Lampard is star of midfield again

14 April 2012

Poor old Michael Owen. After 90 minutes at St James' Park when he looked about as likely to score as Mister Magoo in a blindfold, the most inoffensive and least controversial of fellows could only find insult added to injured pride as football royalty slagged him off right royally for something he never actually said.

Yet almost lost amid Carlos Alberto's faintly hilarious rant about "what's his name, the number 10, the small one who doesn't play in the Real Madrid first team" was the fact that Azerbaijan's favourite Brazilian also noted that his England conquerors didn't just have a misfiring "midget" but a trio of giants as well.

"This midget who thinks he's a king, I refuse to talk about him any more," boomed Carlos, comically having talked about nothing else for the previous five minutes because of his erroneous belief that Owen had spent the week boasting about scoring a nap hand of goals.

Instead, said the Brazilian, he'd be prepared to talk to us about Frank Lampard, "the best midfielder in the world" or David Beckham, the man whose boots "the midget should clean" or Wayne Rooney "who's going to be great". It was this generous praise for the leading trio of contributors to England's heavy weather success which needed to be taken heed of rather more seriously than the comic book business with Owen. Lampard, in particular, seemed genuinely proud to have been singled out by the man who led Brazil's incomparables of 1970.

"You never talk about yourself like that so when somebody of that stature does, then it's the biggest honour you can get," reckoned Chelsea's midfield lynchpin.

"Lampard plays total football," Carlos cooed. "When he has the ball he knows how to play, he can score goals, he'll try to shoot, and when the opposition has the ball he marks well."

It was a demonstration of all-round excellence now so familiar that we almost take it for granted. While complementing Steven Gerrard, Lampard has actually begun to outshine the equally tireless Liverpudlian who could be his partner at Stamford Bridge next season. It would be some double act.

The best measure of how quickly Lampard has grown in stature in the white shirt was his acclaim by England fans as their player of the year in 2004, some achievement when having to compete with a prodigy of a team-mate like Rooney who yet again last night offered glimpses of why he, and only he, possesses the X-factor which could transform a fine side into a world-beating one. It still staggers how often the lad ends up as man-of-the-match in England's competitive fixtures.

As for Beckham's return to something like his best, his team-mates couldn't help but acclaim it as another key moment on the road to Germany after all the recent questioning of his captaincy credentials.

"He's got his critics, but again he's proved them wrong as he's done throughout his career," said Gerrard. "He's a great player and the right man for the job still. I don't see where the problem is." There is no problem with Beckham but you still have to worry about Eriksson's other untouchable favourite, Owen. "I hope he is back on the bench when Real Madrid play this weekend," growled Carlos but English football has to hope that he is out there scraping off the ring rust, so obvious last night, as soon as possible.

As Rooney's star has begun to shine ever more brightly, Owen's seems to have dimmed at the same rate. He needs to rediscover the sharpness and confidence that only regular starts and goals at the Bernabeu can offer because it was almost embarrassing to watch him fluff the chances which his team-mates ended up making exaggerated efforts to tee up for him.

To be fair to Owen, his ability to whip at pace into the space behind defences is not effectively utilised by a team so often guilty of building their attacks far too ponderously.

Yet on the one occasion he was freed to bear down on goal in a manner reminiscent of his breakthrough moment against Argentina in 1998, there was fatal hesitancy where once there had been only been youthful certainty. It was miserable to behold - for all except a seething old boy from Brazil.

MORE ABOUT

Alberto Aquilani

Lampard is star of midfield again

Read More