feel about his phenomenal last twelve months?
TheFA.com caught up with Frank for an exclusive chat to find out…
Frank, congratulations…How do you feel about winning this accolade from the fans for the second year in succession?
Thank you. The recognition you always crave is from the fans. Especially the England fans who follow us wherever we go.
To win it last year was great but to win it again this year, when there are so many other fantastic individuals in the England set-up, is a brilliant feeling for me.
Why do you think the fans would have voted for you?
I’d like to think I’ve matured in the way I play for England. When I won the award in 2004 I’d only just broken through into being a first-team regular in the build up and during Euro 2004. That was probably the reason I won it in the first year.
In 2005 I felt more and more comfortable and played my part in a full qualifying campaign. As a team we had our ups and a downs. But there were more ups than downs and I think my own fortunes reflected that too.
What was your personal international highlight of 2005?
The game against Poland at Old Trafford was probably the highlight of my England year. It was an enjoyable game because we knew we’d qualified and we could go out and express ourselves. We wanted to finish our qualification matches on a high and in style and I think we did that.
For me to score the winner that sent up to the top of the group and then to celebrate together with the crowd afterwards made that a really special moment for me.
You seem to have an ability to deliver when it counts. How important do you feel you are to this England team?
There are a few individuals in our team that fans will look to, to change games for England. I like to think I’ve been in that bracket for Chelsea for a while and obviously doing that for England is another level again.
Before I properly broke into the team I was watching people like Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham change games for England and I wanted to be there and do it alongside them.
Hopefully I’m doing that now and we’ve got the added plus of players like Wayne Rooney doing that too.
Awards and individual recognition are starting to come your way regularly now. But do they actually make a difference to the way you play on the pitch?
I'd say yes. They make a difference to your confidence and you have to use that.
Of course you have to keep your discipline and not get too excited but, at the same time, why not use it to your advantage?
I’ve always had a confident mentality about myself but when you are receiving the awards it does make you realise that not only are you thinking that about yourself, but other people are seeing it too.
Do different awards mean different things to you, then?
I think so. Coming second in the FIFA World Player of the Year Award was a massive achievement because that is voted for by international managers and captains, while the England Player of the Year comes from the fans that follow you and watch you every game.
They are the two groups of people that you want to impress the most.
So do you get a feeling that the fans are behind you? What do they say to you when you're out and about?
I live near lots of Chelsea fans and they are always very positive. With the success that we’ve had recently, they give lots of compliments, not just to me but on how the whole team has played.
And, as soon as you break into the England team you realise how much it means to fans all over the country. Fans that might not support you every week but hopefully have a respect for you for what you do for your country.
I’ve experienced that now and it’s enjoyable to go up to northern cities and get nice feedback from England fans. It’s a very nice feeling.
You're also involved in lots of positive activities away from the pitch. How aware are the fans of the other side of your work?
I think maybe some of the fans have got a little fed up with some of the negative publicity that a lot of the players have got in recent years. I think they understand that a lot of the players do good things. I would like to think that a few people are aware of some of the stuff that I do. It’s not just me though, it’s lots of the players, many of them in the England squad, and I think fans are aware of that even if it’s not always the side that gets shown so much.
Finally, we now know Sven will be moving on after the World Cup. How have you found working under him and will it make any difference to the players that we now know what is going to happen?
I will always be grateful to Sven. Not just at this moment, but always. When he came to England I had one cap and now I have 38. He has given me that chance and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing under him.
In terms of 'will it make any difference that we know he’s going after the summer?', I don’t think it will make any negative difference at all. In England terms, we are not looking past the World Cup. The World Cup is all you can look at.
We are not looking at what is going to come after or who is going to come in, we just want to finish what we have started with this manager.
The Final Standings - Top Five
| England Player of the Year 2005 |
| 1. |
FRANK LAMPARD - 29% |
| 2. |
Steven Gerrard - 18% |
| 3. |
Wayne Rooney - 16% |
| 4. |
Michael Owen - 12% |
| 5. |
David Beckham - 10% |
| FRANK LAMPARD |
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| 2005 Appearances |
9 |
Goals |
3 |
| Wins |
6 |
Total Caps |
38 |
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9 Feb 2005 |
International Friendly at Villa Park |
 Lampard received the 2004 award for England player of the year before kick off at Villa Park. In an experimental 4-3-3 formation Lampard played the first 45 minutes on the left of midfield before being subbed for Owen Hargreaves at half time. |
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26 March 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier at Old Trafford |
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ENGLAND |
4-0 |
Northern Ireland |
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J Cole 47, Owen 51
Baird 54 (og), Lampard 62 |
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 Old Trafford was the venue for Sven’s 50th game as England manager. And Lampard and co gave him the perfect present with an easy win. The Chelsea midfielder was as influential as ever setting up Michael Owen for the second goal before finishing off the scoring himself with a deflected 25-yard shot. |
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30 March 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier at St. James' Park |
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ENGLAND |
2-0 |
AZERBAIJAN |
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Gerrard 51
Beckham 62 |
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 Lampard did everything but score in the first half at St James Park. But he proved there is more to his game than just goals. After Steven Gerrard had opened the scoring, a sublime pass from Lampard set David Beckham up for England’s second. |
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17 Aug 2005 |
International Friendly at Parken Stadion, Copenhagen |
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DENMARK |
4-1 |
ENGLAND |
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Rommedahl 60, Tomasson 63, Gravgaard 67, Larsen 90+2 |
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Rooney 87 |
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 A night to forget for every England player as they were soundly beaten by their Scandanavian counterparts. Lampard was rested for England’s tour of America in the summer and he had a rare off day in Copenhagen. After a second half collapse, Lampard was replaced by Owen Hargreaves in the 64th minute.
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03 Sep 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
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WALES |
0-1 |
ENGLAND |
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J Cole 53 |
 Sven toyed with another new formation playing a 4-5-1 system with Lampard in a midfield three alongside Gerrard and Beckham. Lampard seemed to relish his role. Although he would have been diasppointed not to have got on the scoresheet in the first half before Joe Cole sealed the win. |
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07 Sep 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier, Windsor Park, Belfast |
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NORTHERN IRELAND |
1-0 |
ENGLAND |
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Healy 74 |
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 Lampard struggled to get his usual passing game going and on a difficult pitch David Healy sent the Windsor Park crowd wild with the only goal twelve minutes from the end. The only saving grace for Lampard was that he was subbed on 81 minutes so avoided the Irish celebrations at the end. |
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08 Oct 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier at Old Trafford |
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ENGLAND |
1-0 |
AUSTRIA |
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Lampard (pen) 25 |
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 When England needed a hero to get their World Cup campaign back on track, step forward Frank Lampard. An England win was vital and Lampard was on hand to score a first half penalty. He was given the England spot kick duty after captain Beckham handed over the reigns before kick off. |
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12 Oct 2005 |
World Cup Group 6 Qualifier at Old Trafford |
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ENGLAND |
2-1 |
POLAND |
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Owen 43, Lampard 80 |
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Frankowski 45 |
 With World Cup qualification assured, it was a battle for top spot in the group. And Lampard was again on hand to play a crucial role. With the scores level at 1-1 and England heading for second place, man of the match Lampard scored a stunning volley nine minutes from time to end England’s campaign on a high. |
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12 Nov 2005 |
International Friendly at Stade de Geneve |
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ENGLAND |
3-2 |
ARGENTINA |
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Rooney 38, Owen 87, Owen 90 |
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Crespo 35, Samuel 54 |
 Lampard continued his impressive partnership with Steven Gerrard as they once again proved their reputations as two of the best midfielders in the world. Michael Owen was the last minute hero though, scoring late goals to seal an unlikely win.
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Download Frank Lampard Player of the Year 2005 Desktop Wallpaper
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One to ponder… |
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How much did Chelsea pay West Ham for Frank Lampard? |
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Answer: £11m |
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more to ponder… |