THE VITALS:

Team: England

Brand: Umbro

Era: 2009-10 (Used throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, and for the 2010 FIFA World Cup)

Name/Number: Lampard #8

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

This shirt comes to you in very good condition despite its advanced years, there is however, the usual signs of wear and bobbling that many of these shirts are now beset with.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: 36

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18.0 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches 

Made by Umbro in their ‘Tailored by Umbro in England’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2009; this shirt provides excellent dimensions for a size small football shirt.

DESCRIPTION:

After the 2000’s England home shirts all featured red accents which paid homage to St. George’s Cross; the 2009-10 home shirt would be an entirely white shirt in what was a first for the national side since the 1970’s and would also feature white shorts and socks. This cycle of shirts was also the first to employ the new crest with the ‘England’ text being neglected entirely from the shield. This cycle would also be the last time an England shirt would be pulled on the by the likes of: Ledley King, Jamie Carragher, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Emile Heskey, Joe Cole and David Beckham as he played his 115^th and final cap against Belarus on 14^th October 2009. Unfortunately, the 2009-10 cycle would be synonymous with England’s disappointing World Cup in 2010; there was however England’s incredible qualifying campaign for that World Cup which fans can look back on with great fondness – including an impressive 5-1 win over Croatia on 9^th September 2009.

THE SEASON(S):

Fabio Capello would enjoy an excellent first year in charge of England with just two defeats in his eleven games so far at the helm coming in friendly matches against France and Spain; more importantly, his England side was 100% in the win column in qualification the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa following wins over – Andorra, Kazakhstan, Belarus and crucially, Croatia. The year of 2008 would end with a fine win over Germany in Berlin.

After the defeat to Spain on 11^th February 2009, England came together again on 28^th March to host Slovakia in a friendly at Wembley Stadium where they cruised to a 4-0 win before securing a late 2-1 win over Ukraine three days later to keep their 100% win rate intact in World Cup qualifying.

‘The Three Lions’ imperious form in qualification continued in the June internationals when they beat Kazakhstan and Andorra by 4-0 and 6-0 scorelines respectively to all but seal passage to South Africa in twelve months’ time. The Netherlands threatened to derail England’s momentum in their 12^th August friendly in Amsterdam when they went 2-0 ahead, however, Jermain Defoe’s brace (his third brace for England under Capello’s management) ensured the two nations would play their fourth consecutive draw since 2002.

The World Cup qualifiers in September 2009 would confirm England’s dominance of Group 6 when they saw off Slovenia 2-1 and then on 9^th September – twenty two months on from their ignominious failure to reach Euro 2008; England would beat Croatia 5-1 at Wembley Stadium. Furthermore, in an ironic twist of fate - Ukraine beat England in their final qualifying game on 10^th October – Croatia were denied a place in the play-off to reach the World Cup.

England however, would finish their qualifying campaign in 1^st place with 9 wins and the sole defeat after they beat Belarus 3-0 in their last game of the group. This game would also end up being David Beckham’s last game in an England shirt. 2009 would end on a slightly disappointing note as they were beaten 1-0 by Brazil in a special attraction friendly match in Qatar on 14^th November.

The decade of the 2010’s would begin for England against Egypt on 3^rd March 2010 and they would start on a perfect note following a 3-1 win at Wembley. The national side would come together for their remaining pair friendlies to prepare for their curtain raiser at the World Cup against the United States of America on 12^th June. Both fellow World Cup participants – Mexico and Japan would be overcome ahead of the meeting with the US in Rustenburg.

Steven Gerrard put England ahead after just 4 minutes however, a costly error from Robert Green would allow Clint Dempsey to score an equaliser and the two nations would have to share the spoils. Up next would be the challenge of Algeria who were participating in their first World Cup since 1986; and England would be held to a goalless draw amidst the backdrop of an ever-growing frustrated fan base which Wayne Rooney didn’t hold back voicing his opinion against during a post-match rant. England would nevertheless reach the Last 16 of the tournament when they defeated Slovenia 1-0, however, another unconvincing performance would see them finish in 2^nd place.

The Last 16 would see old rivals reacquainted as England met Germany in their first meeting at a World Cup since their legendary semi-final in 1990. Germany would race into a 2-0 lead before Matthew Upson made it 2-1. Frank Lampard would controversially have his spectacular long-range effort ruled out as not having crossed the line, when replays showed that the ball appeared to be over the line. The tie would end up with Germany winning 4-1 on 27^th June; concluding a very disappointing World Cup campaign.

With qualification for Euro 2012 to come in September – England began their post World Cup redemption by defeating Hungary 2-1 on 11^th August at Wembley Stadium.

The notable players that season(s) were:

Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, David Beckham, James Milner, Ashley Cole, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, David James, Joe Hart