{"id":1105922,"date":"2019-09-11T17:56:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T16:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1105922"},"modified":"2019-09-11T17:56:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T16:56:54","slug":"ashley-cole-chain-smoke-pocket-ronaldo-emile-heskey","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/ashley-cole-chain-smoke-pocket-ronaldo-emile-heskey\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Chain-smoking didn’t stop Ashley Cole becoming the best of England’s Golden Generation’ – Emile Heskey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emile Heskey has named Ashley Cole as the “finest” player of the ‘Golden Generation’ that played for England in the previous decade.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A hugely talented group including the likes David Beckham, Sol Campbell, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney emerged as England regulars in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Was Ashley Cole the best of England’s ‘Golden Generation’? Five things to know…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  • Cole was considered one of the world’s best defenders during his playing days.<\/li>\n
  • His quality helped him become England’s sixth-most capped player of all time (107).<\/li>\n
  • The former Chelsea star was part of the Three Lions’ ‘Golden Generation’.<\/li>\n
  • The likes of Beckham, Scholes and Gerrard stole most of the headlines.<\/li>\n
  • But Heskey thinks Cole was the “finest” of the lot, despite being a chain-smoker.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7360490-squawka-talker-special-champions-league-2019-20-preview<\/p>\n

    Heskey, who has written a new book about his career, often partnered Michael Owen up front for the Three Lions and had a close-up view of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’.<\/p>\n

    And in his book, the former Liverpool striker claims Cole was the best of the lot, partly because he could keep Cristiano Ronaldo “in his pocket” despite being a “chain-smoker”.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t know what it feels like to smoke but I couldn\u2019t imagine that it helps you a lot,\u201d Heskey told the Guardian<\/a> in an interview about the book.<\/p>\n

    Despite Cole’s bad habit doing little to hinder him in Heskey’s eyes, it did eventually play a big part in his demise at Chelsea<\/a>, leaving him at odds with former boss Jose Mourinho before the defender moved on to Roma in 2014.<\/p>\n

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    Cole made 107 appearances for England before ending his international career shortly before his move to Roma. He retired from football altogether following spells with LA Galaxy and Derby County.<\/p>\n

    The 38-year-old won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and the Champions League during a highly successful career.<\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, Heskey retired from England duty in 2010 and ended his club career in 2016.<\/p>\n