Joe Cole is a former English footballer who played for the England National Team for ten years, best known for his appearances for West Ham United, Chelsea and Liverpool. He was a midfielder who stood out for his technical ability and creativity; He spent his most productive period at Chelsea.
Club career
Joseph John Cole was born on 8 November 1981 in Paddington, London. He trained in the West Ham United youth team, signed a professional contract in November 1998, and made his debut for the first team in the FA Cup match against Swansea City on January 2, 1999, when he was only 17 years old. He became team captain in January 2003, at the age of 21.
He was transferred to Chelsea on 6 August 2003 for ยฃ6.6 million, following the club's relegation from the Premier League in 2003.
He made over 280 official appearances in his seven seasons at Chelsea, winning three Premier League titles (2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10), two FA Cups and one League Cup. He was selected for the PFA Team of the Year in the 2005-06 season. He joined Liverpool on a free transfer in July 2010; He spent the 2011-12 season on loan in the French team Lille.
He returned to West Ham in January 2013 and signed with Aston Villa in June 2014. He first played for Coventry City on loan and then permanently in the 2015-16 season, and lastly played for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USA between 2016-2018.
National team and beyond
He played 56 matches for England between 2001 and 2010 and scored 10 goals. He was in the squad for the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups and Euro 2004. The goal he scored with a volley from outside the penalty area against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup became one of the most talked about goals of the tournament and he was chosen as the player of the match in that match.
Cole, who played more than 700 professional matches in seven clubs, announced his retirement from football on November 13, 2018. After his retirement, he worked as a technical coach at Chelsea academy and started working as a football commentator on television.
