Ashley Cole
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Ashley Cole (born December 20, 1980 in Whitechapel, London) is an English football player of half Barbadian descent. He is a defender, who nearly always plays at left back for Arsenal and the English national team.
Cole is known for his substantial pace, which is often used to great effect in supporting and overlapping the left-winger in front of him, though at times it has been suggested that his attacking talents conceal defensive weaknesses.
Club career
Cole has been at Arsenal since he was a teenager, and signed as a professional on February 25, 2000. He made his debut for the first team as a striker on November 30, 1999 against Middlesbrough at the age of 18, although this was his only appearance of that season. Before he fully broke into the Arsenal side, he spent part of the 1999–2000 season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he played 14 league matches, and scored one goal, that ultimately saved Palace from relegation. After an injury to Silvinho, Arsenal's established Brazilian left-back, in autumn 2000, Cole came in as his replacement, and remained first-choice even after Silvinho's recovery.With Arsenal, he has won the Premiership twice (in 2002 and 2004), and the FA Cup three times (in 2002, 2003 and 2005). He played Arsenal's UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona FC in 2006.
In 2005 Cole was accused of making inappropriate contact with Chelsea over a possible move without alerting Arsenal to the fact in a "tapping up" case. Found guilty, he was fined by the Premier League £100,000 on June 2, 2005 for a meeting in a hotel room in January 2005 between himself, the Chelsea manager José Mourinho, Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon, and his agent Jonathan Barnett. An appeal in August 2005 did not reject the guilty verdict, but his fine was reduced to £75,000. Chelsea were also fined £300,000 and Mourinho was fined £200,000, reduced on appeal in August 2005 to £75,000. His behaviour towards the club that gave him his big break and who he has supported since he was a child has caused a great deal of resentment amongst supporters, and it is widely believed that Jonathan Barnett's influence has soured his relationship with the fans that used to love him permanently.
Despite indicating his desire to leave Arsenal and play for Chelsea, Cole signed a one year extension to his contract on 18 July 2005. His current salary is thought to be £70,000 per week. He has recently attracted attention from Real Madrid, who are reportedly looking to buy him as a future replacement for aging Brazilian left back Roberto Carlos. Chelsea are also rumoured to have rekindled their interest in the player.
On 15 July, the day Cole wed Cheryl Tweedy, Cole launched a stinging attack on Arsenal via The Sun newspaper in an attempt to ignite interest in his autobiography. Cole claimed that Arsenal had "fed him to the sharks" over the tapping up affair despite Arsenal having played no part in the meeting between Cole and Chelsea. The article turned Arsenal's fans against the player and it seems he now has no future at the Gunners.
International career
Cole has played for England at youth and senior levels. He was capped for the England U-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside Stuart Taylor, Peter Crouch, Andy Johnson and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom of their group, suffering three defeats without scoring any goals. He also made four appearances for England under-21s, scoring once.Cole made his senior England début against Albania, on March 28, 2001. He played for England at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, and was named as one of four England players in the all-star squad for the latter tournament. Cole was also an ever-present for England in the 2006 FIFA World Cup; in their second round match against Ecuador he made a crucial block, deflecting Carlos Tenorio's shot onto the crossbar. The match ended with England winning 1-0, but England were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals. As of July 1 2006 he has 50 caps for England, though he has never scored an international goal.
Personal life
In 2005 he became engaged to Cheryl Tweedy, the popular singer from British chart-topping act Girls Aloud. They married on 15 July 2006.On 2 March 2006, Cole announced that he was suing the tabloid newspapers The Sun and the News of the World for harassment, libel, and breach of privacy, over stories of a 'gay orgy' involving Premiership footballers. Although Cole's name was not mentioned in the stories, the two newspapers heavily hinted at his identity in successive articles. On 25 June 2006, Cole received an apology from the News of the World, and an undisclosed amount in damages..
Arsenal career stats
(correct as of 13 July 2006)
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 1999–00 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | 17 | 3 | ? | 7 | ||||||
| 24 | 3 | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||
| 40 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||
| 9 | ||||||||||
| 44 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | 32 | |||||||||
| 3 | 6 | |||||||||
| 9 | 1 | 47 | 1 | |||||||
| 2004–05 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||
| 47 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | 11 | |||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| 15 | ||||||||||
| Total | 156 | 8 | 12 | 27 | - | 36 | 1 | 219 | 9 | |
References
External links
- [Arsenal FC website profile]
- [FA website profile]
- [Statistics] at soccerbase.com
- [Profile] at 4thegame.com
- [Profile] at sporting-heroes.net
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