Ashley Cole

Playing in the position of a left back Cole started his playing career with Arsenal a team he had joined as part of their youth programme. He made his Premier League debut in May of 2000 but went onto spend time on loan with Crystal Palace playing for almost half a season. Late into the season he returned to Arsenal and came on as a replacement for the injured Sylvinho, he ended up staying as the first-choice even after Sylvinho's recovery.

His call up to the full England side came in 2001 under manager Sven-Goran Eriksson against Albania and quickly became a regular appearing in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup campaigns’ and will be sure to feature in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa..

In 2005 he courted controversy when he "tapped up" Chelsea before signing to them from Arsenal, this resulted in fines for the then Chelsea manager, his agent and himself and led to him being called "Cashley" by his old fans.

Off the pitch Cole released an autobiography when he was only 25 and in 2006 he married the Girls Aloud singer and X Factor judge Cheryl Tweedy in a lavish ceremony in Barnet that cost around £2 million to hold, but it was reported on 23rd February 2010 that they are have separated due his extramarital affair!

2010 World Cup

There were doubts as whether Cole will be fit for World Cup in June as he suffered a fractured left ankle in February 2010 during his teams 2-1 defeat against Everton. He has however now returned to the Chelsea side and featured in their 7-0 drubbing of Stoke on 25th April where he played the full 90 minutes. Cole will be a vital component in the England World Cup team and is sure to be one of the first names on Capello's team sheet. 

International Career

Honours

• FA Premier League:- 2001/02 , 2003/04
• FA Cup:- 2002, 2003, 2005
• FA Community Shield:- 2002, 2004
• PFA Team of the Year:- 2003, 2004, 2005
• UEFA Team of the Year:- 2004 FA Cup:- 2007, 2009
• League Cup:- 2007
• FA Community Shield:- 2009
• Chelsea Players' Player of the Year: 2009