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“I can tell you here now: He will go right to the top, right to the very top. Dalvin Tomlinson Youth Jersey . Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp. Its fall 1996, a West Ham supporters summit and a clearly agitated Redknapp had just been taken to task for selecting then-18-year old Frank Lampard ahead of other more experienced players. Lampard had made his debut in West Hams starting XI away to Arsenal just a few months earlier. Substituted in a losing cause, Lampard would feature in only 13 matches during that 1996-97 campaign. It was a season in which he picked up more yellow cards than he scored goals. Redknapp knew full well even back then West Ham had unearthed a gem. So likely did his assistant coach and ex-teammate at West Ham, Frank Lampard Sr. Playing in an era of outrageously inflated transfer prices Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was astute back in the summer of 2001 to pay West Ham £11m [$20m CAD] to acquire Lampards services. "Hopefully I can test myself against the best players in Europe and we can contest for trophies,” Lampard was quoted as saying at the time. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, a Europa League and Champions League crown later, Lampard has decided his Chelsea playing days are now behind him and on his own terms. Although still under contract until June 30, the clubs all-time leading scorer (211 goals) made the announcement to coincide with Englands arrival into Miami. Lampard wants to be fully focused on what will be his third World Cup Finals. Amassing close to 600 appearances, only two players have ever appeared more times in a Chelsea shirt. over the course of his 13 seasons Lampard is without exception one of Chelseas greatest ever players. Not wanting to name him their best ever, the tribute on the clubs web site strongly implied Lampard was their best ever midfield player. It was Lampard who scored both goals in the game against Bolton in April 2005 which handed Chelsea their first title in exactly 50 years. Breaking the club scoring record which had stood for over four decades towards the very end of the 2012-13 season Lampards most important goal for the club occurred in the second leg of the 2008 Champions League semi-final in a game against arch-rivals Liverpool, which I was very privileged to attend. Lampard was not even expected to play that day. He had recently missed a pair of Premier League games to be at the bedside of his gravely ill mother, who sadly passed away a few days after the first leg. Play though he did, the Chelsea players wore black arm bands in memory of Lampards mother. The tie was very delicately poised after the first leg at Anfield had finished 1-1. Chelsea with the away goal were slight favourites going in, but Liverpool had got the better of Chelsea twice at this stage in 2005 and 2007. Didier Drogba opened the scoring, for Fernando Torres to level it just after the hour mark. Extra time loomed, it was a very highly charged Stamford Bridge. Less than 10 minutes into extra time after Michael Ballack was bought down in the area Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Up stood Frank Lampard. Hands on his hips, he stood at the edge of the box and waited for what must have seemed like an eternity as Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina did his best to delay and distract. Lampard was having none of it. The ref blew the whistle, and with that trademarked run up to the ball he sent Reina the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the far right corner. Lampard took off for the opposite corner flag, and took with him the hearts of the 40,000 plus Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge. As he got close to the corner flag he slowed down to remove his black arm band, then with his hands covering his face Lampard slumped to his knees. Joined by his teammates, there was no celebration when Lampard emerged with all emotion completely drained from his face. On running back to the halfway line Lampard looked up in the direction of where his dad and other members of his family were gathered. He waved and blew a kiss to them. The match finished 3-2 and Chelsea were off to their first Champions League Final. Away from the pitch Lampard is an all-too-rare breed when it comes to English footballers. Intelligent, staunchly working class, he attended a private high school where he was one of the more promising students. Not everyone aced Latin, Lampard did. In 2009 Chelsea conducted IQ tests on the playing squad. Although the club did not officially reveal the results it was reported Lampard scored over 150. That places him in Bill Gates territory. In March this year Lampard launched the BPLs annual childrens reading challenge held each season in conjunction with the National Literary Trust. Lampard disclosed his favorite book was a biography on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln... All 900 pages of it. Lampard the family man was also to surface shortly after 2009s highly published break-up with his fiancée, Elen Rives the mother of his two children. A London radio station talk show host openly criticized Lampard on the basis of a newspaper article which had quoted Rives. So incensed by the inaccuracy of the hosts comments Lampard called in live to the show and put the record straight in a conversation which lasted 10 minutes. I cant imagine there would be too many other BPL players who would take such initiative. Petra Cech referred to Lampard as one of the most influential players of all time in the Premier League. Make that on and off the pitch. Hell be dearly missed at Chelsea. When he met the press ahead of Englands World Cup tune-up on Wednesday he said he would return to Stamford Bridge to attend matches. Lampard lives within walking distance to the ground. Abramovich has offered to keep a job open for him. On June 20 Lampard will turn 36. Having already played Italy and Uruguay by then, Englands fate in the group stage may already have been decided. Lampard will walk away from the international arena at the conclusion of Englands World Cup. Chelsea, and Englands loss will be MLS gain. Noel Butler can be reached at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca Twitter: @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Action gets underway Thursday, June 12 with Brazil vs. Croatia. Kick Off is at 4pm et /1pm pt. Mark Bavaro Jersey . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana. Mark Bavaro Youth Jersey . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/saquon-barkley-jersey-cheap.html . "If we only consider this season," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, "there is just one club in Manchester -- and its ours.April was always going to be a big test for the new-look Vancouver Whitecaps with games against some of Major League Soccers top teams. After back-to-back matches against LA Galaxy, the Caps now head to Rio Tinto Stadium - a place where they have never won - to face Real Salt Lake, the only remaining unbeaten team in Major League Soccer this season. The Form: The Whitecaps are winless in their last three matches, but after a hard fought defeat at LA and a 2-2 draw against the Galaxy at home, there are clear signs the team is growing under new head coach Carl Robinson. "In the last two games weve shown we can compete against one of the top teams in Major League Soccer," said Robinson. "Now its another great challenge for us. You look at the fixtures weve had and its been tricky against good teams. We get another big test. They are a squad that has been together for the last couple of years so its another marker to see where we are." The Big Question: Will Kekuta Manneh start? The 19-year-old has appeared in every match this season but has started only once. The young Gambian was impressive coming on as a half time substitute against LA Galaxy at BC Place a week ago. He injected life into the Whitecaps attack and scored the game-tying goal with a fantastic strike with just four minutes left to play. "I toyed with the idea of playing him from the start, said Robinson. "Me, being a young head coach thought is it better to be in the game and then unleash him on them." Theres no doubt Manneh has loads of talent and will have a big future in the game. But there is also still plenty that he needs to learn. Robinson doesnt want to rush the youngster, and acknowledges he needs to improve his defensive qualities before he becomes a regular starter. This is a long-term project. Robinson wants to build the Whitecaps around some fantastic young players, a job that doesnt need to be rushed. Manneh will continue to get his chance at the right times. That also applies for Erik Hurtado. The speedster was drafted along with Manneh in the first round in 2013. Hes still waiting for his first MLS goal, but was another big spark in the second half against LA when he came on as a substitute last week. "Hes been training very well over the last two or three weeks and from where he was last year to where he is now, it is night and day for the kid," said Robinson when asked about Hurtados form. "If he continues to push hell get plenty of opportunities." The Lineup: Aside from whether Manneh will come into the starting lineup, one of tthe other big decisions for head coach Carl Robinson is in defence. Phil McConkey Cheap Jersey. Its extremely likely that Robinson will select Johnny Leveron in the team after bringing the Honduran on at halftime of the draw against the Galaxy. Robinson has made no secret of the fact that he admires the qualities Leveron possesses, particularly his ability with the ball at his feet. The Hondurans abilities match the way Robinson wants his team to play. Leverons only start this season was at New England where the Whitecaps registered their only clean sheet so far. On that day he was beside Andy OBrien. It will be interesting to see which one of the veterans - OBrien or Jay DeMerit - is replaced if Leveron gets the call to start. The Opposition: Stability has been a major factor in the success of Real Salt Lake over recent years. Despite losing head coach Jason Kreis at the end of last season when he departed to join expansion club New York City FC, RSL has started the season strongly under new head coach Jeff Cassar. He may be in his first season as manager, but Cassar has been at the club since 2007 and was a key part of Kreis coaching staff. They have also managed to keep a core group of players together over the last few seasons. Eleven of Salt Lakes current squad have been with the club for five years of longer. Real Salt Lakes 1-0 win at home to Portland Timbers last week leaves them four points ahead of the Whitecaps heading into Saturdays match. Their clean sheet against the Timbers was their fourth of the season, in just seven matches. Veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando was the star of the show, winning the MLS Player of the Week award for his performance. The Odds: One of the areas the Whitecaps will need to improve upon if they are to make the playoffs this season is picking up points against Western Conference opposition. Both of Vancouvers wins so far wins this season have come against the East (New York and Houston). From four matches against Western opponents, they have two draws and two defeats. History isnt on the Whitecaps side as they head to Utah - theyve only won two of eight previous meetings against RSL, and have never won at Rio Tinto Stadium with three losses and a tie from their last four visits. With RSLs strong start to the season, the home team will be heavy favourites heading into the match, but the Caps showed against LA a couple of weeks ago they have the potential to go toe-to-toe with the leagues top teams, even on the road. Where to Watch: Vancouver Whitecaps at Real Salt Lake is live on CTV2 BC on Saturday at 6:30pm pt/9:30pm et. ' ' '