Nigel Reo-Coker

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Personal information
Nigel Reo-Coker
Full name	Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker
Date of birth	May 14, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth	Croydon, London, U.K.
Height	5 ft 9 in / 1.75 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	West Ham United
Number	20
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002 - 2004 2004 —	Wimbledon West Ham United	058 0(6) 112 (11)
National team²
2003 —	England U21	018 0(0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:40, 11 February 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 12:48, 25 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker (born May 14, 1984 in Croydon) is an English professional footballer. Reo-Coker, a midfielder, currently plays for West Ham United and wears squad number 20.

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 and sisters Natalie and Vanessa when his parents split up in 1990.

Reo-Coker was spotted by London club Wimbledon at the age of 13 while playing for local club 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 whilst at Wimbledon. In March 2003, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp agreed a deal to bring Reo-Coker (as well as team mate Jobi McAnuff) to the south coast club in preparation for their first Premiership season. Financial problems at Wimbledon resulted in the players remaining at Selhurst Park, despite the fact that they had already signed contracts with Pompey.

After an impressive first half of the 2003-04 season, he signed for West Ham. He quickly became a regular member of Alan Pardew's first team and scored three times to help them win promotion in 2004-05 through the play-offs. He is currently the club captain.

For England U-21s, Reo-Coker has been captain and has made a total of 11 appearances (up to the end of their 2006 European Under-21 Football Championship qualification campaign). He will still be eligible for England U-21s until the end of the 2007 European Under-21 Championship.

Reo-Coker is of Sierra Leonean descent and has stated that he would consider any future call-ups to the West African nation.

In May 2006, Reo-Coker was named as the standby midfield player for England's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. It was believed that if Jermaine Jenas failed to recover from a fractured shin, Reo-Coker would have taken his place in the 23-man squad. However, on May 22 the FA announced that Reo-Coker would himself be replaced, by Phil Neville, as Reo-Coker's back problems made him unable to compete in the World Cup.

The 2006-07 Premiership campaign began less successfully for West Ham and Reo-Coker was singled out by some groups as being the main culprit for this slump which left West Ham perilously close to the bottom three, and ultimately led to the sacking of manager Alan Pardew.

On the 24th March 2007, Reo-Coker was the first Englishman to captain a side out at the new Wembley Stadium in the first competitive match at England's new home. He led out England Under 21's against Italy Under 21's in a match that finished 3-3.