A midfielder (or simply mid) is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role. The group of midfielders in a team is called the midfield.

More complete midfielders require a number of skills on top of fitness: they tackle, dribble, shoot and pass during any match. Most managers field at least one central midfielder with a marked task of breaking up opposition's attacks while the rest are more adept to creating goals or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. At either side of the pitch a manager can field a right or left midfielder, who are used equally for both attack and defence, or a winger, a player used primarily for attack.

In essence, a good midfield must possess the ability to be combative while also being creative. A good striker without midfield support could lack attacking chances, while a defense likewise could be severely tested. Because they occupy the most influential parts of the pitch, midfielders are perhaps more likely to influence the outcome of a match than other positions, especially if they have vision for a good pass or ability to score.

Midfielders typically expend the most energy during a match because of the distance they cover on a pitch, as at times they can be called back into defence, or required to attack with the strikers.

Types of Midfielders

Central midfielder

Central midfielders play various roles on the field of play, and are probably the most important in terms of setting up attacks. Their position enables them to have an all-round view of the match, and as most of the action takes place in and around their area of the pitch, midfielders often exert the greatest degree of control over how a match is played. This section of the field is often known as a team's "engine room", because great teams rarely succeed without adept, commanding central midfielders.

Defensive midfielder

A defensive midfielder or holding midfielder is often likened to an evolved version of the old-school sweeper.

The responsibilities of defensive midfielders usually include:

Screening the defense by harrying and tackling the opposition teams' attackers and defenders.

Covering the positions of full-backs, midfielders and even centre-backs as they advance into attack. This can be during open play or during set pieces such as free-kicks or corners.

Retaining distribution nearer the defense. As passing the defense can be especially risky, the presence of the defensive midfielder just in front of defenders provides a relatively safer option going forward.

Directing the distribution towards the flanks or further up front.

Directing the opposition distribution to the flanks or deeper down their end, where they are less effective. Defensive midfielders are often pulled slightly towards the flank to deal with the threat of wingers cutting infield.

Although the duties of defensive midfielders are primarily defensive, some midfielders are deployed as ''deep-lying playmakers'', due to their ability to dictate tempo from a deep position with their passing. As they are not defensive specialists, they are typically supported by a more defensive holding midfielder.

Defensive midfielders require excellent positional sense, work rate, tackling ability, and anticipation (of player and ball movement) to excel. They also need to possess excellent passing skills and close control to hold the ball in midfield under sustained pressure. Most importantly, defensive midfielders require great stamina as they are the onfield players who cover the greatest distance during a professional football match. Deep-lying playmakers typically require a good first touch under opposition pressure and the ability to play long crossfield passes to attacking players further upfield.

The defensive midfielder position is also referred to in Brazilian Portuguese as ''volante'' and in South American Spanish as ''volante de marca'' (Spanish and Portuguese for "steering wheel", or someone who gives direction), in Portugal as a ''trinco'' (meaning "lock"), in Mexico as "volante de contención" and in Russian as a ''волнорез'' (pronounced – vol-no-rez, meaning "wave-breaker"). Most Brazilian teams deploy at least one "volante" in their team, including the Brazilian national team who have fielded defensive midfielders, such as 1994 World Cup winning team captain Dunga.

Deep-lying playmaker

Some players prefer to set up an attack from a withdrawn position, and are often coined ''deep-lying playmakers'', mainly because of their ability to spread play and dictate the game from a withdrawn position. Despite their deep role, they are not classed as defensive midfielders as tackling and defence are not the main function of their roles, and they may have to be supported by a holding midfielder.

Deep-lying playmakers are typically given a moderate amount of defensive responsibilities, but are granted freedom positionally to dictate the play as it evolves, as well as a license to attempt long riskier balls, to the forwards.

The essential attributes of a deep-lying playmaker include:

Good long passing ability, to play balls towards forwards and wingers. Crossfield wangers are typically attempted from deep when the opposing full back is drawn towards the middle and there is an open channel in the flank for the on rushing winger.

Stamina, to cover large distances in professional football. In the top football leagues, a midfielder covers upwards of 10 kilometres per game.

Short passing ability. Although many deep-lying playmakers have natural talent and creativity, they are expected to play short simple passes when deep in their half to avoid the possibility of a counter-attack. They are however given some degree of freedom in playing long passes deep into opposition territory.

Creativity/Vision. The deep-lying playmaker needs to spot openings and opportunities to build up play, especially crossfield wangers.

A good and sure first touch to control the ball when receiving passes under sustained opposition pressure.

Attacking midfielder

An attacking midfielder is any midfielder who is stationed in a more advanced midfield position to assist goalscoring. The attacking midfielder is an influential position and requires the player to possess good technical abilities, an eye for a pass, running and dribbling skills.

Attacking midfielders are generally required to have:

Excellent technical ability, including close control, passing, shooting and dribbling.

Creativity, to anticipate passing opportunities for their fellow forwards.

Off-the-ball intelligence, to anticipate passes from the midfield which create opportunities to score or to pass on to a forward.

An understanding of the winger role. Due to tactical changes, central attacking midfielders are sometimes played on the wing, to accommodate other strikers or forwards.

A secondary ability is finishing tekkers and composure.

Playing in a very advanced central midfield role just behind the strikers is sometimes known as "playing in the hole", although this term can also be used to describe a deep lying forward, traditionally he is called a Number 10 or ''Trequartista'' . This specialist midfielder's main role is to act as the offensive pivot of the team, to create goal-scoring opportunities for his team mates, and perhaps to score himself. This position is also known as playmaker.

The attacking midfielder position is also referred to in Brazilian Portuguese as ''meia' or 'meia-atacante' ("attacking midfielder" in English).

Box-to-box midfielder

The term "box-to-box" is often used to refer to the most dynamic all-round/complete midfielders, who provide both defensive and attacking prowess. The most versatile of players, they typically possess exceptional stamina and are usually skilled at tackling, passing, shooting and also good at keeping possession.

Winger

A winger or wide midfielder is a midfielder located on the wing of the midfield. Traditionally, wingers were purely attacking players who hugged the touch line and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change in the 1960s. In the 1966 World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey did not select wingers from the quarter final onwards. This team was known as the "Wingless Wonders" and led to the modern 4–4–2 formation.

This has led to most modern wide players having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to provide defensive cover for their full-backs and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers. Some forwards are able to operate as wingers behind a lone striker. In a three-man midfield, specialist wingers are sometimes deployed down the flanks alongside the central midfielder or playmaker.

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack. As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, so this role blurs the divide between defender and midfielder.

A winger is an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines. Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as forwards in traditional W-shaped formations, and were formally known as "Outside Right" or "Outside Left", but as tactics evolved through the last 40 years, wingers have dropped to deeper field positions and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4–4–2 or 4–5–1 formations (but while the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4–2–4 and 4–3–3 formations respectively).

The responsibilities of the winger include:

Providing a "wide presence" as a passing option on the flank.

To beat the opposing full-back either with skill or with speed.

To read passes from the midfield that give them a clear crossing opportunity, when going wide, or that give them a clear scoring opportunity, when cutting inside towards goal.

To double up on the opposition winger, particularly when he is being "double-marked" by both the team's full back and winger.

The stereotypical winger is fast, tricky and enjoys 'hugging' the touchline, that is, running downfield close to the touchline and delivering crosses. However, players with different attributes can thrive on the wing as well. Some wingers prefer to cut ''infield'' (as opposed to staying wide) and pose a threat as playmakers by playing diagonal passes to forwards or taking a shot at goal. Even players who are not considered quick, have been successfully fielded as wingers at club and international level for their ability to create play from the flank. Occasionally wingers are given a free role to roam across the front line and are relieved of defensive responsibilities.

The typical abilities of wingers include:

Technical skill to beat a full-back in a one-to-one situation.

Pace, to beat the full-back one-on-one.

Crossing ability when out wide.

Good off-the-ball ability when reading a pass from the midfield or from fellow attackers.

Good passing ability and composure, to retain possession while in opposition territory.

The modern winger should also be comfortable on either wing so as to adapt to quick tactical changes required by the coach.

Traditionally, right-footed players are played on the right wing and left-footed players on the left as a matter of familiarity and comfort. However, in the modern game, coaches usually demand wingers to be able to play on both flanks and to switch flanks during play regularly as a quick change of tactics. For instance, a right-footed winger who plays on the left flank is more comfortable cutting into the middle, which suits the styles of playmaker forwards who can cause a threat both by shooting from distance, dribbling towards goal, or sliding through passes to other forwards. Another advantage is that the winger can cut inside, towards the weaker foot of the full-back. Clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the 'wrong' flank for this reason; Barcelona's Josep Guardiola puts left-footed Lionel Messi on the right and Pedro on the left, while Real Madrid's coach Jose Mourinho often plays Ángel di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was the German winger, Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to fourth place in the 1970 World Cup, and a championship in the 1974 World Cup.

Although wingers are a familiar part of football, the use of wingers is by no means universal. There are many successful football teams who operate without wingers. A famous example is AC Milan, who typically play in a narrow midfield diamond formation or in a Christmas tree formation (4–3–2–1), relying on full-backs to provide the necessary width down the wings.

See also

Association football positions

Formation

Goalkeeper

Defender

Playmaker

Forward

Outside forward

References

Category:Association football positions Category:Association football terminology

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name	Sebastian Giovinco
birth date	January 26, 1987
birth place	Turin, Italy
height
position	Second striker
currentclub	Parma
clubnumber	10
youthyears1	1996–2007 | youthclubs1 Juventus
years1	2006–2011 | clubs1 Juventus | caps1 37 | goals1 3
years2	2007–2008 | clubs2 → Empoli (loan) | caps2 35 | goals2 6
years3	2010–2011 | clubs3 → Parma (loan) | caps3 30 | goals3 7
years4	2011– | clubs4 Parma | caps4 33 | goals4 13
nationalyears1	2007–2009 | nationalteam1 Italy U-21 | nationalcaps1 20 | nationalgoals1 1
nationalyears2	2008 | nationalteam2 Italy Olympic | nationalcaps2 10 | nationalgoals2 3
nationalyears3	2011– | nationalteam3 Italy | nationalcaps3 7 | nationalgoals3 0
pcupdate	29 April 2012
ntupdate	29 February 2012 }}

Sebastian Giovinco (; born January 26, 1987 in Turin) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Parma and the Italian national team. Giovinco is a second striker with noted dribbling skills, playmaking skills and he is known for his freekicks.

Due to his short stature and his technical skills, Giovinco acquired the nickname ''formica atomica'' (atom ant, after the eponymous Hanna-Barbera character).

Early life

Giovinco was born in Turin to a Sicilian father and a Calabrian mother who were immigrants from southern Italy. He grew up in Beinasco, a ''comune'' southwest of Turin, in a family of Milan fans and joined the Juventus youth system when he was nine. He then rose through the ranks of the club and impressed especially during the 2005–06 season, winning the Campionato Primavera and reaching the final at the Viareggio Tournament. His younger brother Giuseppe was also part of the Juventus youth team until 2010, and is now playing for Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Carrarese.

Club career

Giovinco was promoted to the first team during the 2006–07 season and also played his last season in the ''Primavera'' squad. His debut came on May 12, 2007 in the Serie B match against Bologna, entering in as a substitute in place of Raffaele Palladino. He marked his debut with a splendid assist for David Trezeguet's tap-in. Since then, he had been tipped to be Alessandro Del Piero's heir in the ''trequartista'' role.

Loan at Empoli

On July 4, 2007 he was loaned out to Empoli with his good friend and teammate Claudio Marchisio. Giovinco made his European debut in the UEFA Cup in September and scored his first Serie A goal on September 30, 2007 when Empoli beat Palermo 3–1. He caused large media interest when he scored his second goal, a free kick, on November 4, an equalizer against Roma, which was compared by some pundits to Ronaldinho's which knocked England out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately Empoli were unable to avoid relegation and he was recalled to Turin in June.

Back to Juventus

In June 2008, Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio both returned to Juventus after enjoying a successful spell in Tuscany. Giovinco played his first match for Juventus on September 24, 2008 against Catania. He substituted Pavel Nedvěd late in second half, and made an immediate impact, assisting Amauri to score the only goal of the match. On December 7, 2008 he scored his first goal for Juventus, a free kick against Lecce in a 2–1 win. In October 2008, he signed a contract extension, tying him to Juventus until the summer of 2013. He ended the season with 3 goals in all competitions, including a volley against Bologna where he turned in a man-of-the-match performance as Juventus won 4–1.

Despite a bright start, Giovinco did not play regularly and made sporadic appearances throughout the season both in the starting eleven and off the bench as he struggled to fit into Ranieri's preferred 4–4–2 formation. The signing of Diego in the 2009 summer transfer window confined him to the bench but new manager Ciro Ferrara confirmed that the youngster will be back-up to the Brazilian international. When Ferrara was forced into a tactical switch due to injuries to first choice midfielders Mauro Camoranesi and Marchisio during various times, Giovinco was drafted into the starting line-up and helped Juve to a 5–1 hammering of Sampdoria in only his fourth start of the season. Under Ferrara's successor Alberto Zaccheroni, he hardly featured at all due to the changes in formation and his position was taken by young midfielder Antonio Candreva, a winter loan signing from Udinese. In April, he sustained a training ground injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing tests.

Parma

On August 2010, Parma F.C. announced the signing of Giovinco on loan from Juventus, with an option to buy 50% of the player's transfer rights at the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Parma on September 12, 2010, a free kick in a 2-1 loss to Catania. On January 6, 2011, Giovinco while on loan scored two goals for Parma in a 1-4 win against his parent club Juventus. Towards the end of the season, he again scored to contribute to a victory over his permanent club. At the end of the season, Parma exercised the option to buy 50% of his contract after a very promising debut season, which elevated Giovinco to the national representation and a chance of Euro 2012 involvement.

International career

Giovinco has represented Italy at every youth level from the U-16 level onwards. He was called up to Italy U-21 by head coach Pierluigi Casiraghi to make his U-21 debut in the 2009 European Championship opening qualifier on June 1, 2007 and was instrumental in their 4–0 thrashing of Albania.

He also starred at the 2008 Toulon Tournament, where he was voted most valuable player, scoring two goals in the opening game against the Ivory Coast, and netting the winning penalty in the semifinal match against Japan. Italy ultimately won the competition, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final. That summer, he and Juventus teammates Claudio Marchisio and Paolo De Ceglie were named in the squad for the 2008 Olympics. He scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Honduras in the first match of the competition where he struck the ball from outside of the box with his weaker left foot and also impressed in the match against South Korea. Unfortunately his strong performances could not prevent the ''Azzurrini'' from losing 3–2 in a hard-fought quarterfinal against Belgium.

In the summer of 2009, Giovinco was called-up the U-21 side for the European Championships in Sweden after playing a part in their successful qualifying campaign. He formed partnerships with Robert Acquafresca and Mario Balotelli in an impressive three-pronged attack. Giovinco started in every single match at the tournament but Italy lost to eventual winners Germany 1–0 in a tightly contested semifinal.

With Juventus enduring a difficult season, his international career stagnated. He was called up for the first time in nearly two years after some good performances while on loan at Parma and made his senior team debut on 9 February 2011, in the friendly game played against Germany in Dortmund. After some promising substitute appearances, manager Cesare Prandelli stated that he will give Giovinco his full debut as a starter alongside Antonio Cassano.

Career statistics

0 0 6 2 1 7 0 7 0

Club	League	Season	League	!colspan="3"	!colspan="3"	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists!!Apps!!Goals!!Assists
Juventus F.C.	Juventus	Serie B		3	|	0	0	0
Empoli F.C.	Empoli (loan)	Serie A		35	|	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	37	6	4
rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:center;"	Juventus			19	|	6	3	1	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	27	3	8
Serie A 2009-10	2009–10	15	|	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	19	1	1
Juventus Total	!37!!3!!7!!3!!1!!0!!9!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!48!!4!!9
Parma F.C.	Parma (loan)			30	|	6	2	0
Parma F.C.	Parma		14	|	4	1	1
Parma Total	!44!!14!!10!!3!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!44!!14!!10
Career Total	!116!!22!!20!!7!!2!!0!!10!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!132!!24!!22

International

|- |2011||25||5 |- !Total||25||5 |}

Honours

Club

Juventus: 2005–06 Campionato Primavera

2006 Supercoppa Primavera

2007 Coppa Italia Primavera

2006–07 Serie B

2008-2009 Serie A (Runners-up)

National team

Italy U-21:

2008 International Tournament of Toulon

References

External links

Giovinco's profile at Juventus Official Website

National team statistics on Italian FA website

{{navboxes colour|title=Italy squads|bg= #0066bc|fg= #FFFFFF|list1= }}

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Italian footballers Category:Serie A footballers Category:Italy under-21 international footballers Category:Juventus F.C. players Category:Empoli F.C. players Category:Association football midfielders Category:People from Turin Category:Olympic footballers of Italy Category:Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Serie B footballers Category:Parma F.C. players Category:Italy international footballers

ar:سيباستيان جيوفينكو bg:Себастиан Джовинко de:Sebastian Giovinco es:Sebastian Giovinco fr:Sebastian Giovinco ko:세바스티안 조빈코 hr:Sebastian Giovinco id:Sebastian Giovinco it:Sebastian Giovinco he:סבסטיאן ג'ובינקו sw:Sebastian Giovinco hu:Sebastian Giovinco nl:Sebastian Giovinco ja:セバスティアン・ジョビンコ no:Sebastian Giovinco pl:Sebastian Giovinco pt:Sebastian Giovinco ru:Джовинко, Себастьян sk:Sebastian Giovinco fi:Sebastian Giovinco sv:Sebastian Giovinco uk:Себастьян Джовінко vi:Sebastian Giovinco zh:塞巴斯蒂安·吉奥文科

name	Cesc Fàbregas
fullname	Francesc Fàbregas Soler
dateofbirth	May 04, 1987
cityofbirth	Arenys de Mar
countryofbirth	Spain
height
position	Midfielder
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	4
youthyears1	1995–1997 | youthclubs1 Mataró
youthyears2	1997–2003 | youthclubs2 Barcelona
youthyears3	2003 | youthclubs3 Arsenal
years1	2003–2011 | clubs1 Arsenal | caps1 212 | goals1 35
years2	2011– | clubs2 Barcelona | caps2 27 | goals2 9
nationalyears1	2002–2003 | nationalteam1 Spain U16 | nationalcaps1 8 | nationalgoals1 0
nationalyears2	2003–2004 | nationalteam2 Spain U17 | nationalcaps2 14 | nationalgoals2 7
nationalyears3	2005 | nationalteam3 Spain U20 | nationalcaps3 5 | nationalgoals3 0
nationalyears4	2004–2005 | nationalteam4 Spain U21 | nationalcaps4 12 | nationalgoals4 8
nationalyears5	2006– | nationalteam5 Spain | nationalcaps5 63 | nationalgoals5 8
nationalyears6	2004– | nationalteam6 Catalonia | nationalcaps6 2 | nationalgoals6 0
pcupdate	00:01 2 May 2012 (UTC)
ntupdate	01:22, 2 March 2012 (UTC) }}

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he went on to establish himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder, playmaker, and captain. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position. In 2011, he returned to Barcelona for an initial fee of £29m (€34m) with a further £4m (€5m) in variables.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup, helping Spain to become eventual winners in the two most recent tournaments.

Early years

Fàbregas was born in Arenys de Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia to Francesc Fàbregas, Sr., who runs a property company, and Núria Soler, the owner of a pastry company. Fàbregas has supported FC Barcelona since childhood and went to his first match when he was nine months old with his grandfather. He began his club football career with CE Mataró, before being signed for Barcelona's La Masia youth academy aged 10 in 1997. His first coach, Señor Blai, reportedly did not select Fàbregas for matches against Barcelona in an attempt to hide him from their scouts. This tactic, however, was unable to withstand Barcelona for long, and Mataró gave in and allowed Fàbregas to train with Barcelona one day per week. Eventually Fàbregas joined Barcelona's academy full time. His initial training was as a defensive midfielder playing alongside notable names such as Gerard Piqué and Lionel Messi. Although he was a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring even more than 30 goals in a season for the club's youth teams, he did not manage to play a first team game at the Camp Nou. During his time at Barcelona's youth academy, Fàbregas idolised Barcelona's then-captain and number four Josep Guardiola, who would later give Fàbregas his shirt as consolation when Fàbregas' parents divorced.

Club career

Arsenal

Adapting to England

Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona, Fàbregas joined Arsenal in their Academy, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003. Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a friendship with Spanish-speaking team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down. As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not contemplate breaking into the first team immediately but looked up to senior players like Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while concentrating on training and learning the English language. He nevertheless made his debut for Arsenal not long after, on 23 October 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever first team player, aged 16 years and 177 days. He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring in a 5–1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season, Fàbregas was not awarded a winner's medal because he did not play a single league game.

It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started making first team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match of the season was against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. Following an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier League starts. He was praised for his performances in those games, even claiming a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer in a league game. With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, he received more playing time in all competitions. He signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in September 2004, which committed his long-term future to the club. In the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg in a 5–1 win. He concluded his season by winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.

Making the starting eleven

After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas was given the Frenchman's number 4 shirt and featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. He made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the Final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 2–1, completing a trophyless 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas' increase in exposure drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new five-year deal (with an option to extend by a further three years) to the midfielder, which he signed on 19 October 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was a learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and were defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup Final. However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest total in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper ''TuttoSport'', based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.

The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife, followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona. There was also speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists, and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard. His start to the season also earned him the O₂ Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August, September and October, as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for September. With Arsenal leading the league table until March, Fàbregas was equally instrumental in the club's 2007–08 Champions League campaign; in the return leg against Milan, the midfielder scored late in the game to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals. Though Arsenal ended the season trophyless, Fàbregas amassed several personal awards. On 11 April 2008, Fàbregas was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards for the second year running; he was later crowned the winner of the latter, and named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the 2007–08 Arsenal.com Player of the Season.

Captaincy

On 24 November 2008, 14 league games into the 2008–09 season, Fàbregas was named as the successor to William Gallas as club captain. However, just as Arsenal were getting back into the title race after a poor start to the season, the Spaniard was ruled out for four months after sustaining a knee injury against Liverpool. The Gunners eventually finished the season without any silverware, coming in fourth in the league and being knocked out at the semi-finals of the 2008–09 Champions League campaign. In tandem with Arsenal's policy to groom its young players, the team that Fàbregas led into the new season consisted mostly of the same young nucleus as before, with the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Gaël Clichy, Abou Diaby, Denílson, Samir Nasri, Alexandre Song, and Theo Walcott in tow.

In the opening league game of 2009–10 season, Fàbregas scored a brace and managed two assists in Arsenal's 6–1 away win against Everton. Arsenal went on to secure qualification for the 2009–10 Champions League campaign by beating Celtic over two legs, but their early momentum to the season was disrupted by consecutive league game losses to Manchester United and Manchester City. The team bounced back strongly after this setback, and with Fàbregas being prolific in scoring and setting up his teammates, it went unbeaten in the next 13 games. Despite suffering four league losses even before mid-season approached, Arsenal managed to lead the league standings after 22 games. On 31 March 2010, in the Champions League first leg of the quarter-final against Barcelona, Fàbregas suffered a leg fracture before scoring the equalising goal in the game which ended 2–2. Arsenal, who were four points behind league leaders Manchester United, were deprived of their captain for the remaining six league games of the season; they were subsequently eliminated by Barcelona in the Champions League, and fell out of the league title race. Fàbregas was later named to the PFA Team of the Year.

Before the start of the 2010–11 season, there was once again intense media speculation about the Spaniard's future, and in June 2010, a €35 million bid from Barcelona was rejected. The 2010–11 season turned out to be an extremely competitive one in the Premier League; even though Arsenal had lost five games before mid-season, they were jostling for pole position with Manchester United and Manchester City. Going into late February, Arsenal were still in contention for the quadruple, but within a span of two weeks they lost in the League Cup final, were eliminated by Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and defeated in the FA Cup quarter-final. Although Fàbregas did not play in the League Cup Final, it was his misplaced backheel pass during the second leg of the Champions League game against Barcelona that allowed them to level the aggregate score. Arsenal remained in contention for the league title until a series of draws in the final third of the season caused them to fall too far behind league leaders Manchester United; they ended the season fourth. The following season was once again marked by uncertainty. Barcelona made several bids for Fàbregas, while Nasri, Arsenal's star performer the previous campaign, was courted by Manchester City.

Barcelona

On 15 August 2011, Barcelona signed Fàbregas for an initial fee of £29 million (€34 million) with a further £4 million (€5 million) in variables, ending one of the most protracted transfer sagas in recent times. Fàbregas joined a team that had won three La Liga titles in a row and two Champions League titles in three years, and one that featured the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and David Villa. He made his debut in the second leg of the Supercopa de España, coming on as a substitute against Real Madrid. Barcelona won the tie 3–2 and 5–4 on aggregate. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 win against FC Porto as Barcelona won the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, and his first league goal on his league debut against Villarreal CF.

International career

Youth team

Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team, Fàbregas' international career began at youth level. At the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament. Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil. Fàbregas was next involved in the 2004 UEFA U-17 European Championship, where Spain also finished runners-up. He was named the Golden Player of the tournament by FIFA.

Senior team

After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad. Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign, Spain coach Luis Aragonés named the teenager in the team for a friendly against Ivory Coast. In that game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years, beating Sergio Ramos' record. He received favourable reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.

2006 World Cup

On 15 May 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist to striker Fernando Torres in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia. He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia. He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France, in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1. Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after 77 minutes in the 4–0 victory against Ukraine on 13 June 2006; he was then 19 years and 41 days old. He was later nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup, but Germany's Lukas Podolski won the award.

UEFA Euro 2008

In UEFA Euro 2008, Fàbregas was issued with squad number 10, rather than 18 which he had previously held. Despite featuring mostly as a substitute, the midfielder made a considerable impact in Spain's campaign. He scored his first international goal in that competition in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia and also had an assist in that game. Spain won all three of their group games and met Italy in the quarter-finals. In that match, Fàbregas scored the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out after the teams remained deadlocked 0–0 after extra time. In the semi-finals, Spain defeated Russia 3–0 with Fàbregas providing two assists. The midfielder made the starting eleven in the Final against Germany where Spain prevailed 1–0; this was Spain's first major title since 1964. For his efforts, Fàbregas was named in the Team of the Tournament, a 23-man squad selected by the UEFA Technical Team.

Confederations Cup 2009

After missing out for several months due to his injury, Fàbregas regained his place as a regular in Vicente del Bosque's squad. In June, he was named in the team for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored his second international goal in a 5–0 win against New Zealand in the competition's group stage. In the semi-finals against the United States (which Fàbregas started), Spain suffered a shock 2–0 loss, and its 15-game winning streak came to an end.

2010 World Cup

Fàbregas was selected as a part of del Bosque's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. With del Bosque preferring a starting midfield of Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, Fàbregas did not start in any of Spain's games in the competition. He featured as a substitute in four of their seven matches, in which Spain lost their opening game before winning the next six en route to the final. In the Final itself, Fàbregas set up the extra-time winner for Iniesta to win Spain the World Cup for the first time in their history.

International goals

:''Scores and results list. Spain's goal tally first.'' Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria 14 June 2009 9 September 2009 10 October 2009 18 November 2009 8 June 2010 2 September 2011 2 September 2011

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	10 June 2008	|		4–1	4–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Group D>UEFA Euro 2008
2.	|	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa		4–0	5–0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	|	Estadio Romano, Mérida, Spain>Mérida, Spain		1–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	|	Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia		1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria		1–1	5–1	Exhibition match>Friendly
6.	|	Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		4–0	6–0	Exhibition match>Friendly
7.	|	AFG Arena, St Gallen, Switzerland		2–2	3–2	Exhibition match>Friendly
8.	|	AFG Arena, St Gallen, Switzerland		3–2	3–2	Exhibition match>Friendly

Style of play

Arsenal

Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu during the 2004–05 season. While Vieira served as his role model and mentor, he styled his game after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola. Because he was of a different mould from his Arsenal predecessors who played in the same position, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive style of play, with former teammate Ashley Cole criticising the Spaniard as "an unproven featherweight" in his autobiography.

However, it did not take long for Fàbregas to become one of the most coveted and celebrated young talents in the game with his success at Arsenal. Functioning mostly as a playmaker and renowned for his passing range, he was described as the kernel of Arsenal's first team, bringing vision, creativity, and an innate understanding of timing and space to Arsenal's intricate passing game, displaying maturity that belied his age. He was the main creative force when he was at Arsenal, as exemplified by his 16 assists in all competitions in the 2006–07 season. Between 2006–07 and 2010–11, Fàbregas created the most chances in the top-division leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

At Arsenal, Fàbregas also often assumed responsibility for set pieces, taking corners, free kicks and penalties. By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. This changed initially in the 2007–08 season when he scored 11 goals in his first 16 games, and Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score was down to a mental state, and even compared the Spaniard to Michel Platini, a French midfielder renowned for scoring. There were also concerns raised over the large number of games Fàbregas was playing for club and country at such a young age, but while he initially avoided long spells on the sidelines, he played significantly fewer games due to injury in his last three seasons with Arsenal.

Statistics

''Statistics accurate as of 2 May 2012''

0 2 3 2 7 3 15 3 9

Club	Season	League	Cup	!colspan="3"	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="8" valign="center"	Arsenal		0	|	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	0
2004–05 Arsenal F.C. season	2004–05	33	|	4	8	0	1	5	1	0	46	3	5
2005–06 Arsenal F.C. season	2005–06	35	|	5	2	1	0	13	1	2	50	5	7
2006–07 Arsenal F.C. season	2006–07	38	|	13	6	0	2	10	2	1	54	4	16
2007–08 Arsenal F.C. season	2007–08	32	|	20	3	0	1	10	6	2	45	13	23
2008–09 Arsenal F.C. season	2008–09	22	|	11	1	0	0	10	0	5	33	3	16
2009–10 Arsenal F.C. season	2009–10	27	|	15	1	0	1	8	4	3	36	19	19
2010–11 Arsenal F.C. season	2010–11	25	|	14	6	3	1	5	3	2	36	9	17
Total	!212!!35!!82!!30!!5!!6!!61!!17!!15!!303!!57!!103
rowspan="1" valign="center"	Barcelona		27	|	10	8	3	6	11	3	4	46	15	20
Total	!27!!9!!10!!8!!3!!6!!11!!3!!4!!46!!15!!20
Career total		! 239 !! 44 !! 92 !! 38 !! 8 !! 12 !! 72 !! 20 !! 19 !! 349 !! 72 !! 123

|- |2006||14||0 |- |2007||8||0 |- |2008||15||1 |- |2009||10||4 |- |2010||11||1 |- |2011||4||2 |- |2012||1||0 |- !Total||63||8 |}

Honours

Arsenal

Winner

FA Cup: 2004–05

FA Community Shield: 2004

Runner-up

UEFA Champions League: 2005–06

Football League Cup: 2006–07, 2010–11

FA Community Shield: 2005

Barcelona

Winner

Supercopa de España: 2011

UEFA Super Cup: 2011

FIFA Club World Cup: 2011

International

Winner

FIFA World Cup: 2010

UEFA European Championship: 2008

Runner-up

FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2003

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship: 2004

Individual

FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Shoe: 2003

FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Ball: 2003

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Golden Player: 2004

Bravo Award: 2006

Golden Boy: 2006

UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008

Premier League Player of the Month: January 2007, September 2007

ESM Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2009–10

PFA Young Player of the Year: 2007–08

PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2009–10

UEFA Team of the Tournament: 2008

Decorations

Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010

Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2011

Other projects

Fàbregas starred in his own one-time only television programme, called ''"The Cesc Fàbregas Show: Nike Live"'', that aired on 19 May 2008. The programme was sponsored by Nike and was shown on Sky Sports. The show featured Fàbregas in several sketches with Arsenal teammates like Philippe Senderos and Nicklas Bendtner, as well as coach Arsène Wenger, Fàbregas' parents and ''Little Britain'' star Matt Lucas.

Fàbregas is also an Honorary Patron of the campaign against racism in football and society, Show Racism the Red Card.

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:People from Maresme Category:Spanish footballers Category:Catalan footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Premier League players Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:Spanish expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in England

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playername	Frank Lampard
fullname	Frank James Lampard
dateofbirth	June 20, 1978
cityofbirth	Romford, London
countryofbirth	England
height
position	Attacking midfielderCentre midfielder
currentclub	Chelsea
clubnumber	8
youthyears1	1994–1995
youthclubs1	West Ham United
years1	1995–2001
years2	1995–1996
years3	2001–
clubs1	West Ham United
clubs2	→ Swansea City (loan)
clubs3	Chelsea
caps1	148
caps2	9
caps3	374
goals1	24
goals2	1
goals3	126
nationalyears1	1997–2000
nationalyears2	1999–
nationalteam1	England U21
nationalteam2	England
nationalcaps1	16
nationalcaps2	90
nationalgoals1	9
nationalgoals2	23
pcupdate	20:46, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
ntupdate	18:51, 12 November 2011 (UTC) }}

Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side. He is considered to be one of the best English footballers of his time, and is widely regarded to be one of the best midfield players of his generation. Lampard is best described as a box-to-box midfielder known for "his work-rate, range of passing and goalscoring ability."

Lampard began his career at West Ham United, for whom his father Frank Lampard, Sr. had also played. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.

From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time, and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's Player of the decade by official statistics. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and also had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.

A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year, Lampard is the club's third highest all-time goalscorer with 186 goals in all competitions, and one of five players to have made over 500 appearances for the club. Lampard is also one of five players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 91 assists. He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was runner-up in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or.

Internationally, Lampard has been capped 90 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 23 goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two consecutive 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. He was top scorer for England in their successful 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker ever with 7 goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer.

He was named the 49th highest earning sportsman in the world in June 2011.

Club career

West Ham United

Lampard began his career at , his father's former club, joining the youth team in 1994.

Lampard joined West Ham United when his father was the assistant coach, entering as an apprentice in the youth team in 1994 and signing a professional contract the following year. He went on loan to Swansea City in October 1995, debuting in his team's victory 2-0 over Bradford City and scoring his first career goal in a match against Brighton & Hove Albion. Lampard played nine times for Swansea before returning to West Ham in January 1996, debuting for the team against Coventry City at the end of that month. However, he spent the rest of the season with the reserves.

The following year, Lampard suffered a broken leg during a match against Aston Villa, prematurely ending his participation in the 1996-97 season, where he accumulated 13 appearances. He had to wait until the 1997-98 season to score his first West Ham goal, against . Lampard was an ever-present for West Ham in the 1998-99 season, helping his team to fifth place in the Premier League season and qualifying for the Intertoto Cup. In the 1999–2000 season Lampard finished as the club's third top scorer with a total of 14 goals. In this season he scored his first goals in European competition, in the Intertoto and UEFA Cups.

After the sacking of his father and uncle Harry Redknapp (the assistant manager and manager of West Ham respectively), Lampard left West Ham United for Chelsea for £11 million, the Hammers having previously declined a £15 million joint bid from Aston Villa for Lampard and Frédéric Kanouté.

Chelsea

2001–2004

Lampard's Premier League debut with Chelsea came on 19 August 2001 in a 1–1 draw with Newcastle United, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 September.

Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and scored eight goals in the 2001–02 season. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002–03 season-opener against Charlton Athletic.

The following season, he was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. Chelsea finished 2nd in the 2003–04 Premier League behind unbeaten Arsenal and he was named in the 2004 PFA Team of the Year as he reached double figures in league goals (10) for the first time in his career, in addition to four goals in fourteen UEFA Champions League matches, as Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-final against Monaco he scored, but Chelsea lost 5–3 on aggregate. At the end of the season he came second, behind Thierry Henry, for the 2004 FWA Footballer of the Year award.

2004–2007

Lampard played in all 38 Premier League matches for the third consecutive season in 2004–05. He finished with 13 goals (19 in all competitions), in addition to leading the league in assists with sixteen.

In August 2004, he scored the winning goal against Southampton in the League, and continued scoring important goals as he scored both in a 2-0 win against Tottenham. In March 2005 he scored a long-range goal from 30 yards against Crystal Palace in the Premier League which Chelsea won 4–1. Lampard continued his season strongly, and his brilliant performances for Chelsea in the Premier League and Champions League further increased his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world. In the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League he scored one of the goals in Chelsea's famous 4-2 win over Barcelona helping Chelsea to progress to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he scored 3 goals in 2 legs against Bayern Munich as Chelsea won 6–5 on aggregate. His second goal in the first leg was a spectacular one; he controlled Makélélé's cross with his chest then turned and swivelled and sent the ball inside the far post with a left-foot half volley. In April 2005, He scored both goals against Bolton Wanderers in a 2–0 win which was the Premier League title winning match for Chelsea, which also won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first top-flight title in fifty years, by a twelve point margin. He was named as Barclays Player of the Season for 2004-05. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches, which included the opening goal against Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final, which Chelsea won 2–1. He landed his first personal award by being named the 2005 Footballer of the Year.

He netted a career-high 16 league goals in 2005–06, and was a Premier League record for a midfielder to score goals in one season. In September 2005, Lampard was selected as a member of the inaugural World XI. He finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. His record of consecutive Premier League appearances ended at 164 (five better than previous record-holder David James) on 28 December 2005, when he sat out a match against Manchester City due to illness. Lampard scored 12 goals in his first 4 months of the 2005-06 season. He scored twice in three separate matches from August to November, including both in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa, making Chelsea the first team to win their first 7 matches in the Premier League. He scored twice again, this time against Blackburn Rovers in a 4–2 win, which included a free-kick from 25 yards. After the match, manager José Mourinho hailed Lampard as the "best player in the world". Chelsea eventually won the Premier League for the second time, in which Lampard was Chelsea's topscorer with 16 league goals. In the Champions League group stages, he scored a free-kick against Anderlecht. Chelsea proggresed to the first knock-out round to face Barcelona, with Lampard scoring a goal in the second leg but Chelsea were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.

Due to a back injury sustained by John Terry, Lampard spent much of the 2006–07 campaign as team captain in his absence. He enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games. He scored both goals in a 2–0 win over Fulham and scored his 77th goal for Chelsea from a long range strike in a 3–2 win over Everton on 17 December, overtaking Dennis Wise as Chelsea's highest scoring midfielder. Then in the UEFA Champions League group stages he scored a goal from an extremely tight angle against Barcelona, at the Camp Nou, the match ended 2–2. Lampard finished with 21 goals in all competitions, including a career-high six FA Cup goals. He scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in the third-round tie against Macclesfield Town on 6 January 2007. He scored two goals to help Chelsea to a quarter-final draw with Tottenham Hotspur after having trailed 3–1, and he was named the FA Cup player-of-the-round for his performance. He gave the assist to Didier Drogba in the 2007 FA Cup Final which was the winning goal in extra-time, as Chelsea won it 1–0. In a post-match interview following Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, Lampard said he wanted to stay at the club "forever".

2007–2009

Lampard's 2007–08 season was riddled with injury, managing to play 40 matches, 24 of which in the league-the fewest he had played in a season since 1996–97. On 16 February 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score 100 goals for the club in a 3–1 FA Cup fifth-round win over Huddersfield Town. After the final whistle, Lampard removed his jersey and flashed a T-shirt to the Chelsea fans with ''"100 Not Out, They Are All For You, Thanks"'' printed across the front. In the Premier League match with Liverpool he scored a penalty in a 1–1 draw at Anfield. He scored four goals in a 6–1 rout of Derby County on 12 March. Then in the Champions League quarter-final second leg he scored the winning goal against Fenerbahçe in the 87th minute as Chelsea won 3–2 on aggregate. On 30 April, Lampard, grieving the loss of his mother a week earlier, decided to play in the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, who were eliminated on 4–3 aggregate as he took an emotional penalty in the 98th minute of extra-time, which he scored confidently. In the final against Manchester United, he scored an equalising goal in the 45th minute, as Michael Essien's deflected shot found him as he went to the box with his trade-mark late run, and he scored with a left foot finish. The match ended 1–1 after extra-time and Chelsea eventually lost 6–5 on penalties. He was later named UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year. On 13 August 2008, Lampard signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea worth £39.2 million, making him the highest-paid Premier League player. He started the 2008–09 season by scoring five goals in his first eleven league matches. He scored the 150th goal of his club career with a goal against Manchester City in the Premier League. In October 2008, in the Premier League he scored a chipped goal against Hull City with his left foot; he unleashed a chip from 20 yards that curled and swerved and fooled the goal-keeper as it went into the net. World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said after the game: "It was the best goal I have seen, my vote for World Player of the year award will go to him, only a player with his intelligence could have done that". He scored his hundredth career Premier League goal in a 5–0 victory over Sunderland on 2 November. Eighteen of Lampard's hundred goals were penalties. He was named Premier League Player of the Month for the third time in his career in October.

After a streak of matches without scoring, Lampard scored three goals in two games, the first being against West Bromwich Albion and the latter two against Fulham. On 17 January 2009, he made his 400th Chelsea appearance against Stoke City, scoring a stoppage time winner. He again scored a stoppage time winner, this time against Wigan Athletic. Then in the FA cup 4th round, he scored a free-kick from 35 yards against Ipswich Town. He scored twice against Liverpool in the second-leg quarter finals of the Champions League which ended 4–4, but Chelsea won 7–5 on aggregate. Then he provided two assists in the next game against Arsenal in FA Cup Semi-finals which Chelsea won 2–1. Lampard finished the season with 20 goals and 19 assists. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson heaped praise on Lampard saying: "Frank Lampard is an exceptional player – a huge asset to Chelsea, You pay attention to players who can get goals from midfield and he's been averaging 20 a season.You don't see him getting into stupid tackles or making a habit of becoming involved in silly rows. He remained restrained after Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona and even made a point of swapping shirts with Andrés Iniesta."

Lampard's 20th goal of the season was the winning goal in the FA Cup Final against Everton, with a left-foot shot from long-range. He repeated the corner flag celebration his father had done after scoring the winning goal in the 1979–80 FA Cup semi-final second leg against Everton. It was the fourth consecutive season that he scored 20 or more goals. He was named later named Chelsea's Player of the Year for the third time.

2009–2010

200px|thumb|right|Lampard celebrating after winning the Premier League with [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]Lampard started the 2009-10 season by scoring against Manchester United, in the 2009 Community Shield, in the 72nd minute. The match ended 2–2, and Lampard scored in its penalty shootout which they won 4–1. He scored his 133rd goal for Chelsea in a Champions League match against Atlético Madrid on 21 October 2009, which moved him up to 5th among the club's all time goalscorers. He had been struggling to score the amount of goals he had in the past seasons however this soon changed as he scored two goals in the 5–0 defeat of Blackburn Rovers on 24 October 2009. On 30 October, he was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the sixth straight year. He then scored a penalty against Bolton as Chelsea ran out 4–0 winners on Halloween. Lampard scored a crucial 79th minute winning goal on 16 December, against Portsmouth and on 20 December, Lampard scored a penalty against his former club West Ham in a 1-1 draw, however he had to take his spot-kick three times due to players running into the box too early, he nonetheless scored all three. In Chelsea's 7–2 thrashing of Sunderland in January 2010, Lampard scored twice to add to his league tally. On 27 January 2010, Lampard again scored two goals, in Chelsea's 3–0 win over Birmingham City in the Premier League. On 27 February Lampard yet again scored twice against Manchester City but despite his contribution Chelsea went on to lose the game 4–2 at home, for the first time in 38 games. He scored the opener and set up one for John Terry in a 2–0 win against Stoke City in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Lampard, for the second time in his career, hit four goals in one match against Aston Villa on 27 March 2010 to bring his goal tally past 20, for the fifth consecutive season. This also brought him his 151st Chelsea goal, and it put him as the club's third highest scorer ever, overtaking Peter Osgood's record of 150. Lampard scored in a 3–0 win, again over Aston Villa, in the 2010 FA Cup semi-final. Lampard reached 20 league goals for the first time when he scored twice against Stoke City in Chelsea's 7–0 win on 25 April 2010, (the latter goal winning the BBC Goal of the Month for April). This milestone also represented the first time Lampard had hit 25 in all competitions in a season. On 2 May, Lampard scored against Liverpool in the second last game of the season to give Chelsea a vital three points that took them to the top of the league by a single point. He scored one and assisted two other goals in the final match of the season where Chelsea thrashed 8–0 at Stamford Bridge to win the 2009–10 Premier League title and give him a remarkable 27 goals in the season. Lampard ended his season lifting the 2010 FA Cup as Chelsea beat Portsmouth 1-0 in the final.

2010–2011

The 2010–11 season began brightly for Lampard, being an integral part of Chelsea's attacking play as usual. After a match against Stoke City in August 2010, which Chelsea won 2–0, it was revealed that Lampard was suffering from a hernia, which was successfully operated on. However, he suffered fresh injuries during training in mid-November, and remained sidelined for a further three weeks. Manager Carlo Ancelotti said that he injured his abductor muscle in his leg in training on 11 November, and would not be fit until December. He finally made his comeback after 4 months out injured against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 12 December, as a substitute in the 75th minute. Lampard scored a penalty in the 3–3 draw between Chelsea and Aston Villa on 2 January 2011, the first after returning from injury. On 9 January, Lampard scored twice and gave one assist in a 7–0 win against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup reaching the landmark of 201 career club goals.

On 1 February, Lampard scored a penalty against Sunderland, then gave an assist, with Chelsea ending up winning the game 4–2. Lampard then assisted for Nicolas Anelka in Chelsea's 2–0 victory gainst Copenhagen, in the Round of 16 match in the Champions League. On 1 March, Lampard scored the winning goal in a crucial 2–1 victory over Manchester United, keeping Chelsea's Premier League title hopes alive. Then in the next game, he scored two goals in Chelsea's 3–1 victory over Blackpool, and also contributed with an assist for John Terry to score.

In April 2011, Lampard scored his 11th goal of the season in a 3–0 victory against former club West Ham. Lampard scored again in Chelsea's victory over Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–1 win. It was a goal that helped Chelsea fight back into the title race but also gave Lampard a little taste of vengeance, because the ball did not fully cross the line, unlike what happened in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where Lampard scored a legal goal against Germany but the linesman disallowed it. Lampard scored again against Manchester United, but it proved to be a consolation, as Chelsea lost 2–1 at Old Trafford, thus ending Chelsea's title hopes.

2011–2012

In the second game of the 2011–12 Premier League, Lampard helped Chelsea edge past West Brom 2–1 with an assist for Nicolas Anelka. In the following game Lampard scored his first goal of the season and also provided an assist for José Bosingwa's opening goal, as Chelsea beat Norwich City 3–1.

After not featuring in Chelsea's 4–1 win against Swansea City on 24 September, Lampard returned to the starting lineup for their Champions League group stage game against Valencia netting a superb opening goal in their 1–1 draw. Lampard continued his fine form by netting his fifth Chelsea hat-trick on 2 October, in a 5–1 thrashing of Bolton. Lampard continued his good run of form in the game against Everton for the eighth round of the Premier league and against Genk for the third round of the UEFA Champions League, getting an assist in both games.

In the eleventh round of the Premier League, Lampard scored the only goal of the match against Blackburn, giving Chelsea a win after two straight defeats. After starting the game against Manchester City on the bench, Lampard came on in the second half to score the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute. Lampard again scored the winner in the 89th minute against Wolves, with the match finishing 2-1 to Chelsea.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Lampard scored the 4th goal of a 4-0 win against Portsmouth. In Chelsea's third game of 2012, Lampard continued his good form by scoring his third goal in three appearances for Chelsea this year, helping Chelsea to a third consecutive victory, scoring the only goal of the game against Sunderland.

On 25 February, Lampard scored his tenth league goal of the season in Chelsea's 3-0 win against Bolton, becoming the only player to score at least 10 goals in nine consecutive seasons in the Premier league and his 150th all time league goal.

Eleven days after the sacking of manager Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea hosted Napoli in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg, trailing the Naples 3-1 from the first leg. Lampard helped Chelsea make a remarkable comeback, assisting John Terry from a corner for the second goal and then equalizing the aggregate score from the penalty spot with a brilliant smash to the right of the goal. Branislav Ivanović sealed Chelsea's victory in extra-time. He helped Chelsea to win the second game of the quarter-finals of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against Benfica, penalty scoring the first goal of victory by the Blues 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with an aggregate score 3-1. He scored his 150th premier league goal of his career against Fulham in a 1-1 draw on 9 April 2012.

In the semifinal of the FA Cup Chelsea beat Tottenham by the score 5-1 with Lampard giving an assist for Drogba scoring the first goal, and with Lampard scoring the fourth goal for the Blues in a superb free kick from far behind the target, ending all chances to turn the Tottenham.Agora they will face Liverpool on the final day on May 5, 2012.

In the second game of the semifinal of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Lampard helped Chelsea draw with Barcelona at Camp Nou and fully qualify with an extraordinary care Ramires to score the first goal and the game ended 2-2 and the first Chelsea game won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.Chelsea now goes to the final in Allianz Arena.

International career

Lampard was first spotted by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his under-21 debut came on 13 November 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the under-21 side from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers.

Lampard earned his first cap for England on 10 October 1999 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on 20 August 2003 in a 3–1 win over Croatia.

Euro 2004

He was bypassed for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, and had to wait until Euro 2004 to participate in his first international competition. England reached the quarter-finals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches. He scored against France and Croatia in the group stages, and in the quarter-final he equalised for England in the 112th minute against Portugal, bringing the scoreline to 2–2 but England lost on penalties. He was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA.

Post Euro 2004

He became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes, and was voted England Player of the Year by fans in 2004 and 2005. He was England's top-scorer in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with 5 goals. He scored two crucial goals in the qualifiers, the first against Austria in a 1-0 win, and the second, the winning goal against Poland.

2006 World Cup

In England's first game of the tournament vs Paraguay, Lampard was named Man of the Match as England won 1-0. Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 World Cup matches, he went scoreless as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal on penalties, and he was one of the three England players who missed their penalties, alongside Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

2010 World Cup and disallowed goal

In the round-of-16 match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Germany in the first half, Lampard had a shot at goal that bounced off the crossbar and from TV replays was clearly seen to cross the goal line. If counted, it would have tied the game 2–2. However, neither the referee nor the linesman saw it as a goal, and play was continued. In the second-half, Lampard hit the cross-bar again, with a 30 yard free-kick. The final score was a 4–1 win for Germany, eliminating England from the tournament.

As England exited the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lampard had already achieved the record of having made 37 shots on goal without scoring in a World Cup tournament, more than any other player since 1966.

2007–2011

He scored in a 2–1 loss to Germany in a friendly at the new Wembley in 2007. He was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England's Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia on 13 October 2007, and finished with one goal (in a 3–2 loss to Croatia on 21 November) as England failed to qualify for the tournament. He scored his first international goal in two years in a 4–0 win over Slovakia in March 2009, and also created another for Wayne Rooney. Lampard's goal was the 500th England goal scored at Wembley. On 9 September 2009, Lampard struck twice in England's 5–1 win against Croatia which secured their place at 2010 World Cup. On 8 February 2011, it was announced that Lampard would captain the national team against Denmark in a friendly played the next day after both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were absent through injury. In the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Lampard netted two goals for England, both penalties. The first against Wales in a 2-0 win, and the latter vs Switzerland in a 2-2 draw, making Lampard England's most prolific penalty taker ever. In November 2011, Lampard captained England to a 1-0 friendly victory over current World Champions Spain, a game in which he scored the only goal.

In a friendly on November 12, 2011 at Wembley Stadium against Spain, Lampard scored the solitary goal four minutes into the second half giving the victory to England.

Personal life

Lampard attended Brentwood School between 1989 and 1994, finishing with eleven GCSEs, including an A* in Latin.

His father is Frank Lampard senior, the former West Ham United player and assistant manager who was still associated with the club when Lampard junior was playing for them. His mother Pat died in April 2008 aged 58 as a result of pneumonia. Lampard's uncle is Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp and his cousin is Redknapp's son Jamie Redknapp.

In 2000, Lampard, Ferdinand and Kieron Dyer appeared on a sex video that was filmed at the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus. Channel 4 aired a brief clip as part of their 2004 documentary ''Sex, Footballers and Videotape'', claiming it was used to "remind the viewer that this is based on real life." On 23 September 2001, Lampard, along with three other Chelsea players was fined two weeks wages by the club for his behaviour whilst on a drinking binge on 12 September. Lampard and the others had abused grieving American tourists at a Heathrow hotel, just 24 hours after the September 11 attacks. A hotel manager stated "they were utterly disgusting. They just didn't seem to care about what had happened".

It was reported that Lampard showed an unusually high IQ score during neurological research carried out by the Chelsea doctor, Bryan English. English stated that "Frank Lampard scored one of the highest set of marks ever recorded by the company doing the tests".

Lampard has stated in 2007 that he is a supporter of the Conservative Party.

He was selected by EA Sports as one of the three football stars on the cover of the ''FIFA 10'' football game pack globally, along with Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.

Relationships

Lampard lives in Surrey and London. He has two daughters with his former fiancee, Spanish model Elen Rivas, Luna (born 22 August 2005) and Isla (born 20 May 2007). His autobiography, ''Totally Frank'', was published in August 2006. In mid-February 2009, it was reported that Lampard and Rivas had split in November 2008 after seven years together, with Rivas taking between £1 million to £12.5 million in settlement fees from Lampard's estimated £32 million net worth.

Since October 2009, Lampard has been in a relationship with Christine Bleakley. On 15 June 2011, Lampard's engagement to Christine Bleakley was announced by his agent.

On 24 April 2009, Lampard was involved in a radio confrontation with James O'Brien on the London radio station LBC 97.3. Newspapers had reported that following Lampard's split from Rivas their children were living with her in a small flat while Lampard had converted their family home into a bachelor pad. Lampard phoned-in, objecting to criticism, and asserting that he had fought "tooth and nail" to keep his family together.

Career statistics

. 1 colspan="1" 0 5 5 7 7 3 6 10 13 16 11 10 12 22 10 11

Club	Season	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Continental	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan=2 valign=top	Swansea City	1995–1996	9	|	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1	—
Total !!9!!1!!colspan="1"	—!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!9!!1!!colspan="1"|—
rowspan=7 valign=top	West Ham United	1995–1996	1	0	—||	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	—
1996–1997	13	|	—	1	0	—	2	0	—	0	0	0	16	0	—
1997–1998	31	|	—	6	1	—	5	4	—	0	0	0	42	10	—
1998–1999	38	|	—	1	0	—	2	1	—	0	0	0	41	6	—
1999–2000	34	|	—	1	0	—	4	3	—	10	4	—	49	14	—
2000–2001	30	|	—	4	1	1	3	1	—	0	0	—	37	9	1
Total !!148!!24!!colspan="1"	—!!13!!2!!colspan="1"|—!!16!!9!!colspan="1"|—!!10!!4!!colspan="1"|—!!186!!39!!colspan="1"|1
rowspan=12 valign=top	Chelsea	2001–2002	37	5	|	8	1	—	4	0	—	4	1	—	53	7	3
2002–2003	38	|	2	5	1	—	3	0	—	2	1	—	48	8	2
2003–2004	38	|	6	4	1	—	2	0	—	12	4	—	56	15	6
2004–2005	38	|	16	2	0	—	6	2	—	12	4	—	58	19	16
2005–2006	35	|	8	5	2	1	1	0	—	9	2	—	50	20	9
2006–2007	37	|	10	7	6	2	6	3	1	12	1	2	62	21	15
2007–2008	24	|	8	1	2	1	3	4	—	11	4	2	40	20	11
2008–2009	37	|	10	8	3	3	2	2	1	11	3	5	58	20	19
2009–2010	36	|	17	6	3	1	1	0	1	7	1	1	50	27	20
2010–2011	24	|	4	3	3	1	0	0	0	4	0	1	32	13	6
2011–2012	30	|	5	4	2	1	2	0	0	11	3	3	47	16	9
! Total !!374!!126!!91!!53!!24!!10!!30!!11!!3!!95!!24!!14!!556!!186!!117
Total Career	!530!!151!!92!!66!!26!!10!!46!!20!!3!!105!!28!!14!!752!!226!!

''Totals include additional competitions such as the FA Community Shield and one goal 2009 FA Community Shield.''

''Assists information taken from ESPN profile.'' |- |1999||1||0 |- |2000||0||0 |- |2001||3||0 |- |2002||3||0 |- |2003||9||1 |- |2004||13||6 |- |2005||9||3 |- |2006||13||2 |- |2007||9||2 |- |2008||6||0 |- |2009||10||6 |- |2010||7||0 |- |2011||7||3 |- !Total||90||23 |}

International goals

Portman Road, Ipswich 5 June 2004 13 June 2004 21 June 2004 24 June 2004 4 September 2004 9 October 2004 26 March 2005 8 October 2005 12 October 2005 3 June 2006 16 August 2006 22 August 2007 21 November 2007 28 March 2009 6 June 2009 10 June 2009 5 September 2009 9 September 2009 9 September 2009 26 March 2011 4 June 2011 12 November 2011

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1	20 August 2003	|		3 – 1	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly
2	|	City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester		6 – 1	Won	2004 FA Summer Tournament
3	|	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon		1 – 2	Lost	UEFA Euro 2004 Group B>Euro 2004
4	|	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon		4 – 2	Won	UEFA Euro 2004 Group B>Euro 2004
5	|	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon		2 – 2	Drawn	UEFA Euro 2004 Group B>Euro 2004
6	|	Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna		2 – 2	Drawn	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2006 World Cup qualification
7	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		2 – 0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2006 World Cup qualification
8	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		4 – 0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2006 World Cup qualification
9	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		1 – 0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2006 World Cup qualification
10	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		2 – 1	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2006 World Cup qualification
11	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		6 – 0	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly
12	|	Old Trafford, Manchester		4 – 0	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly
13	|	Wembley Stadium, London		1 – 2	Lost	Exhibition game>Friendly
14	|	Wembley Stadium, London		2 – 3	Lost	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E>Euro 2008 qualification
15	|	Wembley Stadium, London		4 – 0	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly
16	|	Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty		4 – 0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2010 World Cup qualification
17	|	Wembley Stadium, London		6 – 0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2010 World Cup qualification
18	|	Wembley Stadium, London		2 – 1	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly
19	|	Wembley Stadium, London		5 – 1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2010 World Cup qualification
20	|	Wembley Stadium, London		5 – 1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 6>2010 World Cup qualification
21	|	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff		2 – 0	Won	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
22	|	Wembley Stadium, London		2 – 2	Drawn	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
23	|	Wembley Stadium, London		1 – 0	Won	Exhibition game>Friendly

Honours

;West Ham United

UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): 1999

;Chelsea

Premier League (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10

FA Cup (3): 2007, 2009, 2010

League Cup (2): 2005, 2007

FA Community Shield (2): 2005, 2009

World Football Challenge (1): 2009

Barclays Asia Trophy (2): 2003, 2011

International

England

FA Summer Tournament (1): 2004

Individual

2005 FIFA World Player of the Year - Silver Award

2005 Ballon d'Or - Silver Award

FWA Footballer of the Year - 2005

UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year - 2008

World XI - 2005

PFA Fans' Player of the Year - 2005

Premier League : Player of the Decade, (2000–2009) according to official statistics

Premier League : Best player (2) - 2004–05, 2005–06

England Player of the Year - 2004, 2005

UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament

2006 FIFA World Cup : Man of the match vs Paraguay

Premier League Player of the Month - September 2003, April 2005, October 2005, October 2008

Premier League Player of the Season - 2004-05, 2005–06

Chelsea Player of the Year - 2004, 2005, 2009

PFA Premier League Team of the Year - 2004, 2005, 2006

Premier League : 2004–05 Barclays Merit Award (for 164 consecutive appearances)

ESM Team of the Year - 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2009/2010

FWA Tribute Award - 2010

Premier League : leader in assists - 2004–05 : 16 assists, 2009–10 : 17 assists

FA Cup: Best player - 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10

FA Cup Final Man of the Match: 2007

Carling Cup : Best player - 2004–05, 2006–07

Premier League : Midfielder with the most goals in premier league history - 145 goals

Chelsea F.C. : Top goalscorer - 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08

Goal of the Month - April 2010

2011 Barclays Asia Trophy - player of tournament

2003 FA Premier League Asia Cup - player of tournament

only player to score at least 10 goals in nine consecutive seasons in the Premier League.

Top Scorer

2006–07 FA Cup : 6 goals

References

External links

BBC profile

Profile – Official Chelsea site

Profile on the FA website

Profile – UEFA.com

ESPN Profile

Transfemarkt.co.uk profile

Premier League profile

BBC Sport profile

Category:1978 births Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:Association football midfielders Category:Chelsea F.C. players Category:England B international footballers Category:English footballers Category:England international footballers Category:England under-21 international footballers Category:Living people Category:People educated at Brentwood School (Essex) Category:People from Romford Category:Premier League players Category:Swansea City A.F.C. players Category:The Football League players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:West Ham United F.C. players

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playername	Abou Diaby
fullname	Vassiriki Abou Diaby
dateofbirth	May 11, 1986
cityofbirth	Paris
countryofbirth	France
height
position	Midfielder
currentclub	Arsenal
clubnumber	2
youthyears1	1996–1998
youthclubs1	Aubervilliers
youthyears2	1998–2001
youthclubs2	Red Star Paris
youthyears3	2001–2002
youthclubs3	Paris Saint-Germain
youthyears4	2002–2004
youthclubs4	Auxerre
years1	2004–2006
clubs1	Auxerre
caps1	10
goals1	1
years2	2006–
clubs2	Arsenal
caps2	112
goals2	14
nationalyears1	2004–2005
nationalteam1	France U19
nationalcaps1	12
nationalgoals1	0
nationalyears2	2006–2007
nationalteam2	France U21
nationalcaps2	2
nationalgoals2	0
nationalyears3	2007–
nationalteam3	France
nationalcaps3	15
nationalgoals3	0
pcupdate	15:54, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
ntupdate	16:05, 6 June 2011 (UTC) }}

Vassiriki Abou Diaby (; born 11 May 1986), commonly known as Abou Diaby, is a French footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the France national team. He primarily plays as a box-to-box central midfielder, as he is adept in both attack and defence, and is described as a player who is "languid, elusive, and athletic" that can either "dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates". Of Ivorian descent, Diaby also possesses "superb touch" and "excellent close control", however on the negative front, he often struggles with repetitive injuries, a common inconsistency that has existed since his time in France. His physical appearance and positional preference have evoked comparisons to Arsenal legend and compatriot Patrick Vieira.

Diaby was born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but was raised in the Parisian commune of Aubervilliers. He began his football career playing for hometown club CM Aubervilliers. In 1998, he joined Red Star Paris. A year later, Diaby was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. He spent four years at the academy while simultaneously training with Red Star. A year before departing Clairefontaine, Diaby moved to professional club Paris Saint-Germain. Following an administrative error by club officials which made Diaby a free agent, he joined the academy of Auxerre. He spent two years in the club's youth academy before making his professional debut in the 2004–05 season. Diaby also played in the UEFA Cup with the club. After spending the fall portion of the 2005–06 season with Auxerre, in January 2006, Diaby signed with English club Arsenal on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut with the club that same month and scored his first goal three months later against Aston Villa. Since joining Arsenal, Diaby has struggled with injuries, which included suffering a severe ankle fracture five months after joining the club.

Diaby is a former French youth international having earned caps at under-19 and under-21 level. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-19 team that won the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Diaby made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania. He has represented France at one major international tournament; the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Diaby participated in all three group stage matches the team played as a starter.

Personal life

Diaby was born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, but was raised in a housing development in Aubervilliers, a northeastern suburb of Paris. He is the son of a long-distance truck driver and developed an interest into the sport of football after becoming fascinated by several players who played on the 1998 FIFA World Cup-winning team, most notably midfield stalwart Patrick Vieira, whom Diaby describes as "a monument to French football". Diaby was also adept at playing other sports such as basketball and boxing. Of Ivorian descent, Diaby is a practicing Muslim and, while growing up, developed a fascination towards the subjects of religion, philosophy, science, and astronomy. Diaby became interested in accountancy after taking a course at the age of 17, while he was at the Auxerre youth academy.

Club career

Early career

Diaby began his football career playing for hometown club CM Aubervilliers in December 1996. While at Aubervilliers, Diaby was coached by David Giguère and Alain Mboma, the latter now serving as the manager of Red Star Paris. After two years at the club, Diaby's quick progression at the amateur club led to a move to nearby semi-professional outfit Red Star Paris in Saint-Ouen. While in the club's youth academy, Diaby was supervised by youth academy director Yves-Henri Gergaud and was described by club youth coach Marco Lienel as a player who was "fairly quiet and quite frail". Diaby started his career at the club playing on its under-13 team in the Division Honneur Régionale of the Île-de-France region. After spending a year playing with Red Star, in 1999, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. While at Clairefontaine, Diaby was a part of ''A la Clairefontaine'', a documentary series which chronicled the lives of the France's top young footballers during their time at the academy. During the series, an episode showed Diaby getting into a physical confrontation with Hatem Ben Arfa.

Auxerre

2002–2004

Towards the end of his development at Clairefontaine, Diaby departed Red Star to play domestic football with professional club Paris Saint-Germain, despite being a supporter of Marseille. He spent a year at the Camp des Loges, the club's training center, from 2001–2002. After his departure from Clairefontaine, Diaby was expected to sign a youth contract with Paris Saint-Germain. Club officials wanted to keep the player, however, the club's human resources department failed to send a "letter of commitment" to Diaby's parents ahead of the 30 April 2002 deadline, which resulted in the player becoming a free agent. Diaby was hastily recruited by Auxerre scouts and he joined the club's academy ahead of the 2002–03 season. In his first season in the club's youth academy, he won the ''Division d'Honneur des 16 ans'', the under-16 league title of the Bourgogne region.

During the 2003–04 season, Diaby alternated between playing on the club's under-19 team in the Coupe Gambardella and playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football. During the reserve team season, he played on the team alongside future Arsenal teammate Bacary Sagna, as well as Younes Kaboul, Hassan Yebda, Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé, and former Clairefontaine classmate Garra Dembélé. Diaby finished the season with the team with 11 appearances and one goal as the team finished first in its group. After the season, he signed his first professional contract with the club agreeing to a three-year deal. Manager Guy Roux subsequently promoted Diaby to the first team and assigned him the number 24 shirt.

2004–2006

Similar to the previous season, Diaby regularly trained with the first team, while concurrently featuring as a starter on the club's reserve team. He made his professional debut on 14 August 2004 appearing as a substitute in a 3–1 league win over Rennes. After making his debut for the club, Diaby spent the rest of the fall season either playing on the club's reserve team or dealing with injuries. He returned to the team in March 2005 making his European debut in the team's UEFA Cup Round of 16 first leg tie against domestic rivals Lille. Diaby appeared in both legs as a substitute as Auxerre won the round 1–0 on aggregate. The club later lost in the quarterfinals to Russian club CSKA Moscow. Diaby made his first professional start on 20 March against his former youth club Paris Saint-Germain. He played 74 minutes before being substituted out in a 1–0 loss. Diaby made three more appearances as a substitute to close out the season.

Following the season, Roux retired as manager of Auxerre after managing the club for 44 straight seasons. He was replaced with former France national team coach Jacques Santini. During the season, Diaby featured early on during the campaign, but as the fall season wore on, he struggled with injuries, which subsequently, led to the playing failing to gain the confidence of Santini. Unlike fellow youngsters Sagna and Kaboul who were quickly establishing themselves at their respective positions, Diaby only featured in five league matches during the first half of the season. The midfielder did score his first professional goal on 10 September 2005 in a 3–1 loss to Rennes. In Europe, Diaby featured as a starter in the team's first round defeat to Bulgarian club Levski Sofia in the UEFA Cup. Midway through the campaign, Diaby was deemed surplus to requirements by management. Following the sale of the player, vice-president Gérard Bourgoin declared that "We have always kept the young players which our coach wanted to use, but Diaby did not play, so this was a strategic sale for us".

Arsenal

2006–2008

On 13 January 2006, English club Arsenal confirmed that the club had signed Diaby on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee, later revealed to be £2 million. Prior to joining Arsenal, the player had reportedly turned down an offer to join Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea. Upon joining Arsenal, Diaby was given the number 2 shirt, which was left vacant since the retirement of Lee Dixon. He made his club debut on 21 January 2006 appearing as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Everton. Three days later, he made his first start in a 2–1 Football League Cup victory over Wigan. On 21 February, Diaby made his UEFA Champions League debut appearing as a substitute in the team's Round of 16 first leg victory over Spanish club Real Madrid. Two weeks later, Diaby assisted on a goal in Arsenal's 4–0 win over Fulham. After dealing with an injury in the month of March, he returned to play in April scoring his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over Aston Villa on April Fools' Day 2006. He was set up for the goal by fellow club newcomer Emmanuel Adebayor.

On 1 May, Diaby suffered a severe ankle fracture after being on the receiving end of a tackle, described by the media as "horrendous", from Sunderland defender Dan Smith. After the match, Wenger described the tackle as "a bad kick and an unnecessary one" and also criticized his competitors' over-physicality, while interim Sunderland manager Kevin Ball defended Smith stating "Smith is not a malicious, dirty player and I think it's unfair to make that call on him and say he deliberately went to do it. Dan went for the ball, unfortunately Diaby was quicker than him". As a result of the injury, Diaby missed the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, as well as the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He underwent three surgeries to repair the injury and was told by doctors that the injury could possibly be career-ending. Following the surgeries, he underwent eight months of rehabilitation and made his return to first team action in the 2006–07 season in a League Cup match against Liverpool. He appeared as a substitute in the match as Arsenal cruised to a 6–3 win. On 25 February 2007, while participating in the 2007 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea, Diaby, while attempting to clear the ball out of the Arsenal defense, accidentally kicked rival defender John Terry in the face. Unconscious, Terry was stretchered off and hospitalized, but recovered to return to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the trophy presentation following Chelsea's 2–1 win. Though Arsenal lost, Diaby was credited with an assist on the team's only goal of the match, which was converted by Theo Walcott. Diaby scored his first and only goal of the campaign on 14 March in a 1–0 win over Aston Villa when he deflected in a Julio Baptista shot. He remained a fixture within the team for the rest of the campaign, mostly as a substitute as he only started in consecutive matches once.

In Diaby's first full season with Arsenal, he scored his first goal on 22 September 2007 in the club's 5–0 win over Derby County. Three days later, he assisted on a goal in a 2–0 League Cup win over Newcastle United. In December 2007, Diaby scored goals in back-to-back matches for the first time in his career. He scored the first goal on 12 December in the team's final Champions League group stage match against Romanian club Steaua Bucureşti. Arsenal won the match 2–1. Six days later, Diaby scored Arsenal's opening goal in the club's 3–2 away win over Blackburn Rovers in the Football League Cup. Diaby failed to chart anything statistical for the rest of the winter months aside from an assist in a 4–1 win over Everton. On 29 March 2008, Diaby was sent off for the first time in his professional career in a league match against Bolton Wanderers for a studs-up tackle on defender Grétar Steinsson. Diaby was defended by Wenger who stated "I don’t think Diaby’s tackle was malicious, it was more protective". Wenger also stated that Diaby's tackle should not be compared to what had happened to teammate Eduardo da Silva a few weeks ago. Wenger was, subsequently, criticized by the English media for flip-flopping on the subject due to providing differing statements when Arsenal players are on the receiving end of tackles and when they are the aggressors.

After serving his red card suspension, Diaby featured in only one match in the final two months of the season. The match was the second leg of the club's quarterfinal Champions League tie against Liverpool. In the match, Diaby netted the opening goal to give Arsenal, who drew 1–1 in the first leg, a 2–1 advantage. Arsenal, however, conceded four goals from Liverpool and lost the tie 5–3 on aggregate. Following the match against Liverpool, Diaby began struggling with a thigh injury. After the injury relapsed in a reserve match in late April, Diaby was ruled out for the rest of the season.

2008–present

Diaby began the 2008–09 season late in the season after the thigh injury from the previous season was discovered to be more serious than first thought. He made his debut in the season on 18 October 2008 in a 3–1 win over Everton. Three days later, Diaby scored the third goal in a 5–2 Champions League group stage win over Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe. He appeared regularly in the campaign for the first time in his Arsenal career. On 26 December 2008, Diaby scored his third career goal against Aston Villa in a 2–2 draw. The following month, he assisted on the equalizing goal, scored by Robin van Persie, in the team's 1–1 draw with Everton. Diaby scored his second goal of the campaign in Arsenal's 3–1 league win against Newcastle on 21 March. He finished the season by scoring the team's third goal in the 4–1 win over Stoke City.

Diaby started the 2009–10 season healthy for the first time since 2007 and quickly made an impact. Playing alongside Alex Song and Cesc Fàbregas, he became part of the dynamic three-man midfield partnership. On 22 August 2009, he scored a double in a 4–2 win over Portsmouth. The following month, Diaby assisted on a goal in the team's 3–2 comeback win over Belgian club Standard Liège in the Champions League. After alternating between the bench and starting lineup for the rest of September, in November, Diaby returned to the first eleven and responding by scoring the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over Birmingham City. Three weeks later, in the Champions League, he netted another goal in a group stage win over Dutch club AZ. On 7 November, Diaby picked up an injury in a 4–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The injury resulted in the player missing France's World Cup playoff tie with the Republic of Ireland.

Diaby grabbed his fifth goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Hull City on 19 December. He also assisted on a goal in the win. A week later, Diaby scored his fourth goal overall against Aston Villa in another 3–0 victory. In the new year, Diaby began the 2010 calendar year by assisting on goals in a 2–2 draw against Everton and a 4–2 win over Bolton. On 10 February, he scored the only goal in a victory over Liverpool. Despite failing to score a goal for the rest of the season, Diaby was ever-present in the waning moments of the season starting 12 of the final 14 matches he appeared in. He finished the campaign with career-highs in matches played, goals, and assists.

Diaby began the 2010–11 campaign scoring a goal and issuing an assist in the team's second match of the season against Blackpool; a 6–0 win. During a match against Bolton at the Emirates Stadium on 11 September, he was injured after a challenge by Paul Robinson. Diaby was replaced in the 72nd minute by Denílson in a 4–1 win. Due to the injury, he missed two weeks and return to the team in its 3–2 loss to West Brom. Diaby featured primarily as a substitute after returning from the injury. On 5 February 2011, he was sent off after being adjudged to have committed violent conduct on opposing midfielder Joey Barton in a league match away to Newcastle. Prior to Diaby's expulsion, Arsenal had been leading the match 4–0. The team went on to concede four unanswered goals while playing with ten men, which resulted in the club leaving St. James' Park with only a point. On 10 April, Diaby scored his second goal of the season in a 3–1 win against Blackpool.

The 2011–12 campaign for Diaby was blighted once again by injury. He made one substitute appearance against Bolton Wanderers in September after recovering from an ankle injury. He later suffered another setback after that game and did not appear again in 2011. Afrer nearly six months out, on 2 March 2012, Wenger confirmed that Diaby was fit and ready to play for the team's league match against Liverpool the following day. Diaby, subsequently, made his return to the team in the match appearing as a second-half substitute for Mikel Arteta. However, he was only on the field for 27 minutes before being substituted out of the match after picking up an injury to his hamstring.

International career

Youth

Diaby is a former French youth international having earned caps at under-19 and under-21 level. He played under manager Jean Gallice. Gallice, initially, called up Diaby at under-18 level for a match against Greece in November 2003. Diaby, however, was forced to withdraw from the squad after suffering an injury while playing domestically. He made his youth international debut at under-19 level in a 2–1 friendly match win over Turkey. In qualifying for the 2005 European Under-19 Football Championship, Diaby appeared in all six matches as France finished both the first qualifying round and the Elite Round undefeated. In the tournament, he missed the team's opening 1–1 group stage draw with England due to suspension, but returned to the starting lineup in the team's 3–1 victory over Norway in the second group stage match. Diaby, subsequently, started every remaining match, including the championship match against England. France won the match 3–1 giving the nation its sixth under-19 title and Diaby his first international honor. In total with the under-19 team, he featured in 12 matches and scored no goals. At under-21 level, Diaby made his debut on 28 February 2006 in a friendly match against Slovakia. He appeared as a substitute as France won the match 2–1. Due to suffering a fractured ankle domestically, Diaby missed the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. Due to repetitive injuries, he missed every qualifier for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and made only one more appearance for the team, which occurred in a 1–1 draw in a friendly match with Armenia.

Senior

On 15 March 2007, Diaby was called up to the senior team for the first time by coach Raymond Domenech for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania and a friendly against Austria. He described the call-up as a "huge surprise" primarily because he has just returned from his ankle fracture just two months prior. Diaby made his senior international debut in the qualifier against Lithuania appearing as a substitute for Florent Malouda. He earned his first international start in the ensuing match against Austria; the game ending in a 1–0 victory for France. Following the Austria match, Diaby went without an appearance for France for three years. The midfielder experienced several call ups to the team during the three years, but either withdrew from the squad due to injury or was not preferred by Domenech for a match. Despite this, Diaby was named to Domenech's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He made his return to the international scene in the team's 2–1 friendly match win over Costa Rica. Diaby was later named to the 23-man team to serve as a possible backup in the holding midfield role.

Ahead of the competition, it was reported that Domenech was considering changing up the style of play in the team's 4–3–3 formation with Malouda possibly moving from the winger role into the midfield. Following Malouda's relegation to the bench for insubordination, Diaby was inserted in his place and made his FIFA World Cup debut in the team's opening group stage match against Uruguay. The match ended 0–0 with Diaby playing the entire match. He was credited by Scottish newspaper ''The Scotsman'' as being the team's best performer in the goalless draw. Diaby featured as a starter in both of France's remaining group stage matches against Mexico and South Africa. France lost both matches as the competition ultimately ended in disastrous competitively and personally due to the players going on strike in response to its disagreement over the expulsion of striker Nicolas Anelka from the team. As a result of the players' mutiny, Diaby, along with the 22 other members of the team, were suspended for the team's friendly match against Norway.

Under new manager Laurent Blanc, Diaby was penciled in as a starter in the team's first two competitive matches of the new season. After playing the entire match in a 2–0 victory over Luxembourg, he missed the victory against England due to injury. Diaby returned to the team for its 9 February 2011 friendly against Brazil. He appeared as a second-half substitute for Yann M'Vila as France cruised to a 1–0 win. In March 2011, Diaby was called back into the team for matches against Luxembourg and Croatia, but, for the second time this season, he withdrew from the team due to injury.

Style of play

Diaby is often described as a prototypical box-to-box midfielder; a midfielder who is adept both offensively and defensively. While he can play as a defensive midfielder, Diaby has often attempted to distance himself from that position, admitting that "I am better if I have a holding midfielder with me". His club manager Arsène Wenger describes him similarly stating "He (Diaby) is more of an offensive player. He is not a defensive-minded player and he's not a holding player. He's a player who crosses the field at ease, goes from box to box like it's no distance and has good power as well". During his early years with Auxerre, he was often used as an attacking midfielder or a support striker due to his technical ability, close control, and dexterity to dribble past opponents or slip passes to team-mates.

Upon signing with Arsenal, club manager Wenger likened the player to former club player Patrick Vieira. Wenger compared the two primarily because of the similarities between each player's physical appearance and positional preference. While the two are similar in appearance, Diaby has admitted that there are huge differences stating "I think maybe I am more attack-minded, a more technical player" and "Vieira is much more aggressive. He makes more of a physical impact in a game, in midfield. He is amazing. I don’t think I have this quality yet. I think I can develop in that way but he is much stronger." In 2009, Wenger echoed Diaby sentiments declaring "I believe Vieira was more of a passer of the ball. Diaby is more of a dribbler, more offensive and makes more penetrating runs. Vieira was more of a constructor. They have a similar elegance and type of play but are not completely comparable".

Diaby is often accused of being injury-prone. Since returning from his fractured ankle injury in late 2006, the midfielder has endured persistent niggling injuries that has resulted in Diaby failing to play a full season for his current club. During his second season at Auxerre, a season in which he was expected to get some significant playing time, Diaby failed to gain the confidence of manager Jacques Santini primarily due to repetitive injuries he endured during the fall portion of the 2005–06 season. After returning to the team, Diaby struggled to return to form, which ultimately resulted in his sale to Arsenal. His highest output for appearances with Arsenal came in the 2009–10 season when he played in 40 matches. Arsenal played a total of 55 competitive matches in the season.

Career statistics

Club

0 1 1 1 1 3 6 2 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	Europe	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="3"	Auxerre		5	|	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	0	0
Ligue 1 2005–06	2005–06	5	|	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	7	1	0
Total	!10!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!4!!0!!0!!14!!1!!0
rowspan="8"	Arsenal		12	1	|	2	0	0	2	0	0	16	1	1
2006–07 FA Premier League	2006–07	12	|	0	5	0	1	1	0	0	18	1	1
2007–08 Premier League	2007–08	15	|	1	7	1	1	6	2	0	28	4	2
2008–09 Premier League	2008–09	24	|	2	5	0	0	7	1	0	36	4	2
2009-10 Premier League	2009–10	29	|	4	1	0	0	10	1	2	40	7	6
2010–11 Premier League	2010–11	16	|	3	3	0	0	1	0	0	20	2	3
2011–12 Premier League	2011–12	3	|	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
! Total	!111!!14!!10!!23!!1!!2!!28!!4!!2!!162!!20!!14
Career Total	!121!!15!!10!!23!!1!!2!!32!!4!!2!!176!!21!!14

International

:''Statistics accurate as of 9 June 2011''

0 0 6 7

National team!!Season!!Apps!!Goals !! Assists
rowspan="5"	France	2006–07	2	0
2007–08	|	0	0
2008–09	|	0	0
2009–10	|	0	0
2010–11	|	0	0
colspan=2	Total!!15!!0	0

Honours

International

France

UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 2005

References

External links

Arsenal.com profile

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:French footballers Category:France international footballers Category:French expatriate footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Sportspeople from Paris Category:AJ Auxerre players Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:French people of Ivorian descent Category:France under-21 international footballers Category:People from Aubervilliers Category:Expatriate footballers in England Category:Ligue 1 players Category:INF Clairefontaine players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:France youth international footballers

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