Joe Cole, born on November 8, 1981 in London, is a professional English footballer, who plays as a winger. He was a part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and made one substitute appearance off the bench. A non-playing member of EURO 2004, Joe Cole was confirmed in the England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He went on to score a volley in the 34th minute of the draw match against Sweden in June 2006, and was conferred the ‘Man of the Match’ title. In the 2007 European Championship qualifier, Joe Cole scored his 7th goal for England against Estonia. He was a part of the squad, which won the friendly match against Switzerland (2-1) in February 2008, and went on to win the ‘Man of the Match’ for his performance. Later that year, he scored a late equalizing goal in a 2-2 draw against Czech Republic.
Joe Cole became a child prodigy after he scored 7 of the 8 goals for the England youth team against Spain in a single match. He played for the West Ham United youth system from 1994 to 1997 and made his first-team debut at the age of 17. Joe Cole was part of the victorious Youth Cup squad that defeated Coventry City F.C. (9-0), and at 21 he wore the club captain’s armband.
In 2003, Joe Cole joined Chelsea for a whopping £6.6m in order to establish himself in the national team. He became a star of Chelsea's Premiership title winning team in 2004-05 and acquired a starting place in the English team’s left side of midfield.
Joe Cole was in top form and his goal against Norwich won a vote in the top ten goals of the season for the Premier League of 2004–05. He also won the Premier League Champions Medal that season. Joe Cole was part of Chelsea’s team that lifted the FA Community Shield in 2005 and was included in the PFA’s team of the season. During the 2005–06 season, he extended his contract with Chelsea for another 4 seasons and sealed the season with his solo goal against Manchester United in the Premiership.
In October 2006, Joe Cole made his return to first-team action as a second-half substitute in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory. He scored his first goal, in 2006-07, in a 2 goal win against Blackburn Rovers, at the third round of the Carling Cup. The first leg of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw in the quarter finals of the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League, against Valencia, marked the return of Joe Cole to the club. He contributed greatly to the 2-1 victory in the second leg.
Joe Cole ensured Chelsea an entry into a final at the Wembley stadium, after scoring a spectacular goal in the League cup semi finals against Everton in January 2008. With the true mark of an expertise in the game, he netted twice in a 4-4 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League of the season. Chelsea’s fans voted him, ‘Player of the Year’ for 2007-08. In August 2008, he scored the first Premier League goal for Chelsea after it had come under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazilian football coach and manager of Chelsea.
