Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole
Date of Birth	20 December 1980
Place of Birth	Stepney, London, England
Height	5ft 9 1/2in
Position	Defender
Squad no.	3
Years	2006-
Appearances	326
Goals	7

Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English international footballer, currently playing for Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea career

Ashley Cole was a 2006 summer deadline day signing from Arsenal, to whom the club paid £5 million plus William Gallas, and he made his debut against Werder Bremen in September that year. A fabulous athlete who loves to go forward, he admitted at that season's end that Blues fans had yet to see him at his very best, a series of injures having hindered the settling process. Competition with Wayne Bridge for the left-back slot had ended with a roughly even share of games. An ankle operation in the summer cleared the way for an uninhibited start to the 2007-08 season and with Bridge injured, Ashley got off to a flyer and enjoyed the club's share of matches that season, particularly for the big encounters.

His first Chelsea goal was lashed in away at West Ham in March 2008 during a 4-0 win, and after surviving an injury scare in training on the eve of the Champions League Final, he recovered to put in one of the best displays on the night, including a successful shoot-out penalty. In the 2008-09 season under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Ashley was utilised far more in attack, but with the arrival of Guus Hiddink, the full-back had his wings clipped, focusing more on defence, a tactic that paid off with a number of clean sheets. Voted Players' Player of the Year at the end of the 2008-09 season, Ashley had put previous injury concerns behind him to turn in a personal record number of club appearances in a season (49). He won the FA Cup against Everton in 2009, a feat repeated in May 2010 against Portsmouth when he entered the record books as the only man to win six FA Cups, three with Chelsea in 2007, 2009 and 2010, and three with Arsenal.

The latest came at the end of another season of unfaltering consistency for arguably the best left-back in the world, his sixth FA Cup joined by his second Double, along with Nicolas Anelka the first man to do so with two different clubs. On a personal level, he scored a record four times in the same season, including the Chelsea Goal of the Season against Sunderland in January, a deft flick after controlling John Terry's long pass expertly and cutting inside his man.

He supplied goals against Stoke and Tottenham, while finding the scoresheet in explosive fashion against Burnley, and then Spurs, before twice claiming assists at former club Arsenal in November 2009.

After fracturing his ankle in a challenge with Everton's Landon Donovan in Februrary, dedication and a fast-healing body helped him back before the end of April for the 7-0 win against Stoke, and he found the net one more time against Wigan on the final day of the league season. For the first time in his career, the 2010-11 seasonsaw him end the campaign as a Premier League ever-present, having started all 38 league matches. It was a figure that helped him over the 200-game mark for Chelsea, and for the second time in his Stamford Bridge career he ended the season as Players' Player of the Year, and returned into the PFA's representative XI, the only Chelsea man in the side, as well as Uefa's Team of the Year for 2010. After that ever-present league campaign in 2010/11 season, Cole only missed his first league game in the 3-3 home draw with Manchester United in early February. At 31, however, he found himself rested more often than in the past, a move which has enabled Ryan Bertrand to gain some invaluable first team experience. Cole was outstanding in the Champions League ties against Barcelona, making a stunning clearance off the line in the first leg, while marshalling the defence impeccably in the Camp Nou following the sending off of John Terry and injury to Gary Cahill. After winning his seventh FA Cup winners medal - a record - following the victory against Liverpool, Cole finished the season by adding the one trophy which had eluded him, the Champions League, to his collection. He also scored the fourth penalty in the shoot-out win against Bayern Munich. Cole scored his first goal of the 2012-13 season in a 1-0 victory over Stoke City in mid-September. It was announced in January that Cole had signed a one-year extension to his contract, tying him to the Blues until the summer of 2014. Cole made his 300th Chelsea appearance in the 2-0 away defeat at Manchester City in February 2013. He was then forced to miss a crucial run of games after aggravating a hamstring in the 1-0 FA Cup win over Manchester United. Cole, however, made his return in the Europa League semi-final away at Basel and remained in the side for the rest of the campaign.

Honours

Chelsea

• League Cup: 1 (2007)
• FA Cup: 4 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012)
• Community Shield: 1 (2009)
• Premier League: 1 (2009-10)
• Champions League: 1 (2012)
• Europa League: 1 (2013)

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 1 (2011)
• UEFA Team of the Year: 1 (2010)
• Chelsea F.C. Player's Player of the Year: 2 (2008-09, 2010-11)
• England Player of the Year: 1 (2010)

Stats

Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2006-07	23	0	5	0	3	0	9	0	0	0	40	0
2007-08	27	1	1	0	2	0	10	0	1	0	41	1
2008-09	34	1	7	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	49	1
2009-10	27	4	2	0	1	0	4	0	1	0	35	4
2010-11	38	0	2	0	0	0	7	0	1	0	48	0
2011-12	32	0	4	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	48	0
2012-13	31	1	5	0	3	0	8	0	4	0	51	1
2013-14	9	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	1	0	14	0
Total	221	7	26	0	10	0	61	0	8	0	326	7