Joe Cole

He scored his first goal on 29 October in the League Cup against Notts County, replacing Jesper Grønkjær in the 70th minute and netting the last goal in a 4–2 victory which put Chelsea into the last 16.

On 17 December, in the next round, he started away to Aston Villa, finishing Hernán Crespo's cross to equalise in an eventual 1–2 defeat.

Cole's only other goal of the season was his only one in the league campaign, ending a one-two with Frank Lampard to open the scoring after five minutes away to Newcastle United, albeit in a 1–2 defeat.

Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger.

He is regarded by some commentators as one of the most talented English players of his generation and one of the most technically gifted English players of all time.

Cole started his career with West Ham United, where, after breaking into the first team in January 1999, he played more than 120 Premier League games over five seasons.

Playing in a mould similar to former England favourite Paul Gascoigne, he progressed through the West Ham ranks and signed professional terms in November 1998 before making his first-team debut aged 17 on 2 January 1999 in an FA Cup third round tie against Swansea City.

Eight days later he made his Premier League debut, away to Manchester United.

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.

Cole played only eight Premier League games in his first season but in the following season, he made 22 Premier League appearances, was a member of the West Ham team which won the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, scored his first goal for West Ham, in a 3–2 League Cup win at Birmingham City on 30 November 1999 and scored his first Premier League goal, in a 5–4 home win against Bradford City, on 12 February 2000.

Capped by England at under-16, under-18 and under-21 level, Cole was a full international between 2001 and 2010, capped by the England national team on 56 occasions, scoring 10 goals.

He was selected for the England squad at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups and Euro 2004.

He was one of a number of players who left West Ham in the summer of 2003, after the club had been relegated to the Football League First Division, with Cole signing for Chelsea.

He spent seven seasons at Chelsea, playing over 280 games in all competitions and winning seven trophies, including three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup.

In January 2003, then West Ham manager Glenn Roeder gave Cole the club captain's armband at the age of 21.

Cole's last game for West Ham came on 11 May 2003 in a 2–2 draw with Birmingham City, a game which saw West Ham relegated from the Premier League.

Cole won the "Hammer of the Year award" for 2003.

On 6 August 2003, Cole signed for Chelsea for a fee of £6.6 million after he had rejected a new contract with West Ham.

He was the sixth player signed after the club's takeover by billionaire Roman Abramovich, amongst those was his former West Ham teammate Glen Johnson.

Manager Claudio Ranieri saw Cole as the perfect replacement for Gianfranco Zola, whom the club had released earlier that year, and West Ham declared that the transfer was enough for them not to sell any more players that summer.

A week after signing for the club, Cole made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier away to MŠK Žilina.

He came on as a substitute for fellow new signing Damien Duff with 21 minutes remaining and caused Michal Drahno to score an own goal to conclude a 2–0 victory.

On 17 August, he played his first Premier League game for the club, again replacing Duff for the last 15 minutes in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Cole took advantage of injuries to wingers Duff and Arjen Robben to become a regular member of Chelsea's Premier League title winning team in 2004–05.

He started in the League Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium on 27 February, making way for Johnson after 81 minutes of an eventual 3–2 win after extra time against Liverpool.

His form saw him hit a run of goals towards the end of the season, and he scored a goal on 9 March against Norwich City blasted in from 20 yards off his weaker left foot Cole scored ten goals for Chelsea in 2004–05 and ended the season with a Premier League champions' medal.

In the first half of the 2005–06 season, Cole secured himself in the Chelsea first-team lineup, 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 one of the goals in Chelsea's 3–0 win over Manchester United, which earned the Premier League title for the team.

He was subsequently named in the PFA Team of the Year.

In January 2007, Cole underwent surgery for a stress fracture on his foot he suffered in late 2006.

He left Chelsea on a free transfer in July 2010 to join Liverpool, who a year later loaned him to Lille.

After a season in France, he returned to Liverpool before re-joining West Ham in January 2013.

He signed for Aston Villa in June 2014, then joined Coventry City on loan in October 2015, joining on a permanent deal in January 2016.

This was to be his last club in England.

After retirement in 2018, Cole took up a coaching role at Chelsea.

He is currently a pundit on TNT Sports.

Cole was born Joseph Rooks in Paddington, London, and lived there until he moved to Somers Town at the age of six.

Cole is a product of the West Ham United youth system.

He was long touted as a child prodigy and as the hottest prospect in English football, with Manchester United reportedly offering to pay £10 million for his services as a 16-year-old.