Frank Lampard has bolstered his Derby County defence with the signing of his former England and Chelsea teammate Ashley Cole.


Cole will bring two decades of professional football experience to Pride Park Stadium. In a career that has seen him largely regarded as the best full-back of his generation, the left-back has collected a wealth of silverware with Arsenal and Chelsea and became the most capped English full-back in history.

The 2010 England Player of the Year will reunite with Lampard after the pair spent eight seasons together at Stamford Bridge and represented England in two World Cups and a European Championship together.

THE EARLY YEARS…

Twenty years ago, at the age of 18, Cole made his professional debut for his boyhood club Arsenal against Middlesbrough in the League Cup. He continued his development on loan at Crystal Palace for part of the 1999/00 season before returning to the Gunners to make his mark in the first-team.


An injury to their established left-back, Sylvinho, marked the rise of Cole as he seized the opportunity while the Brazilian was recovering and remained as a starter after.

His silverware collection started during his time at Arsenal beginning in 2002 when he won the Premier League title and the FA Cup in the same season. He went on to add another league title (2004) and FA Cup titles (2003 and 2005) with the Gunners.

During the 2003/04 season he was an integral member of ‘The Invincible’ team who remained undefeated for the campaign.

Though hampered by injury for much of the 2005/06 season, he recovered in time for the UEFA Champions League final defeat against Barcelona.

After 228 first-team appearances for Arsenal and nine goals, Cole signed for London rivals Chelsea in August 2006 where he solidified his status as the best left-back of his generation according to several fellow professionals and managers.

ADDING TO THE SILVERWARE COLLECTION…

Cole’s eight-year stay at Stamford Bridge saw him add another four FA Cup winners medals to his collection taking his tally to seven – the most of any player in history.


His seventh FA Cup title came in the 2011/12 season when he also became champion of Europe at the heart of the Blues’ UEFA Champions League campaign.

The defender helped to ensure Chelsea’s trip to the final after his goal-line clearance denied Barcelona an away goal in the first-leg of the semi-final and the 3-2 victory on aggregate saw them through to the final against Bayern Munich. Again, Cole was pivotal in the victory, both for his defending and for scoring in the penalty shoot-out.

Alongside Lampard, Cole won a Premier League title, four FA Cups, one League Cup, the Community Shield and both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League once with Chelsea.

THE MOVE FROM ENGLISH FOOTBALL…

After 338 appearances for the Blues and seven goals, Cole signed for Roma in 2014 where he spent a year and a half.From Italy, he moved to USA, signing for LA Galaxy in January 2016.


In 2016, Cole was part of the LA Galaxy’s MLS Play-Off Cup campaign where the Californian side reached the Western Conference semi-finals where they lost to Colorado Rapids on penalties.

ENGLAND’S MOST CAPPED FULL BACK…

Cole’s journey to become England’s most-capped full-back in history began in March 2001 under Sven-Goran Eriksson, who handed him his debut against Albania.

A year later, the defender played in the first of his three World Cups.


In 2004, both Lampard and Cole were in the Team of the Tournament as well as Sol Campbell and Wayne Rooney as England reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 where they were knocked out by Portugal on penalties.

In 2010, after drawing level with Kenny Sansom as the most-capped full-back in England’s history with 86, Cole was voted England’s Player of the Year.

Cole received his 100th cap for the Three Lions at Wembley Stadium in a 2-1 victory over Brazil in February 2013.

Ahead of the 2014 World Cup, Cole announced his retirement from international football after 107 caps.