Frank senses anticipation
Monday, 27 February, 2006
Frank Lampard can't wait to play in his first World Cup as the days tick by to Germany 2006.
Frank Lampard says he can feel the excitement building more and more each week as the World Cup draws ever nearer.
The Finals may be still three months away but England’s match against Uruguay on Wednesday is the last friendly before Sven-Goran Eriksson names his squad for the tournament.
It has got the blood flowing through Lampard’s veins just a little bit faster and already the Chelsea midfielder is dreaming of what might be if the Three Lions can get it right in Germany.
He said: "I think there is a feeling of anticipation more and more every week now. I think before the turn of the year it was very much in the back of your mind rather than at the front because there’s so much going on domestically at Chelsea.
"But now as the season goes on the World Cup is more and more in your mind. You obviously concentrate first hand on Chelsea but I’m starting to get excited about the prospect of what could happen in this summer."
With news that Sven will be leaving his post after the finals many observers are suggesting the players will be extra motivated to give him an amazing send-off in Germany.
Lampard said: "That’s probably a bit of a cliché. I think it would be great to win it for the manager, for all of us players and perhaps for the fans and the public more than anyone. We’re all fighting the same battle to win it for the country."
Lampard missed out on the World Cup in Japan in 2002 when he wasn’t included in the squad. But he is surely a certainty for this summer’s finals after another outstanding season for club and country.
He said: "I actually see not going to Japan as a big turning point. I don’t mean to say that my career turned because I didn’t go - but I had to use it as a positive and I did that. I look forward to being involved in my first World Cup now."
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