Football
ESPN staff 6y

Ferdinand, Lampard, Gerrard believe club divisions hit England chances

Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have told BT Sport they believe club rivalries during their international days prevented England from achieving success to match the quality of their squad.

The trio, members of a so-called "golden generation" that failed to have the international impact expected, said the growing intensity of domestic competition had had a detrimental effect on the national team's chances.

Ferdinand said his relationship with Lampard, a former teammate at West Ham, changed dramatically once they had moved to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

He said communication "disintegrated" once they had made their moves and added: "It was down to, from my perspective, the obsession with winning.

"I didn't want to see Frank have an edge on me. It was the same with Stevie [Gerrard] and England, when we were battling them [Liverpool] for the Premier League.

"I didn't want to sit around and have a beer with him, because I didn't want to hear what Liverpool were doing. I think that's what held us back."

Gerrard said he believed the England players had lacked the closeness found in club squads.

He added: "I think it was more of a respectful relationship around England rather than a closeness where there was love there.

"[Philippe] Coutinho can't wait to go away with Brazil -- it's the best 10 days of their season. But you didn't get that feeling with England."

He said he believed current national coach Gareth Southgate was trying to improve the bond between his players and added: "I think that will help results on the pitch."

Meanwhile, Lampard said it had not always been easy to replicate the intensity of club performances at international level.

He added: "You feel so passionately about the club, your own performances, that to be a bit pally with someone you're competitive with... it may have done [held England back].

"We didn't hate each other, but by nature we would sit on different tables."

He said the fact that England's players are almost all drawn from the Premier League, in contrast to other national teams whose squad members play in a number of countries, meant that "every week, we were at each other."

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