The Boy Became Good: In defence of Frank Lampard

A lot of football fans don't like Frank Lampard. Pressed as to why exactly they don't like him, a lot of football fans don't quite know what to say. He is an immensely talented English footballer. He isn't dirty. He doesn't dive, or cheat. He doesn't brandish imaginary cards when an offence has been committed by an opponent. He doesn't bait opposition fans (unless he's playing against old club West Ham). OK, he plays for Chelsea. And everyone hates Chelsea, and rightly so. But what do people dislike about 'Super Fwank'?

I have a theory that it's because he's worked his way to the top. Your average armchair football fan likes to think that talent is God-given; that players like Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry came kicking and screaming out of the womb as fully formed superstars. This makes the average armchair football fan feel better about his own footballing ineptitude. If footballing talent really is God-given, there's nothing you can do if you've not been given it.

But then along comes Frank Lampard. He is from a family with a fine tradition of producing top- flight footballers, but when he emerged on the scene at West Ham in the mid-Nineties people questioned his ability. Many Hammers fans turned against him when they decided that the only reason he was in the team was because father Frank Lampard Snr was the club's first team coach. Lampard has always had ability, but critics didn't drool over him at West Ham in the same way they drooled over midfield partners 'Jinky' Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. When Lampard eventually moved to Chelsea for £11 million in 2001, eyebrows were raised.

But look at him now. He is widely acknowledged as one of the best attacking midfielders in world football. He may have had a disappointing World Cup, but unlike England midfield colleague Steven Gerrard, he has recaptured his best form (and rediscovered his shooting boots) this season. Were Lampard an American sporting star, he would be lauded from all corners. The Americans love nothing more than an average player - or, even better, an abject loser - battling against the odds to fulfil his dreams. But in Britain we don't. We are suspicious of hard work, and niceness, and even general decency. And that is why Frank Lampard will never capture people's hearts the same way that players like Rooney and Gerrard do. Maybe it's because he went to a public school. Maybe it's because his girlfriend doesn't conform to the usual glamour model/rent-a-tart footballer's wife stereotype. But I suspect it's because he got where he is through sheer practice and application. And that makes British football fans uncomfortable.

Rooney and Gerrard swagger. They know they're the best players on the pitch. When they're on the ball their shoulders go back, their heads look up and their mouths drop open. They are the footballing embodiment of the city that produced them. But Lampard doesn't play like that. He is deliberate and measured and thoughtful. If we were footballers, we'd all play like Rooney and Gerrard. Unrestrained pace, power, aggression and verve. And with a casual, knowing insouciance that only the great players possess. But Lampard plays like he knows how fortunate he is to be where he is, and how hard he had to work to get there.

Here is a clip of the goal Lampard scored in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Barcelona in the Champions League last night:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2988876488431454199&q=Lampard+Barcelona

I have never seen anyone score a goal like this in my entire life. So fair play to Super Fwank. The boy became good.