http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 midfielder Frank Lampard has England future
England national team manager Fabio Capello revealed Chelsea midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 was still an important part of his squad.
Lampard, who will turn 33 years old later this month, was taken off at half-time during the 2012 Euro qualifier clash against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Switzerland-c3016 at Wembley over the weekend.
That has led to speculation that the Italian manager has come to the conclusion that it is time to limit Frank Lampard’s involvement in the team.
Capello denied the assumption, insisting the Chelsea midfielder still had a lot to give to his country. He revealed he had decided to take off Lampard because he felt the player was tired.
Capello said while speaking to reporters:
“Frank Lampard is an important player. When he is fresh, he is a really important player.
He has a big personality on the pitch and he scores goals. When he is in a good moment of form, he is a good player.”
The Italian manager said:
“He played a lot of games. I saw him and he was not fresh like the other players. I decided to make a change because of this.”
Despite Capello’s reassurances it seems Lampard’s international career is drawing to a close, which makes one wonder if the midfielder will be making an appearance for England in the European competition next year.
That is of course assuming http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 manage to qualify for the UEFA European Football Championship, unlike in 2008 when they failed to make it past the qualifying round.
Lampard made his senior debut for England in 1999 and went on to score his first goal four years later in 2003, against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Croatia-c2879.
The midfielder did not receive a call up for Euro 2000 or the 2002 World Cup, but managed to secure a place in the 2004 Euro.
He played an important part for England as he scored two important goals, which guaranteed England progressing further in the competition.
The 2006 World Cup was not as successful for Lampard, as he went the tournament goalless and also ended up missing the penalty in the penalty shoot-out against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984 in the quarter-finals.
In the 2010 World Cup Lampard’s goal against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 was not given, which could have guaranteed England a chance to progress to the next round.
Nevertheless, Lampard has played an important part for England in the various competitions, in his 13 years playing for the England national team he has made a http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Total-c40747 of 86 appearances and has managed to score an impressive 22 goals.
Capello maintained his reason for substituting Lampard off for the second half was because the player seemed tired.
He said his side were unable to give their best against Switzerland because of fatigue and exhaustion, which resulted in the disappointing 2-2 draw at home.
Capello continued:
“When you are not fresh, the movement of the ball is difficult. If you run at 60kph and others run at 100, it is difficult to get through.”
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