Shah Rukh Khan celebrates his 50th birthday this year, Tom Cruise will be 53 and Brad Pitt turns 52. So if the leading men of the screen are getting older, why shouldn’t 36-year-old Frank Lampard keep playing at the top level as long as he can?
Lampard scored the winner for Manchester City on New Year’s Day just as some fans of his new club, New York City FC, publicly denounced the decision of the former England star to delay his Major League Soccer (MLS) career.
He was only supposed to stay at the parent club for half a season to stay fit before his American swansong. But manager Manuel Pellegrini has decided that the midfielder is too valuable to let go as City fight for three trophies. That means New York City may have to wait until June for their marquee player.
He could be involved when the Citizens open their 2015 FA Cup campaign against second tier Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday. They beat the Owls 7-0 in the Capital One Cup in September, with Lampard scoring a brace.
Next month, his experience could prove crucial as his club — who have won two English titles in the past three seasons — face Barcelona in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Lampard’s legs seemed to be fading when he played the last of his 13 years with Chelsea in 2014. But a change has done him a world of good. His knack of scoring vital goals came to the fore once again on Thursday when he helped City to a 3-2 victory over Sunderland to go equal on points at the top of the Premier League table with his former employers.
Classy individualsCelebrating his 37th birthday in June, Lampard is almost two years older than Steven Gerrard. Both men are classy individuals who have become modern day icons, along with contemporaries like David Beckham and Michael Owen.
Their football smarts have helped. Lampard has an IQ of around 150, according to a test he took during his time at Chelsea, and obtained 12 GCSEs while at school in Essex, including an A-plus in Latin.
Like Beckham, Lampard has maximised every ounce of his footballing skill. Not blessed with great pace or dribbling ability, he has a rare knack to perfectly time his midfield runs into the box. A record-breaking 210 goals for Chelsea is proof of that.
Now Lampard will face former Sheffield Wednesday, who have won the FA Cup three times and made the final in 1992-93. That same season they finished seventh in the inaugural season of the Premier League, above both Chelsea and Manchester City.
The following year —1994 — Lampard joined the youth team of West Ham United, the club of his father. It is remarkable that he is still a leading man of English football more than two decades later.
Jason Dasey is Senior Editor of ESPNFC and the former host of SportsCenter India and Sportsline.
