Ashley Cole Biography, Career Info, Records & Achievements

Ashley Cole is British footballer who was born on December 20, 1980 in Stepney, London. He started his career as a defender but in his later days, he switched his position to the Left Back. He has won the FA Cup Football 7 times, from two different clubs.

Background

Cole joined the Arsenal club in 1997 with the intention of going professional into football. Arsenal was his local club and he remained associated with the club until 2006. He also got to play for the junior national team during his early days.

Debut

The 1999 FIFA Youth Championship saw his debut in the England U20 team. But the tournament did not go well for England and they finished last. Cole made his U21 matches memorable by scoring a goal in one of the four matches he played. His senior team debut came against Albania in 2001 where he failed to score a goal, being a defender.

Rise to Glory

Cole Cole was given a chance in the senior team only after 4 matches at the U21 level. He was too strong in defence and helped England a number of times in saving the goals. He went on to represent the England team in all of the major tournaments such as 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 FIFA Euro Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup, etc.

He is one of the few players to have 100 appearances in international marches. Cole was a regular member of the team during his time of play. His crucial saves and blocks had always been beneficial for the team.

Low Points

Cole was low on form during the 2013-14 season and he wasn’t selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This was taken further when his club, Chelsea didn’t retain him either. Thus, he announced his retirement from international football in 2014 and only plays club football now.

Club Career

Cole started his professional career in football from the Arsenal club in 1999 where he was once a junior player. He kept himself associated with the club for 9 years with various tournament victories such as the Premier League in 2001-02 and 2002-03, the FA Cup in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05, etc.

After bidding farewell to Arsenal, Cole joined the Chelsea FC and performed there like a star. He played 229 matches for Chelsea from 2006-2014 and helped the club win a number of tournaments such as 2009-10 Premier League, the FA Cup (four times), the UEFA Champions League in 2011-12, the UEFA Europa League in 2012-13, etc.

Cole was not given a contract renewal in 2014 and thus he joined the Roma club. But the season didn’t go too well for him and he left the club after an year. After a year gap, Cole joined the LA Galaxy in 2016 and has been associated with it till date.