Joe Cole's Biography

Joseph John Cole, better known as Joe Cole, was born on 8th November 1981, in Islington, London.

He was an attacking midfielder for England.

Joe Cole worked his way up through the West Ham youth academy, and from a very young age was regarded as one of the hottest new talents in English football.

He has drawn comparisons with Paul Gascoigne as he plays with flair in a similar position.

Joe Cole progressed through the Hammers ranks very quickly and made his first team debut at the age of 17. However, after West Ham's manager, Harry Redknapp left the club, Coles form declined in spite of his incredible natural talent.

Joe Cole's target was to become a regular in the England first team and to help further his chances, he moved to Chelsea in 2003, for 7m, as one of the first signings under the Roman Abramovich reign.

Initially Joe Cole failed to shine at Stamford Bridge due to competition from players such as Damien Duff and Arjen Robben. However, when Claudio Ranieri was sacked, and Jose Mourinho came to Chelsea, Joe Cole's form improved massively and he started playing in the team more often.

Joe Cole was a squad member at Euro 2004 but didn't actually play. Some consider him to be the solution to England's 'left wing problem' and since 2004 he has continued to gain international caps.

He continued to shine. Joe Cole's many quality performances included England's match in the World Cup 2006 against Sweden, where he was rightly named FIFA Man of the Match.

Joe Cole came fourth in The Independent's list of Britain's happiest people.

Joe Cole was selected for the PFA Premiership Team of the Year 2006.

On 20 June 2009, Joe Cole married Carly Zucker.

On 18 March 2010, Carly gave birth to a baby girl.

In June 2010, Chelsea confirmed that Joe Cole, who was at the time in England's World Cup squad, would leave the club on a free transfer in the summer.

In July 2010, Joe Cole signed for Liverpool on a four-year contract.

In August 2011, he completed a loan move to Lille in France.