Cole fired by remembrance of tournaments past
When Joe Cole looks forward to the World Cup, he always starts with a backwards glance.
Four years ago, Cole, by his own admission, was just glad to be in Japan, content that his status as a fringe player in the England squad that reached the quarter-finals was commensurate with his age and experience.
But the experience of going to Euro 2004 and not seeing a single minute of action is one he does not enjoy recalling, even if he does accept that the short-term pain contributed to long-term gain in terms of his development as a player over the last two years.
“I was a kid, 20-years-old at the last World Cup and I was happy to be there and enjoyed the experience,” Cole said ahead of England’s final warm-up for Germany, an Old Trafford friendly against Jamaica.
“But the last tournament was disappointing for me personally because I didn’t play at all. It hurts and I said then that I didn’t want that to happen again.
“You want to play and I said to myself ‘I don’t want to go to another tournament and not help the team or not make an impact’ so hopefully in whatever role I’m called upon this summer I can help us win some games.”
With Wayne Rooney set to miss some or all of the tournament, the importance of Cole’s creative spark for England has been increased and his recent form, for both club and country, has been reassuringly strong.
His ability to cut inside from his left-midfield berth and take opponents out of the game was at the root of much of England’s good work in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Hungary, in which Steven Gerrard was deployed in Rooney’s normal position behind Michael Owen.
For many of Cole’s admirers, the former West Ham player is equally well-equipped to exploit the freedom to roam offered by that particular role.
But it is indicative of how much more disciplined he has become, that there is no longer any serious questioning of his ability to hold down a midfield berth in which he has to balance the need to get forward with the more prosaic task of ensuring left-back Ashley Cole is not overly exposed.
That has been widely attributed to the guidance of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who has worked hard to eradicate Cole’s early tendency to over elaborate and concede possession too cheaply.
But the player himself slightly balks at suggestions he has undergone a sort of Damascene conversion to the importance of tracking back since moving to Stamford Bridge.
Having been so highly-rated as a teenage prodigy at West Ham, Cole believes he has suffered from having had to do his growing-up, as a footballer, in public.
“It has been difficult because all my mistakes have come under the scrutiny from everyone. That is no-one’s fault but it is how it was for me. I have lived with those (high) expectations for a long time.
“I don’t feel I have gone from the biggest duffer who has kicked a football to a good player. I have always been a good player who has just tried to get better.
“The last two years have been fantastic for me but the hard work starts now. I want to help the team to do something.”
Source:Soccer News
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