Frank Lampard's iconic moments for West Ham, Chelsea and Derby County
- Sean Fisher
- 10 November 2021
A midfielder who knew where the net was, and a manager who is yet to find his feet. Frank Lampard’s legendary career has been host to countless iconic moments.
Having won trophies both domestically and in Europe, Lampard hung up his boots in 2016 to focus on coaching and has since taken charge of Derby County and Chelsea.
His stint at Derby earned him a shot at replacing Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea, but the club legend lasted just a year-and-a-half before being sacked in favour of Thomas Tuchel.
With the 43-year-old heading to Goodison Park, Planet Sport takes a look at a handful of his iconic moments as player and manager.
Managed by his uncle and father
Lampard's playing career started back in 1995 with West Ham. After just a year in the youth side, he signed a professional contract, and didn't have to wait too long after that before he was fully integrated into the side.
But perhaps in an attempt to shake any shouts of favouritism, Lampard was shipped out on loan to Swansea City in 1995/95. He ended the season with nine appearances and one goal.
The season after, Lampard saw an increase in playing time, and he made 42 appearances and scored nine goals in the 1997/98 season.
He was an ever-present for West Ham in the following season too, and he helped Redknapp's side up to fifth in the Premier League - the club's highest ever finish.
Clearly benefiting from the family bond, Lampard shone the following season too, and West Ham replicated their fifth-placed finish in 1999/2000.
But their form fell off in 2000/01 and Redknapp, along with Frank Lampard sr, left the club.
Lampard recalls he felt pressure of being coined 'Frank Lampard's son', as well as feeling his father had been disrespected by the club. As a result, he asked to leave.
Back-to-back Premier League titles
He enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2003/04 when Chelsea finished second to the invincible Arsenal side, and Lampard was named in the PFA Team of the Year after netting 10 goals.
But it was in the following year, under prime Jose Mourinho, that Lampard - and Chelsea - showed their true strength.
The 'Special One' steered Chelsea to a Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge, and Lampard was central to his success.
At the start of the 2005/06 season, Chelsea continued to thrive under Mourinho and became the first Premier League side to win their opening seven games.
During that run, Lampard notched six goals, including two against Blackburn in a 4-2 win. Following the game, Mourinho hailed him "the best player in the world".
And, he may have had a point. Lampard improved again on his goal tally, scoring 16 in 2005/06 as Chelsea retained their Premier League trophy.
Ballon d'Or runner-up
After dominating domestically under Mourinho and recording a personal best 16 goals in 2005/06, Lampard was nominated for the 2006 Ballon d'Or.
The then-27-year-old had also finished as England's top scorer in their World Cup qualifying campaign, and featured in each of their games in the finals.
Lampard saw his penalty saved in the shootout defeat to Portugal, but racked up two man-of-the-match performances in the tournament.
In his prime, Lampard was one of the best midfielders on the planet, but it wasn't enough to earn him the Ballon d'Or - he finished runner-up to Barcelona's Ronaldinho.
Ghost goal vs Germany
In a group including the USA, Slovenia and Algeria, Fabio Capello's side were understandably strong favourites given their 'golden generation' of players.
But, after drawing 1-1 with the USA and 0-0 with Algeria, England needed a Jermain Defoe goal to beat Slovenia 1-0 and progress to the knockouts.
Having only done enough to finish second in their group, England were drawn against Germany for the round of 16, and it went exactly as expected.
Then, just a minute after Upson's goal, Lampard struck the ball from outside the box and struck the crossbar. The ball bounced down and then out before Manuel Neuer claimed it and played on.
Without the aid of goal-line technology, referee Jorge Larrionda wasn't aware the ball had comfortably crossed the line and played on.
England entered half-time feeling hard done by and Germany went on to punish them in the second half. Thomas Muller's brace sealed a 4-1 win and England were on their way home.
Lampard may have been denied a goal but the event was to prove much more far-reaching, helping fast-track the introduction of goal-line technology, and eventually VAR.
A European champion
Fast forward to 2011 and Andre Villas-Boas was the manager of Chelsea. However, the Portuguese manager lasted until only February of the following year before Roman Abramovich had seen enough.
The Blues continued to thrive in Europe under their new Italian coach, and Lampard again helped the side through to the semi-finals, converting a penalty against Benfica in the quarter-finals.
Next up was Barcelona, and the two sides played out a classic. Chelsea gave themselves a 1-0 advantage in the first leg courtesy of Didier Drogba, but a second leg at Camp Nou was on the horizon.
Barcelona scored either side of a John Terry red card in the first half, and the Catalonian side looked set to cruise to victory against the ten men.
Knowing all they had to do was hold off Barcelona for 45 more minutes, Chelsea defended admirably in the second half, and a late Fernando Torres goal capped off a superb performance.
In the final against Bayern Munich, Chelsea went behind to Muller's 83rd-minute strike before Drogba scored an equaliser two minutes from time.
The game ended 1-1 and the sides couldn't be separated in extra-time. In the penalty shootout, Lampard stepped up and scored Chelsea's third before Drogba sealed the win with what turned out to be his last kick before leaving.
Play-offs and spygate vs Leeds United
After retiring from playing at New York City FC in 2016, Lampard stated his intention to start coaching.
Just two years later, he was handed his first managerial job at Championship side Derby County.
His first match in charge ended in a 2-1 win following Tom Lawrence's last-gasp winner, but he then suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Leeds United in his second.
In the reverse fixture against the Yorkshire side, Lampard's side again lost, this time 2-0. However, it was the aftermath of the game that stole the headlines.
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted to spying on Lampard's training sessions at Derby, and in turn the club was fined £200,000.
Lampard's Derby then went on a charge up the table, and in his debut season he guided them to the play-offs.
In view of the previous controversy, it was fated for Leeds and Derby to meet again. The first leg of their semi-final clash went the way of Leeds, 1-0, at Pride Park. However, Lampard's side roared back to win 4-2 at Elland Road to make the final.
Derby celebrated by holding their hands to their faces to symbolise binoculars - a reference to Bielsa's spying.
But their celebrations were cut short in the final, Lampard's side losing 2-1 to Aston Villa to remain in the Championship.
Sacked at Chelsea
After a strong start at Derby, Lampard was given a chance to manage his former side, Chelsea, in the Premier League.
His inexperience quickly showed, however, as he lost 4-0 in his opening game against Manchester United - the biggest defeat for a Chelsea manager in their first game since 1978.
But Lampard eventually steadied the ship, and despite not being able to sign any new players due to Chelsea's transfer embargo, he achieved a fourth-placed finish and an FA Cup final appearance.
However, Lampard followed up in his second season by splashing the cash, bringing the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell to Stamford Bridge.
They started the season well, topping their Champions League group and the Premier League in December. However, a poor run of results which saw just two wins in nine games saw the Blues drop to ninth and Lampard's time as manager was cut short.
To make matters worse, Thomas Tuchel replaced him at the helm and guided Chelsea to another Champions League trophy, beating Manchester City in the final with Lampard's squad. Ouch.
