Joe Cole was lucky enough to play with some truly incredible players during his time at Chelsea.
Joe Cole said Michael Ballack was incredible at Chelsea, while the likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry were also world beaters at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking on Tales, Tears and Trophies, Joe Cole was asked to name the most underrated player he ever played with.
Cole played with some seriously underrated players during his career, but according to the former England international, Paulo Ferreira is the most underrated footballer he has ever shared a pitch with.
Paulo Ferreira is underrated
Cole named his most underrated teammate, opting to go for the Portuguese defender.
Ferreira was a real favourite of Jose Mourinho’s, and, while he didn’t necessarily get the recognition of others, he was, in his own way, a Chelsea legend.
Cole recently named Carlo Ancelotti as his smartest manager, and Ferreira also featured in that team under the Italian.
“Most underrated. Do you know, he don’t get a lot of respect. Not respect, but recognition,” Cole said.
“And I always say his name, Paulo Ferreira, because he played right back a lot, and then I played on the right. So he’s a fantastic footballer, defensively really good. Had some big games in cup finals against United.
“I think FA Cup final, he marked Cristiano, done a great job on him, but he’s one, he’s most underrated. Gudjohnsen as well.”
What Jose Mourinho said about Paulo Ferreira
Ferreira was an underrated player at Chelsea, and that’s because he was in that sweet spot in terms of ability and consistency.
Ferreira was never a world-class player who would light up a game, but, when he was on the pitch, you knew he would never let you down.
Jose Mourinho perfectly summed Ferreira up as a player during his time at Chelsea, via Sky Sports.
“The boy never gets injured, which means he consistently plays around 60 games a season, no problem,” said Mourinho.
“For me this makes him the world’s best right back – which is why I signed him for Chelsea.
“Paulo will never get a mark of 10 out of 10 in a game or even nine, but neither will he ever get below a seven or an eight.”
Ferreira was never one of Chelsea’s best players, but he was someone you could easily rely on in any game to produce a steady performance.
Chelsea could certainly do with a player like Ferreira these days as they ebb and flow between looking like title contenders and struggling to hold on to a place in the top four.
