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“I can tell you here now: He will go right to the top, right to the very top. 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. 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In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford.ATLANTA - With their season on the verge of slipping away, the Atlanta Hawks arent going for style points, theyre just glad to string together a couple of wins. Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-97 Thursday night for the Hawks first back-to-back victories in nearly six weeks. The Hawks (28-35) expanded their lead over the surging Knicks (26-40) for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the East to 3 1/2 games. Their victory over the team with the worst record in the NBA followed Mondays 104-102 victory over Utah, the team with the worst record in the Western Conference. Like the Bucks (13-52), the Hawks entered the game having lost 14 of 16, and their first home game after a six-game road trip had an odd feel. "The last two havent been pretty, but theyre wins and its two in a row so were going to try to build on that," said Korver, who was 4 for 4 from the foul line and 3 for 4 from the field in the final period, including 2 for 3 on 3-pointers. "The first game back after a (long) road trip is notoriously a trap game, and I think we fell for it a bit in the first half and didnt come out with the right energy and focus, at least I didnt." Korvers backcourt mate, Jeff Teague, scored 22 points with eight in a final period that saw 12 lead changes and four ties. The Hawks took the lead for good when Korvers 3-pointer gave them a 90-89 edge with 2:15 left. That came moments after Korver missed from long distance, and reserve centre Elton Brand grabbed the rebound and fired it back to the sharpshooter. That play more than any ruined the Atlanta homecoming of Bucks coach Larry Drew, who was the Hawks head coach from 2010-13. He was not asked to return for the final season of his contract, although Atlanta never officially fired him. "If we come up with that rebound were not in that position," Drew said. "You cant leave a guy like that that open. Or even put him in that position, because Kyle is, if not the best shooter, hes one of the top three in our league." Korvers 3 triggered a 9-0 run that waas punctuated by Teagues thunderous dunk with 27 second remaining for a 96-89 lead.dddddddddddd Ersan Ilyasova had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, and guard Brandon Knight added 20 points. Every Atlanta starter, even centre Pero Antic, made at least one 3-pointer. The Hawks were 13 for 29 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee had just eight turnovers and a modest 43-41 rebounding edge, but went 3 for 19 on 3-point attempts. Trailing 53-47 at halftime, the Hawks took a 68-67 lead by closing the third quarter with a 9-0 run during which they made four straight shots. Milwaukee shot 4 for 21 in the period, and scored one point over the final 4:08 of a 14-point quarter. "Our defence picked us up and allowed us to get back in the game," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We keep talking about being better defensively, and at some point weve got to carry it over to the court." Both teams found energy in the final quarter, when the Hawks outscored the Bucks 34-30. Teague, who pitched in eight assists but also committed seven turnovers, was happy with the win because, he said, "Nobody is bad in the NBA. On any given night, anybody can beat anybody." Budenholzer was more mindful of Atlantas opponent. He did not consider his team to be back on track. "No; not really. I think were going to have to play a whole lot better than this going forward," Budenholzer said. "Wins are important ... but I dont think anybody thinks were settled." NOTES: Hawks centre Al Horford, who has been out since tearing his right pectoral muscle Dec. 26 in an overtime win at Cleveland, said he will not return to play this seven even if Atlanta makes the playoffs. He returned after suffering a similar injury to his left pectoral in 2011-12. "No. I think it would be hard. This injury, honestly, was a little more severe than the other one," he explained in his first meeting with reporters since the injury. "And its my right side, shooting arm, and I ne