1.
Association football
–
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
2.
Abby Wambach
–
Mary Abigail Abby Wambach is an American retired soccer player, coach, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Womens World Cup champion. A six-time winner of the U. S, Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U. S. womens national soccer team from 2003 to 2015, earning her first cap in 2001. As a forward, she currently stands as the highest all-time goal scorer for the national team, Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in ten years. She was included on the 2015 Time 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world, Wambach played college soccer for the Florida Gators womens soccer team while attending the University of Florida and helped the team win its first NCAA Division I Womens Soccer Championship. She played at the level for Washington Freedom, magicJack. All together, she has played in 29 matches and scored 22 goals at these five international tournaments, Wambach scored the equalizer in stoppage time helping the Americans to eventually progress to the championship final against Japan after defeating Brazil in penalty kicks. Her last-minute goal set a new record for latest goal ever scored in a match and was awarded ESPNs 2011 ESPY Award for Best Play of the Year, following her performance at the 2011 World Cup, she was awarded the tournaments Bronze Boot and Silver Ball. In 2011, she became the first ever soccer player of either gender to be named Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, Wambach announced her retirement on October 27,2015. Her last game was played on December 16 in New Orleans when the United States played its last match of its 10-game Victory Tour following its win at the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup. Her autobiography, Forward, released in September 2016, became a New York Times best seller, born in Rochester, New York, Wambach was raised in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. She is the youngest of seven born to Pete and Judy Wambach. She began playing soccer at the age of four after her sister decided she wanted to try the sport and their mother checked out a book from the library explaining how to play the game, and from then on soccer became part of their family tradition. I think I was bred to do what I do now, growing up as the youngest of seven was like being in a team environment, you learn all kinds of things. I learned how to compete, my brothers and sisters always played with me on the level and they never let me win until I was better than them. Being in such a big family makes you humble and you might have a certain skill or talent but there is always someone who is better at something than you. Wambach recalls being toughened up by her elder brothers firing hockey pucks at her for target practice, while playing in her first youth soccer league at age five, she was transferred from the girls team to the boys after scoring 27 goals in only three games. As a pre-teen, she began eluding defenders by heading the ball over them, Wambach attended Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester from 1994 to 1998, where she lettered in soccer and basketball. During her high school career, she scored 142 goals, including 34 in 1997 alone, mercys soccer coach, Kathy Boughton, recalled that Wambach would stay after practice to practice diving headers – a skill that would later become her signature as an international player
3.
Coin flipping
–
Coin flipping, coin tossing, or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties. It is a form of sortition which inherently has only two possible and equally likely outcomes, the historical origin of coin flipping is the interpretation of a chance outcome as the expression of divine will. Coin flipping as a game was known to the Romans as navia aut caput, as some coins had a ship on one side, in England, this game was referred to as cross and pile. The expression Heads or Tails results from heads and tails being considered opposite body parts, during a coin toss, the coin is thrown into the air such that it rotates edge-over-edge several times. Either beforehand or when the coin is in the air, an interested party calls heads or tails, the other party is assigned the opposite side. Depending on custom, the coin may be caught, caught and inverted, when the coin comes to rest, the toss is complete and the party who called correctly or was assigned the upper side is declared the winner. It is possible for a coin to land on its edge, however, even on a flat surface it is possible for a coin to land on its edge, with a chance of about 1 in 6000. Angular momentum typically prevents most coins from landing on their edges unsupported if flipped, such cases in which a coin does land on its edge are exceptionally rare and in most cases the coin is simply re-flipped. The coin may be any type as long as it has two sides, it need not be a circulating coin as such. Larger coins tend to be more popular than smaller ones, most high-profile coin tosses use custom-made ceremonial medallions. Three-way coin flips are also possible, by a different process – this can be either to choose two out of three, or to choose one out of three. To choose two out of three, three coins are flipped, and if two coins come up the same and one different, the different one loses, leaving two players. To choose one out of three, either reverse this, or add a regular two-way coin flip between the players as a second step. Note that the flip is 75% likely to work each time it is tried. A legacy of this coin flip was to reduce the use of coin flips to break ties in Texas sports, Coin tossing is a simple and unbiased way of settling a dispute or deciding between two or more arbitrary options. In a game theoretic analysis it provides even odds to both involved, requiring little effort and preventing the dispute from escalating into a struggle. Factors such as direction, the position of the sun. In team sports it is often the captain who makes the call, a competitive method may be used instead of a toss in some situations, for example in basketball the jump ball is employed, while the face-off plays a similar role in ice hockey
4.
Francesco Totti
–
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian professional footballer who plays for and captains Roma. His primary playing positions are those of a midfielder or second striker, although he has also been successfully utilised as a lone striker. Totti also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. Totti is the fifth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions and he has also won several individual awards, notably the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the Golden Foot. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA100, a list of the worlds greatest living players, selected by Pelé, in 2011, Totti was recognised by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, Totti was born in Rome, to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. He was raised in the Porta Metronia neighbourhood, as a youngster he idolised ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. Totti began to play youth football at the age of 8, with Fortitudo, later joining Smit Trastevere. After he came to the attention of scouts, his mother refused an offer from Milan in order to keep him in his home town. In the following season under Carlo Mazzone, Totti began to more regularly as a second striker. By 1995, Totti had become a regular in Romas starting line-up, Romas chairman at the time however, Franco Sensi, impeded the transfer, leading to further tensions with the manager, who eventually parted ways with the club. Tottis years under Zdeněk Zeman represented a period of physical and mental maturation as a player. He displayed a greater responsibility for the team, and was presented with the number 10 jersey and his first season under Zeman started well, with Totti taking advantage of a 4–3–3 formation and making his breakthrough with the club. On 29 November 1998, Totti scored the goal in a 3–3 draw against cross-city rivals Lazio. Overall, he scored 30 goals and provided 26 assists during Zemans two-year managerial stint, for his performances, he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year for the 1998–99 season. In June 1999, Romas then-president Franco Sensi sacked Zeman and signed Fabio Capello as a replacement, Totti scored in a 2–0 home win over Bologna on his season debut on 1 October 2000. On 10 December, Totti scored the goal in a 2–1 home win against Udinese with a powerful left-footed volley to help Roma to their fifth home win of the season. He continued his form by scoring against Napoli at home in a 3–0 victory on 28 January 2001. Totti continued to play an important role in keeping the club at the top of the table throughout the remainder of the season, Totti finished the league season with 13 goals, equalling what was at the time his personal goalscoring record in a single Serie A season
5.
A.S. Roma
–
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52, for their 65th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for the 2016–17 season. Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84, therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter. Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a venue they share with city rivals Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,000, it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, in September 2009 the club unveiled plans to build a Stadio della Roma in the western suburbs of Rome. Its design was modelled after English football stadiums with the objective being to give fans a view of the pitch. In September 2011, it was announced that the new president, Thomas R. DiBenedetto, had reached an agreement with the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to have the new stadium completed by 2016. The purpose of the merger was to give the Italian capital a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was S. S. Lazio because of the intervention of the army General Vaccaro, member of the club and executive of Italian Football Federation. An early season in which Roma made a mark was the 1930–31 championship. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period, after a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36, Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s, Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title, at the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista. In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s, under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved. After returning to the Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade and their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, supporters kept the club going with a fundraiser at the Sistine Theatre and bankruptcy was avoided with the election of a new club president Franco Evangelisti
6.
Trophy
–
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals are given out either as the trophy or along with more traditional trophies. Originally the word trophy, derived from the Greek tropaion, referred to arms, standards, other property, or human captives and these war trophies commemorated the military victories of a state, army or individual combatant. In modern warfare trophy taking is discouraged, but this sense of the word is reflected in hunting trophies, a slang term for an individual or teams collection of trophies is silverware. Trophies have marked victories since ancient times, in ancient Greece, trophies were made on the battlefields of victorious battles, from captured arms and standards, and were hung upon a tree or a large stake made to resemble a warrior. Often, these ancient trophies were inscribed with a story of the battle and were dedicated to various gods, Trophies made about naval victories sometimes consisted of entire ships laid out on the beach. To destroy a trophy was considered a sacrilege, the ancient Romans kept their trophies closer to home. The Romans built magnificent trophies in Rome, including columns and arches atop a foundation, most of the stone trophies that once adorned huge stone memorials in Rome have been long since stolen. In ancient Greece, the winners of the Olympic games initially received no trophies except laurel wreaths, later the winner also received an amphora with sacred olive oil. In local games, the winners received different trophies, such as a tripod vase, in ancient Rome, money usually was given to winners instead of trophies. Chalices were given to winners of sporting events at least as early as the very late 1600s in the New World. For example, the Kyp Cup, a small, two-handled, chalices, particularly, are associated with sporting events, and were traditionally made in silver. Winners of horse races, and later boating and early automobile races, were the recipients of these trophies. The Davis Cup, Stanley Cup, Americas Cup and numerous World Cups are all now famous cup-shaped trophies given to sports winners, today, the most common trophies are much less expensive, and thus much more pervasive, thanks to mass-produced plastic/resin trophies. Contemporary trophies often depict an aspect of the event commemorated, for example in basketball tournaments, while trophies traditionally have been made with metal figures, wood columns, and wood bases, in recent years they have been made with plastic figures and marble bases. This is to retain the weight associated with a quality award. Trophies increasingly have used resin depictions, a loving-cup trophy is a common variety of trophy, it is a cup shape, usually on a pedestal, with two or more handles, and is often made from silver or silver plate
7.
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
–
It is remembered for injury time goals from Manchester Uniteds Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, which cancelled out Mario Baslers early goal to give Manchester United a 2–1 win. Uniteds victory completed a season, after they had won the Premier League. Bayern were also playing for a treble, having won the Bundesliga and reached the DFB-Pokal final, although they went on to lose that match. Referee Pierluigi Collina has cited this match as one of the most memorable of his career, Manchester United and Bayern Munich had only met twice in competitive matches before the final, both meetings coming earlier in the 1998–99 season and both finished as draws. Including the victory over Leeds in 1975, Bayern Munich had won the European Cup on three occasions going into the 1999 final, with three victories in a row from 1974 to 1976, they became only the third team to achieve such a feat after Real Madrid and Ajax. They had also finished as runners-up twice, in 1982 against Aston Villa and 1987 against Porto, although Bayern had been waiting 23 years for a European Cup title, Manchester United had had to wait even longer, their only victory having come in 1968. Busby died in 1994, the day of the 1999 Champions League final would have been his 90th birthday, since neither Manchester United nor Bayern Munich had won their respective leagues in 1997–98, both sides faced a qualifier to enter the 1998–99 Champions League. Manchester United were drawn against Polish champions ŁKS Łódź and won 2–0 on aggregate, goals from Ryan Giggs, in the second leg, played at Partizans ground in Belgrade, an 88th-minute goal from Lothar Matthäus rescued a 1–1 draw to give Bayern a 5–1 win on aggregate. Matchdays 3 and 4 saw double-headers, with Manchester United taking on Brøndby, Manchester United beat Brøndby 6–2 in their first match at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, then 5–0 at Old Trafford two weeks later. Bayern also recorded a pair of victories over Barcelona, winning 1–0 at the Olympiastadion, on matchday 5, United played their second match against Barcelona – their first trip to the Camp Nou of the season – and again the two sides played out a 3–3 draw. With Bayern beating Brøndby 2–0 at home, the German side moved onto 10 points and took top spot in the going into the final round of matches. Qualification for the quarter-finals was only guaranteed for the group winners, the result meant that Bayern finished as group winners, but Uniteds points total was enough to see them go through as one of the two group runners-up with the best record. In the quarter-finals, Bayern Munich were drawn against Group F winners and fellow German side Kaiserslautern, while Manchester United were paired with Group C winners Internazionale. Two Dwight Yorke goals gave United a 2–0 win in their first leg at Old Trafford, while Bayern beat Kaiserslautern by the scoreline at the Olympiastadion through goals from Élber. In the second leg, Nicola Ventola pulled a back for Inter. Meanwhile, Bayern won convincingly at Kaiserslautern, as goals from Effenberg, Carsten Jancker, Mario Basler, a single goal from Mario Basler proved the difference between Bayern and Dynamo in the second leg, giving the Germans a 4–3 aggregate win. Manchester United fell behind early in Turin, as Filippo Inzaghi scored twice in the first 11 minutes, goals from Keane and Yorke before half-time levelled the tie but gave United the advantage on away goals, before Andy Cole secured victory with the winning goal seven minutes from time. The Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, was selected as the venue for the final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Lisbon, Portugal, on 6 October 1998
8.
Manchester United F.C.
–
Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season
9.
2012 UEFA Champions League Final
–
The 2012 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match which took place on Saturday,19 May 2012 between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The match was to decide the winner of the 2011–12 season of the UEFA Champions League, Bayern were making their ninth appearance in the competitions final, having won four and lost four, most recently losing in 2010. Chelsea were appearing in their final, having lost their first in 2008. It was the first Champions League final to be held at the Allianz Arena, as tenants of the Arena, this meant Bayern were the first finalists to have home advantage since 1984. Both teams progressed to the stages by finishing top of their group. Bayern then beat Basel, Marseille and Real Madrid to reach the final, while Chelsea knocked out Napoli, Benfica, the teams stayed level at 1–1 and the match went to a penalty shoot-out, which Chelsea won 4–3 to clinch their first Champions League title. In doing so, they became the first London club to win the tournament, as winners, Chelsea took part in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup, losing 4–1 to Atlético Madrid, the winners of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. Chelsea also represented UEFA at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the stage, however. The stadium, which opened in 2005, is the stadium of both Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich, and was used for six matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup including the opening match. The stadium was hosting its first major European final, the Olympiastadion in Munich, the previous home of Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich, hosted three European Cup finals, in 1979,1993 and 1997. On each previous occasion, a European Cup final held in Munich had produced a winner of the competition. During the match, the stadium was illuminated in green and turquoise to represent the official UEFA emblem of the Munich final, as the outer shell of the Allianz Arena can change colour. To reach the final, in the knockout phase Bayern defeated Basel, Marseille, and Real Madrid, while Chelsea overcame Napoli, Benfica, and the defending champions Barcelona. Both teams reached the final having already lost out in their domestic leagues, Chelsea won the FA Cup by defeating Liverpool 2–1, while Bayern lost the Final of the DFB-Pokal 2–5 to Borussia Dortmund. Both clubs lost their most recent Champions League final, Bayern in 2010 to Internazionale 0–2, while that was Chelseas only Champions League final, Bayern have played in eight Champions League/European Cup finals, winning four and losing four. They have only met each other once in Europe before, with Chelsea winning 6–5 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, for this reason, fans of Bayern Munich called the match Finale dahoam. This was the first time since 2007 that neither of the participants were champions of their domestic league. This was the time that an English side and a German side had met in a European Cup/Champions League final
10.
Frank Lampard
–
Frank James Lampard OBE is an English former professional footballer and childrens writer. Lampard began his career at West Ham United, for whom his father Frank Lampard and he secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish fifth in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million, in 2014, he was released by Chelsea after 13 years of service. Lampard then joined New York City FC on a deal, in preparation for the clubs Major League Soccer debut in 2015, as a free transfer. On 31 December 2014, however, BBC Sports David Ornstein revealed Lampard is under contract to Manchester City, from his debut, Lampard was ever-present in the Chelsea first team and made 164 consecutive Premier League appearances, a record for an outfield player. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest-paid Premier League footballer at that time and he won a second FA Cup winners medal in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard helped Chelsea secure their first league and FA Cup Double, in 2012, Lampard captained Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League success and a year later to their first UEFA Europa League title. He was released by the club after the 2013–14 season, a three-time Chelsea Player of the Year, Lampard is the clubs all-time top goalscorer with 211 goals in all competitions. Lampard is one of seven players, and the only midfielder and he is second in the Premier Leagues all-time assists table, behind Ryan Giggs. In 2005, Lampard was voted FWA Footballer of the Year and was runner-up in both the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon dOr, in 2010, he received the FWA Tribute Award. He has won 13 trophies in his career, internationally, Lampard was capped 106 times by England since his debut in October 1999, and scored 29 international goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two years in 2004 and 2005. He played in Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring three goals in four games and he was top scorer for England in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played at three World Cups. He is Englands most prolific penalty taker with nine goals, surpassing the record holders, Ron Flowers. Since December 2015, he has married to television presenter Christine Bleakley. Lampard currently serves as a captain on the ITV sport panel show Play to the Whistle. Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his fathers club, joining the youth team in 1994, his schoolboy hero being West Ham striker. Lampard joined West Ham when his father was the assistant coach, entering as an apprentice in the team in 1994
.jpg)
