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 Player Profile
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Sierra Leone International Football Academy - Est. 2007 |
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SLIFA > global > Players > Profiles > Player Profile
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Nigel Reo-Coker |
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| Alias: |
n/a |
| Date of Birth: |
05/14/1984 |
| Place of Birth: |
London, England |
| Position: |
Midfielder |
| Height: |
5' 9 |
| Previous Club: |
West Ham |
| Current Club: |
Aston Villa |
| Country: |
England |
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| Honors: |
Nigel Reo-Coker was born on May 14, 1984 in Thornton
Heath, Croydon.As a child Reo-Coker spent six years in Sierra Leone,
where his father, Ransford, was a doctor. He moved back to London with
his mother Agnes-Lucinda.
Wimbledon
Reo-Coker was spotted by London club Wimbledon at the age of 13 after
representing the borough of Croydon. He came through the ranks at
Wimbledon and became captain after progressing to the first team. He
also made his debut for the England Under-21s while at Wimbledon. In
March 2003, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp agreed a deal to bring
Reo-Coker to the south coast club in preparation for their first
Premiership season. Financial problems resulted in the player remaining
at Wimbledon despite having already signed contracts with Portsmouth.
Reo-Coker made 64 appearances for Wimbledon in all competition, scoring
six goals.
West Ham United
After an impressive first half of the 2003-04 season, he signed for West
Ham in January 2004.He quickly became a regular member of Alan Pardew's
first team and was made the club captain. He scored three times to help
the club win promotion in 2004-05 through the play-offs and led the team
to the FA Cup Final in May 2006.
Reo-Coker recovered his form in the latter part of the season and a run
of seven wins in nine games saw West Ham escape relegation on the last
day of the season.
It was later confirmed that Reo-Coker had handed in a transfer request
to the club after the board had failed to reassure him concerning his
future at West Ham.
Aston Villa
Reo-Coker joined Aston Villa on 5 July 2007 for a reported £8.5 million,
signing a four-year deal. Reo-Coker scored his first goal for Villa in a
5-0 League Cup 2nd round victory over Wrexham on the 28 August 2007.On
Monday 21st of January 2008 Reo-Coker captained Aston Villa in the
absence of regular captain Gareth Barry against Liverpool at Anfield.
International career
Reo-Coker was first selected for the England U-21 squad against Turkey
in October 2003. On 24 March 2007, Reo-Coker led out England Under 21s
against Italy Under 21s, becoming the first Englishman to captain a side
at the new Wembley Stadium. The match finished 3-3.
In May 2006, Reo-Coker was named as the standby midfield player for
England's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. However, on May 22 the FA announced
that Reo-Coker would be replaced by Phil Neville as Reo-Coker's back
problems made him unable to compete in the World Cup.
Reo-Coker is of Sierra Leonean descent and
has stated that he would consider any future call-ups to the West
African nation.
He captained the England U21s throughout the 2007 UEFA Under-21
Championship. A second booking in the tournament received needlessly in
the semi-final against the hosts, the Netherlands, meant he would have
missed the final should England have progressed. It also meant that the
match would be his final game for the team due to his age. The
semi-final went to penalties and the Netherlands eventually won 13-12.
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