The former Chelsea midfielder, Joe Cole admits his passion for football had faded until he went to the new tropical surroundings across the Atlantic Ocean.

He mentioned his 76th minute of the 4-1 victory against Southend, on 14th of January 2009, as a decisive minute of his football career as his cruciate ligament injury changed the way he trains, and plays, till now.

His speed of thought was still intact, and same as his love of the game, until after a free transfer to Liverpool he then got to know that his late career would be surrounded by injuries and that he is prone to struggling while handling the demands of higher football clubs.

The 35-year old midfielder was pushing himself to make an impact at Liverpool where he suffered a reoccurrence of his knee injury.

He later moved to Lille to play alongside Eden Hazard and DimitriPayet, then back to England in Coventry City and Aston Villa, to continue his career.

The Englishman has now featured in many matches for Tampa Bay in 13 months he had used, and he believes the tropical heat of Florida has brought back much of what he had lost, which is his passion for the game.

“Definitely, I had double thoughts concerning myself in England,” He told Goal at the Tampa Museum of Art.

“My knee injury in my last season at Chelsea was a huge criterion. It was a big game changer for me as a football player and getting back to my top level after that was seeming impossible.” He added.

The player also noted that he now obeys his body and only goes for training when he’s feeling well.

Joe Cole claims he now feels as good as when he was 30 years of age, and still enjoying his football.