Ashley Cole has retired from football. The former Arsenal and Chelsea left back had most recently played for Derby County, and won more than 100 caps for England.
Cole’s is a difficult England career to assess. It overlapped almost perfectly with the ill-fated “Golden Generation” era, during which even players who excelled in the Premier League were criticised for poor international performances.
Embed from Getty ImagesCole in particular also had to deal with the revulsion of the public.
His relationship with his popstar wife, Cheryl Tweedy, was in the spotlight as much because of her notoriety as his, but, while she eventually gained something approaching untouchable status for a time, he certainly did not.
Various indiscretions both alleged and known undoubtedly affected his perception. Where other players misbehaved and had an easy ride - often despite the involvement of actual criminal behaviour - Cole spent years as the people’s punchbag.
Knowing what little we do of his character, it’s easy to assume he wasn’t all that bothered.
Yet he will appear in football histories a century from now as an England centurion and one of the national team’s finest full backs.
In October 2008 Cole was booed throughout an England game at Wembley. England hammered Kazakhstan but the left back made an awful mistake that led to a goal being conceded.
Embed from Getty ImagesFabio Capello’s request for his players to not be booed, held together by gaffer tape and paperclips, gave way. In truth, Cole’s relationship with the nation has never recovered.
Cole did what he could. One suspects redemption never entered his thinking.
Like Gary Neville on the opposite flank, Cole was the best English player in his position for a generation or more. In his pomp he was one of the world’s top left backs.
He played his part in modernising the role of the full back in English football, pairing defensive wits with attacking bite and making a meaningful tactical impact on both sides of the game.
Cole played 107 times for England in a career that spanned 13 years. He eventually made the left back position his own and continued to excel.
He said upon retirement that he was disappointed that he never reached a semi-final with England, a failing shared by countless players since 1996.
A great many of them fell short of what was asked of them in a national shirt. Cole did not. There’s no denying, though, that his legacy was forged in club football.
An Invincible with Arsenal in 2003/04, he took two Premier League medals with him to Chelsea when his unedifying transfer was finally completed in the summer of 2006.
Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich era was well underway and Cole helped them to his third title in 2010, followed by the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
He also has the honour of being the most successful player in the history of the FA Cup, winning the famous old trophy on no fewer then seven occasions - thrice with the Gunners, four times with Chelsea.
Embed from Getty ImagesSuccess does not necessarily a popular person make. Cole’s ability to rub people up the wrong way, his decisions, his demeanour, they all count against him in the eyes of the nation at large.
England fans, I hope, at least came to appreciate the talent he had, the way he applied it and his exceptional achievements in the game.
Cole’s playing career came to its conclusion clubless after a brief spell at Derby County under former Chelsea and England colleague Frank Lampard, who took his team to the EFL Championship Play-Off Final in 2018/19.
Adventures at AS Roma and LA Galaxy will also help Cole as he embarks upon his coaching journey.
He is now working towards those qualifications with a view to becoming - in his own words - a “great” coach.
You wouldn’t bet against him.
