Former Chelsea player FRANK LAMPARD retired at the age of 38, "bringing to an end a glorious 21-year career in which the midfielder wrung every last bit out of his ability with an astonishing desire and determination," according to Burt & Hodges of the London TELEGRAPH. It "brought him accolades, adoration and success." His career brought 106 England caps, "more than 300 goals for club and country with Lampard winning the Champions League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Europa League with Chelsea for whom he will be arguably regarded as their all-time greatest player." He is "undoubtedly one of the finest players of his generation." Lampard posted on Instagram, "After 21 incredible years, I have decided that now is the right time to finish my career as a professional footballer. Whilst I have received a number of exciting offers to continue playing at home and abroad, at 38 I feel now is the time to begin the next chapter in my life." Lampard "had offers to play on" -- offers from Premier League clubs such as Swansea City -- but in a recent interview he "hinted he was close to retiring and would now consider a career in coaching." He is also "expected to, like STEVEN GERRARD, who also recently retired and who has been closely associated with him as a rival and teammate, consider working in the media" (TELEGRAPH, 2/2). The BBC reported Lampard "joined Chelsea from boyhood club West Ham" for a fee of £11M in '01. Former Scotland int'l PAT NEVIN, a "key member of the Chelsea side that won promotion from English football's second tier" in '84, said that Lampard is "capable of doing anything he wants to in the game." Nevin: "He's a hugely intelligent guy. He could actually go into an area where he could be running part of a club. If he wants to go down that route he is perfectly capable." Match of the Day presenter and former England int'l GARY LINEKER recently went to N.Y. "to speak to Lampard about his future." Lineker said, "Lampard says he is very keen on getting into coaching, which is not a path too many English players of his caliber have taken recently when their playing days ended. Part of that is down to them having other options. Punditry is one of them and I am sure he would be very good at it -- there would be plenty of people trying to get him to work for them" (BBC, 2/2).
