Totally Frank: The Autobiography of Frank Lampard

by Frank Lampard

Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard charts his life story from childhood to young West Ham apprentice to multi-millionaire world footballing celebrity and lynchpin of the national team. In his book, Lampard opens up on his early years, how he dealt with the fame and fortune that has come his way since becoming a key member of the England side, his frank opinions on former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and his manager at Chelsea Jose Mourinho, fascinating insights into Roman Abramovich and revealing tales on his current team-mates. He reveals both the privileges and the pressures of being one of the 'golden generation' of England players. He gives a fascinating inside account of World Cup 2006 in Germany, and describes the disappointment of not fulfilling the dream of bringing the biggest prize in football back to England.

Genres: Football, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, Soccer

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

Reviews

[Maddie Coulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would have to be one of my favourite books. i read it whilst i was in france and found it very hard to put down. I love this personal effect of the book, he really goes into alot of detail describing his horrible times at West ham and then moving onto Chelsea. Its an enjoyable and quite easy read, i would recommend this to anyone who is a Frank Lampard fan. This is my favourite autobiography.

[Nicholas Carpenito · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to set my kindle to a fake London address, and jump through some technology hoops to be able to download this book from the USA, being as Amazon, at least when I had a kindle, did not let you download foreign market books. Lampard is my favorite athlete, and I wanted to read this book.
The book itself was poorly written. It read like a high school essay, but when you're reading a book written by a career athlete, don't expect it to be reading Dostoevsky.
That being said I actually enjoyed it much more than any other sports book I've read. His stories were entertaining, I feel like there were things I learned from this book I wouldn't have gotten from going to his wikipedia page, and it was an overall amusing read.
This won't be a classic, but if you like Chelsea, or Lampard, then I recommend reading it. Corny title aside Frank did a pretty damn good job here.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love Frank Lampard. He is such a real person and had such a hard road to get the success he has in football(soccer). I loved this book!:) I also love it because I read it while in Cabo. It will always have a special place in my heart because of that!:)

[Paul Edkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank is clearly very upset with his treatment from both West Ham fans and the club.
It is sad as he should be celebrated by west ham as well as one of the most successful English players ever.
Loved reading this.
The miles frank put in as extra training really paid off for him and instilled a discipline that kept him at the top of the game.
Wisely steers clear of much of the lads stuff that he undoubtedly participated in.
If you could get any youngster to pick up a book to inspire them this could be the one but good luck as three of my four boys played football but I could not even bribe them to read.

[Stephanie Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Frank!

[Gheorghe Cazacu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is very good. In it, the reader learns many little-known facts about childhood and the first years of a footballer named Frank Lampard, the son of Frank Lampard. Until now, I did not know this fact that he was the son of assistant coach Frank Lampard and the nephew of the head coach of the team - Harry Redknapp and was hated for this. This is the best example not only in sports, but also in life!
This autobiography is quite old one. May be Chelsea's actual head coach should think about a
a continuation of this autobiography. The book covers Lampard's performances just until the end of 2006 World Cup in Germany. The book starts with Frank remembering his missed penalty against Portugal "That evening at the hotel I was watching my penalty: Bam...saved! Bam...saved!" (approximate quote because I went through the audio book). That experience was awful for the future UEFA Champions League winner and Chelsea's all-time greatest top scorer (211 goals! A huge achievement for a midfielder). Frank Lampard Jr appeared to be sensitive to critics, at least in his first years, but also he was very confident (he mentioned this fact a lot in his book and this fact is clear for everyone who has watched his Chelsea's performances). I recommend this book to all those who are interested in sports psychology and in football background stories. Hope you'll enjoy the lecture!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written autobiography which encompasses Frank's early life up until the end of the 2006 World Cup. It is an extremely personal account of his experience as a West Ham youth player hounded by his own fans through to being a Chelsea Premiership player and voted the second best player in the world.

The story of his time as West Ham is quite informative and opens up a side of anguish not seen before, with many people citing the way West Ham treated his Dad for his leaving, but Frank explains that the way he was treated whilst giving his all was more than enough reason to move on.

Recently I had read Proud Man Walking by Claudio Ranieri, and reading this and comparing the two is really insightful.

Frank at times is quite hard on himself but he is unquestionably one of, if not the best midfielders to ever play in the Premier League era. It would be interesting to read his views on the experiences he has had after 2006, where he played for Chelsea for 8 more years winning another Premier League Title and the Champions League.

[T A · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a lot of good and interesting insight into one of England’s best midfielders but there’s also a lot of rambling and constant repetition, especially in the first half of the book. It seems to go in a constant loop about West Ham fans saying how they booed him, then listing what they called him, then talking about how he wanted to escape from Harry and his Dads shadow, then how hard he worked, then Rio and back to moaning about West Ham fans again. It just seemed like this loop went on for a good 50 pages with no real context.
When purchasing this book I wasn’t aware of when this was actually released so I was slightly disappointed when it didn’t touch on his time in America and playing for Man City, especially when scoring against Chelsea.

[Samar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally loved this book because as a footballer myself, I understand the struggles that football can offer. And unlike most autobiographies, Frank Lampard highlights the the highs and the detailed lows a footballer has to go through. He's a great inspirational man and i highly rate him.

I really enjoyed getting behind the scenes of the life of Frank Lampard, one of the most respectable and decorated footballers in my opinion and many others.

Frank really gets into the nitty gritty to describe the human side of a top class sportsman. Family, pressure, criticism from the press, having a whole top club and national teams hopes on your shoulders. He also does a fantastic job of bringing out why it's all worth it.

Defo recommend

[Omondi Alila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed getting behind the curtains and seeing what life for Frank Lampard, one of the most respectable and decorated footballers of my lifetime was like growing up and growing older.

Frank really describes the human side of a top athlete. Family, pressure, criticism from the press, having a whole top club and national teams hopes on your shoulders and finding a reason to continue marching amidst all that. He also does a fantastic job of bringing out why it's all worth it.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who writes an autobiography at the age of 28, half way through his astonishing career?
I wanted to hear his two cents about his disallowed goal for England in South Africa, I wanted to read about him winning Champions League, I wanted to read about Chelsea letting him go, none of that being in this book. I'm very, very disappointed.

[Brigitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering his ex-finance used to go around asking him why he is not as good as Ronaldinho, I sincerely hope he has someone in his life who goes around asking him nowadays why he is not as good as Sir Alex Ferguson.

[Katyan Anshuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up close and personal with an absolute legend. I'm huge fan of Super Frankie so to be frank, I was gushing over like a fangirl throughout the book. But to be fair to his expressional prowess, the supreme IQ of his touted around the footballing world really shines through.

[Regulus · Rating 5 out of 5]

я фанат Челси, я необъективен - но это ровно то, что мне хотелось там прочесть. правда, слишком рано заканчивается (2006) - вторая часть тоже нашла бы читателя

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great autobiography by the best scoring midfielder

[Leanne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

5* just because I love Frank

[Sergio P · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book totally frank is one of the best autobiographies that I have ever read as the author tells the reader everything and holds no secrets. As the book progresses the reader feels as if he was in the moment experiencing everything through Frank Lampards eyes. The book gives every detail throughout his life as a soccer player, starting as a youth player and all the way to being a professional for Chelsea. Moreover, the book is written with very simple but at the same time effective vocabulary which keeps the reader engaged with the book. The book is a little bit challenging because of the vocabulary but I would still recommend it to anyone over 13 years old, who enjoys football.

[Sidd · Rating 2 out of 5]

The flow of the narrative is choppy at times, but that is what makes it feel honest and coming from Lampard himself. It all feels a little strange given the book finishes in 2006, when Lampard is only 28, and he still ends up playing for another 10 years, and wins the champions league etc, so it only feels like a partial story.

Also this ghost writer is terrible or lampard actually wrote it himself

[Bernardo Camacho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good fun if you like football. Lampard gives interesting inside thoughts on West Ham, Chelsea, and England. The only disappointment is that it’s written back in 2006 so it misses a big part of Lampard’s success at Chelsea like 2 Champions League finals and becoming the all-time goalscorer for the club

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving reading this book. Frank is an amazing footballer and an honest, genuine person. It is such a neat opportunity to have a glimpse into Frank's life and operations at Chelsea. I can't wait to read John Terry's biography next.

[Linda Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge Chelsea fan I had to read Frank Lampard's autobiography and it didn't disappoint. Hearing how bad the west ham fans had treated him was horrible and you can see why he joined Chelsea. Would recommend to all football fans though maybe not west ham fans.

[Ari Karishma Dewi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lampard is the one of my favourite footballer, he had a great skill and passion.
In this book i can see his true self and it made respect him more

Just totally Frank!!!

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much of this Autobiography is about other people for example his dads career etc Instead of telling HIS life story . Got boring the longer this book went on.

[Wei Liang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for all Frank Lampard or Chelsea fans. Documented his struggle in West Ham United to his success in Chelsea. #ktbffh!!!!

[Stephen Kearns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book and a good insight to who he is!a great athlete and a good man!its been wrote too early in his career as he went on to win more cups with Chelsea and now at New York City football team

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

super frankie lampard