Source: PA
Lampard reveals Three Lions pride
New England captain Frank Lampard has dismissed the theory that internationals are of secondary relevance to club football and claimed: "They will always be the proudest games of your career."
Lampard will lead England out for the first time in the friendly with Denmark, in the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard. With a crowded Premier League and Champions League calendar, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is among those who have decried the international game, once describing it as "boring".
But Lampard still believes it is the pinnacle for a player to represent their country. When asked about Wenger's comment, Lampard said: "Sometimes you understand the comments that are made.
"The domestic game in Europe and England has gone up so many levels, in terms of the Champions League and the Premier League. There has been a time maybe when international football maybe has struggled to keep up.
"But, in the long term, international football will always be there. As an individual, they'll always be the proudest games of your career. With England, we've not had many games with a real edge because we've never done well enough in the big competitions.
"Maybe in small cycles, international football hasn't set us alight as much as we'd want recently. But it will always be significant. We've got 2,500 fans coming over in a midweek game, so that shows you the interest in it."
