It seems like a lifetime ago when Bruce Arena brought the notorious English left back stateside to replace Todd Dunivant.
No one thought an aging defender who struggled to see the pitch at Roma would work out. If that weren’t enough, the Champions League winner drew the ire of Galaxy fans when Cole told a reporter he had rejected earlier offers to come to MLS because he wasn’t ready to “relax on the bench”. The knives were out.
And yet Ashley Cole proved everyone wrong, establishing himself as one of the finest left backs in the league and winning over the fans.