Joe Cole

For the rock band roadie and chronicler who was murdered, see Joe Cole (roadie).

Joe Cole

Personal information
Full name	Joseph John Cole
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Team information
Current team	Arsenal
Number	10
Youth career
1994–1998	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2003	West Ham United	126	(10)
2003–	Chelsea	183	(28)
International career‡
	England U21	2	(0)
2001–	England	54	(10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:22, 31 May 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:22, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Joseph John "Joe" Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League and the England national team. He started his career with West Ham United where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003. He won a number of trophies with Chelsea, including three Premier League titles and two FA Cups. Cole signed a 3-year deal with Arsenal after his contract with Chelsea expired in June 2010.

Biography

He was born in Paddington, London and lived there until he moved to Camden at the age of six. He was educated at St. Mary's Primary School Bryanston Square in Marylebone along with brother Nicky and sister Charly, He also attended Haverstock School (Now Haverstock Business & Enterprise College) in Chalk Farm, Camden and St. Aloysius RC College in North London. The family home in recent years was in Romford.

Club career

West Ham United

A child prodigy who received national media attention as a schoolboy, he famously scored 7 of the 8 goals the England youth team scored against Spain in one match. Cole is a product of the famed West Ham United youth system. He was long touted as the hottest prospect in English football with Manchester United reportedly offering to pay £10 million for his services as a 16-year-old. Playing in a mould similar to former England favourite Paul Gascoigne, he quickly progressed through the West Ham ranks before making his first-team debut at the age of 17. In 1999 Cole was part of West Ham's victorious FA Youth Cup winning squad (alongside Michael Carrick), defeating Coventry City 9–0 on aggregate in the final. In January 2003 Glenn Roeder, then West Ham United manager gave Cole the club captain's armband at the age of 21. Sadly for Cole and for West Ham United, the club was relegated from the Premiership at the end of that season. Cole won the "Hammer of the Year award" for 2003.

Chelsea

2003–04

In 2003 Cole moved to Chelsea, the club he supported as a boy, for £6.6m. In his first season at the club he would struggle to make the breakthrough as a first-team player.

First team breakthrough

Cole took advantage of injuries to other players to become one of the stars of Chelsea's Premiership title winning team in 2004–05. He also won a starting place in the England team on the left side of midfield, which England had struggled to fill for several years. Cole's form saw him hit a run of goals towards the end of the season, and his goal against Norwich (blasted in from 22 yards off his weaker left foot) was voted in the top ten goals of the 2004–05 Premier League season. Cole scored 10 goals for Chelsea in 2004–05 and ended the season with the first of his three Premier League Champions' medals. He was subsequently named in the PFA's team of the season.

In the first half of the 2005–06 season Cole secured himself in the Chelsea first team line up, ahead of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Damien Duff. Cole also extended his contract with Chelsea for another four seasons. He ended his season by scoring the one of the three goals against Manchester United, which sealed the title for Chelsea.

2006–07

The injury problems of Joe Cole began in the pre-season of 2006/07, just weeks after Cole's participation in England's 2006 World Cup squad ,in which he made his mark by scoring the side's best goal of the tournament.He made his return in November of that year in a fixture against Manchester United. In January 2007, Cole underwent surgery for a stress fracture on his foot he suffered in late 2006. Cole made his return for Chelsea in the first leg of Chelsea's 1–1 draw in the Champions League quarter-final tie against Valencia. Cole worked hard in Chelsea's 2–1 victory in the second leg. He started for Chelsea in their 2007 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, and went on to be substituted at half time.

2007–08

Cole before a league match against Sunderland in 2007.

In 2007–08 Cole scored another brilliant goal in the Football League Cup semi finals against Everton which sent Chelsea to another final. Despite Cole's form, manager Avram Grant opted not to play him in the final. Chelsea lost out on silverware as Tottenham Hotspur triumphed 2–1.

Cole's form that season earned much praise from his manager and the media alike, and this was shown when he won the Chelsea Fans' Player Of The Year award. It is the first time Cole has collected the prize which was presented by former Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly. After receiving his award, he said : 'I always dreamt of playing for Chelsea and my other dream was to play for the best team in the world. I think I am doing both things at the moment so I am very happy. 'I was trying to think of what to say, but I'm not used to that kind of thing. I'm happy but I'd like to thank the fans for voting for me, and also I want to be better next year,' he said.

2008–09

Speaking at a sponsoredbyyou.com fans forum organised by England Team Sponsors Nationwide Building Society on 12 August 2008, Cole admitted he faces one of the most important seasons of his career, playing under a new manager for both club and country. He said: "I'm itching to get started and I think there's always a chance of redemption in football. There's games on top of games from now on. If you lose 5–0 on a Wednesday you can win 5–0 on a Saturday. So there's always a chance of redemption both with England and Chelsea. We want to be very successful this season with club and country. It's been a long summer with no football and it wasn't easy watching Euro 2008 on telly. But I've had a good break and now I'm itching to get started, get in the thick of it and get playing games again. It's a big season for me because I would probably say I'm close to my peak. I'm only 26 still but I've got a lot of experience now and know the game. I'm getting better every year and hopefully I can continue."

On August 17, 2008, Cole scored the first Premier League goal of the Scolari era in a 4–0 win against Portsmouth. He scored his second against Bordeaux in the Champions League Group Stage in the 4–0 victory. He scored his third goal against Aston Villa on October 5 in a 2–0 victory.

After surgery on his knee to repair an injury he picked up in the FA Cup clash with Southend United, Cole missed the rest of the season.

2009–10

Joe Cole taking on George McCartney for Chelsea

Cole did not play for Chelsea in the pre-season, due to cruciate ligament damage in his knee, suffered in January 2009. He was one of the substitutes for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League clash against F.C. Porto, which Chelsea won 1–0, however he was never brought on in a match that saw torrential rain lashing Stamford Bridge in London. He made a return to the starting squad in Chelsea's Carling Cup Match with QPR on September 23, 2009, in which he was also handed captain's armband. He also came on as a substitute in the Champions League game between Cypriot side Apoel Nicosia. Cole made his first Premier League 2009-10 appearance for Chelsea against side Blackburn. He played in the Attacking Midfield role and influenced Chelsea to blast 5 goals against Blackburn. On November 8 Cole played his 250th game for Chelsea, coming on as a substitute against Manchester United in the 62nd minute for Deco, on his 28th birthday. On November 21 he scored the last goal in Chelsea's 4–0 win against Wolverhampton. On 3 April, he scored the opener against Manchester United at Old Trafford after 19 minutes with a masterful back heel deflection from a Florent Malouda cross, Chelsea went on to win the game 2–1. Cole's contract is to expire at the end of this season.

Arsenal

Cole moved to Arsenal on a free transfer after his contract with Chelsea expired in 2010. It is believed that he has signed a 3-year contract.

International career

Cole made his international debut against Mexico in May 2001. He was a member of England's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad, made one substitute appearance off the bench. Cole was also a squad member at Euro 2004, but did not play.

His displays in England's friendlies leading up to the 2006 World Cup enhanced his reputation ahead of the summer's finals in Germany. In May 2006 he was confirmed in the England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, ahead of Chelsea teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips. He played on the left side of midfield in England's opening game against Paraguay on June 10, 2006.

On June 20, 2006, England drew with Sweden, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with a final score of 2–2. Cole scored a volley in the 34th minute of the match and got an assist in the 85th when he sent in a ball to Steven Gerrard. At the end of the match, Budweiser announced that Cole received the Man of the match. The Swedish football fans congratulated England for having such a valuable player in the tournament. Cole lined up for the England squad for the first time since the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands, providing an assist for Wayne Rooney from a cross. After another injury, he returned to start the friendly against Brazil at Wembley Stadium on 1 June.

Cole scored his seventh goal for England in June 2007, in their European Championship qualifier, away to Estonia.

On February 7, 2008, Cole was one of the 23-man squad selected for the friendly against Switzerland which they won 2–1, courtesy of Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips goals. For Jenas' goal, Cole received the ball on the left wing, and with a quick bit of trickery, he lured his defender into an early tackle and skipped past. He then passed a smart ball through the box to Jenas who did not have to raise a leg. Cole received Man of the match for his performance.

In August 2008, Cole scored a late equalising goal in a 2–2 draw at Wembley against the Czech Republic after coming on as a substitute. He then scored England's two goals in the next fixture after coming on as a second half substitute in the 2–0 defeat of Andorra in the opening match for the 2010 World Cup Qualifers. In England's next world cup qualifier against Croatia he suffered a head injury in a clash with Croatian defender Robert Kovač which resulted in the Croatian's sending off. After initially getting up he then collapsed and had to be substituted. However he was able to come back and watch the remainder of the match. On the 1st of June he was named in the final 23 man selection for England's 2010 World Cup squad. "TheFA.com Announcement". TheFA.com. http://www.thefa.com/England/News/2010/Squad_010610. Retrieved 1 June 2010

Personal life

Cole married fitness instructor Carly Zucker on 20 June 2009. Cole had been dating Zucker, 25, since 2002 and proposed to her in 2007 after a dinner at London celebrity restaurant The Ivy. After Zucker accepted, Cole gave her a £50,000 ring at their Surrey mansion. In September 2009, Cole and Zucker announced that she is pregnant with their first baby. At 7.12 pm GMT on the 18th March 2010,the couple's first child, a baby girl,was born. Two weeks later they named their little girl Ruby Tatiana Cole, weighing 6pounds 12 ounces..

Career statistics

Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1998–99||rowspan="5"|West Ham United||rowspan="5"|Premier League||8||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||8||0 |- |1999-00||22||1||1||0||4||1||5||0||32||2 |- |2000–01||30||5||4||0||2||0||0||0||36||5 |- |2001–02||30||0||3||1||0||0||0||0||33||1 |- |2002–03||36||4||2||1||2||0||0||0||40||5 |- |2003–04||rowspan="7"|Chelsea||rowspan="7"|Premier League||35||1||3||0||3||2||9||0||50||3 |- |2004–05||28||8||3||0||6||0||9||1||46||9 |- |2005–06||34||8||6||2||1||0||5||1||46||11 |- |2006–07||10||0||2||0||2||1||7||1||21||2 |- |2007–08||33||7||3||0||5||1||13||2||54||10 |- |2008–09|||14||2||2||0||0||0||4||1||19||3 |- |2009–10||25||2||4||0||3||0||6||0||38||2 Template:Football player statistics 5283||37||31||4||27||5||55||6||396||52 |}

International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2003	Leicester, England	Serbia and Montenegro	2–1	2–1	Friendly match
2	16 November 2003	Manchester, England	Denmark	2–1	2–3	Friendly match
3	26 March 2005	Manchester, England	Northern Ireland	1–0	4–0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
4	3 September 2005	Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–0	1–0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
5	1 March 2006	Liverpool, England	Uruguay	2–1	2–1	Friendly match
6	20 June 2006	Cologne, Germany	Sweden	1–0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup
7	6 June 2007	Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
8	20 August 2008	London, England	Czech Republic	2–2	2–2	Friendly match
9	6 September 2008	Barcelona, Spain	Andorra	1–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
10	6 September 2008	Barcelona, Spain	Andorra	2–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Honours

West Ham

• Intertoto Cup: 1999

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10
• Football League Cup: 2004–05, 2006–07
• FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Community Shield: 2005, 2009

Runners-up

• Premier League: 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08
• League Cup: 2007–08
• UEFA Champions League: 2007–08

Individual

• West Ham 'Hammer of the Year': 2003
• PFA Team of the Year; 2006
• Chelsea Player of the Year: 2008
• Premier League Player of the Month:March 2005

External links

• Official Joe Cole Player Profile – Stats, Career History, Video and Interview
• Joe Cole – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Joe Cole at Soccerbase
• Joe Cole Official Website at Icons.com
• TheFA.com profile 2004
• The FA.com updated profile 2008