Ligue 1
Joe Cole embraces life with Lille to reinvigorate his England hopes
guardian.co.uk Oct 14 2011 07:37
Winger has refound his joie de vivre since moving to France, so much so he has gone back to school to learn the languageEarly afternoon drinking decaffeinated espresso at a cafe just off Lille's Place du Général de Gaulle, the placarded stragglers from a trade union protest against austerity measures adding to the hustle and bustle on the cobbled street, and the Englishman abroad seems at ease. Content, even. Joe Cole has training scheduled for later in the day before he and his wife, Carly, attend a first classroom French lesson since their schooldays. Life is hectic but, as the drone from the strikers' megaphones recedes, there is time to take it all in."Our feet haven't touched the floor since we arrived but we're slowly getting the most important thin