Footballers on holiday

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With the Barclays Premier League 2013/14 season just around the corner, Ashley Cole could be forgiven for making sure he basked in the bright sunlight of the Spanish climate right till the end before he started pre-season training this week. The footballer, currently plying his trade for Chelsea FC is on a holiday with his mates in Marbella. The fashion conscious among you would have spotted his weird combination of underwear beneath his Gingham swimming shorts.

As is custom among the young, rich and single footballers of the modern game, none of them can escape the glares of the media, as well female attention wherever they go, and this holiday was no exception. No one can blame the 32 year old Ashley for taking full advantage of his current relationship status and chatting to as many bikini-clad ladies as he possibly can.

“Ibiza here we come!” Chelsee Healey whisks her good friend Tulisa away on holiday as they bid to put the X Factor star’s recent troubles with the law behind her. Supermodel Heidi Klum brightens her Twitter followers’ day by tweeting a cheeky picture of her in a strapless bikini whilst on a beach during her holiday

No doubt it was a celebratory occasion for Ashley Cole and his friends as evidenced by them taking a couple of large alcohol bottles with them into the Ocean Club. For his sake, we hope the girls he was speaking to had not mistaken him for Daley, a contestant on the current edition of Big Brother, but rather the fact he is a footballer.

Last week the star tweeted his frustration at being constantly mistaken for the Big Brother contestant: “Apart from his thick eyebrows, Daley looks nothing like me”. He was one of the most played members among his colleagues after making 51 appearances in all competitions for his club last season. His return this week will coincide with the return of the Special One as he aims to the highs of their premiership prowess.

 

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Five best Socceroos to play in the EPL

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It is the ultimate aim of any young Australian footballer to play in the English Premier League, given its truly global pull and the chance to play in magnificent stadiums in front of passionate crowds.  

Arguably the first Australian to create a stir in England’s top division was Craig Johnston, who became a crowd favourite at Liverpool between 1981 and 1988, famously scoring in the 1986 FA Cup final and winning the league no less than five times. No Aussie has won more trophies than Johnston, but he is perhaps not the best Australian to play in England – in addition, he played before the EPL formed in 1991.

So, in the 21 years since then, here are five of the best Australians to ply their trade in what is widely thought of as the toughest football league on the planet.

Harry Kewell

A native of Western Sydney, Kewell made his debut for Leeds United as a 17-year-old in 1997, and was part of a golden generation of players at Elland Road in the years following. He took the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2000 and helped Leeds to the Champions League semi-finals the following year. He moved to Liverpool in 2003, where across five years he suffered several serious injuries along with some major highs – none more so than in 2005 when he started in the Champions League final against AC Milan, which the Reds won on penalties. He also played in the CL final against Milan in 2007, losing this time, and won the FA Cup in 2006. In 2008, he left English football to play for Galatasaray in Turkey.

Tim Cahill

Cahill first came to the attention of the wider English public when he was central in Millwall’s run to the FA Cup final of 2004 where the bookies would have had the lions at long shots all the way. On the back of that he moved to Everton, where he has been one of the Toffees’ most consistent players. A skilful and supremely fit goal-scoring midfielder, Cahill was Everton’s Player of the Season in his first season, and was even nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2006. At his peak, Cahill remains among the Premier League’s best midfielders.

Mark Schwarzer

Goalkeeper Schwarzer is another Sydney boy whose durability and consistency is famous among English fans. He joined Middlesbrough from Bradford City in 1997, going on to make 445 appearances for the club. He won the League Cup in 2004 and was a UEFA Cup runner-up in 2006. He moved to Fulham in 2008, where he has been a vital cog behind their defence. He is the longest-serving foreigner with one club (Middlesbrough).

Mark Bosnich

Sometimes brilliant, sometimes controversial, never boring, Bosnich made his name with Aston Villa, who he played for between 1992 and 1999. In this time he became one of the league’s best goalkeepers, known for his agility. He won the League Cup with Villa in 1994 and 1996. In 1999 he left for Manchester United on a free transfer, where he won both the Premier League and the Toyota World Club Championship. A move to Chelsea in 2001 was less successful, ending his time in England’s top flight.

Mark Viduka

This Melbourne-born striker polarised opinion among soccer fans, but none can deny that on his day he was more than a handful for the best defences. Moving to Leeds from Celtic in 2000, he scored 22 goals in the 2002/2003 season, but was ultimately forced to move on from Elland Road due to Leeds’ financial woes. He ended up at Middlesbrough in 2004, where he generally played well despite injuries. A move to Newcastle United in 2007 proved less fruitful, Viduka leaving England upon Newcastle’s relegation in 2009.