It never really hit Carlton Cole just how much time he's spent around American soccer. But as he sits deep in the bowels of Atlanta United's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it starts to all come together.
There was the MLS All-Star Game back in 2008, when he led the line for West Ham against a team that included David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Juan Pablo Angel. There was that brief stay in the USL with the Sacramento Republic at the tail end of his playing career. There was that life-changing week in Raleigh for the initial TST, too.
All unique and, in some ways, weird experiences that have helped him find his own place in the wild world of the American game.
And while he is still eager to pick a fight with anyone that calls the game soccer instead of football, Cole has found his own appreciation for the sport in the U.S., and it's that appreciation that recently brought him to Atlanta. He arrived to represent West Ham, the club near and dear to his heart, as they prepare to embark on their own American adventure this summer.
The Hammers will take part in the Premier League Summer Series alongside Manchester United, Bournemouth and Everton, playing in Atlanta, Chicago and New Jersey in the English league's latest push to market itself to the ever-growing American market. Cole is at the forefront, visiting training facilities, bars and MLS stadiums to, as he so eloquently puts it, "spread the good name of West Ham United".
Now seven years since he's retired, Cole remains totally connected to West Ham, the club he represented for a decade of his life. He scored 68 goals across 293 appearances for the club, living some of his best and worst moments in the claret and blue.
The days of him wearing that shirt are long over, but he's now the London club's renaissance man: part-time ambassador, part-time youth mentor, part-time loans manager and, at least for one summer, part-time player. In some ways, he's Mr. West Ham, which is why he'll be right at the forefront of the club's American push this summer.
"Listen, because of football, I've gotten to travel the world," Cole tells GOAL. "I've met so many different people that all have different perspectives of the game, and it's all been beautiful, man. When you summarize it and add it up, football takes me across the whole world and I still get to enjoy it from a different point of view. It's been a great journey so far, and it's still ongoing for me. That's why I like to say that football has been a joy to my life in all aspects."
Ahead of the West Ham's big summer, Cole discussed the club's aims, the growth of American soccer and the joy of representing his team in the latest GOAL Convo, a recurring Q&A with central figures in soccer.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
