Craig CraiCo

Craig Andrew Cohen (born 16 July 1983) is an English midfielder who plays for Newcastle Geordies and England. In the vein of most Brazilian footballers, he prefers to be known by his nickname, CraiCo. Sometimes he is also called Craig CraiCo.

Despite his Jewish surname Cohen, CraiCo is not Jewish. His last name was originally McCallan, the surname of his paternal father who left the family when Craig was very young, and CraiCo's mother later married a Jew, with Craig adopting his stepfather's surname.

Club career
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, CraiCo started his football career with local Sunday League side Gosforth Red Star in 2000. In late 2001, he caught the eye of the local Major League Football (now BritLeague) club Newcastle Earthquakes (now Newcastle Geordies), and he signed a three-year contract in January 2002.

When the Earthquakes merged with Sheffield Strikers, to become Monsters FC following the 2005 season, Cohen decided to try his luck abroad and signed for Greek side Athlitikos, who at the time were marketing themselves in English as the Athens Athletics and playing in the Europe-wide European Super League (ESL). He struggled in Greece, but his stunning goals, eight of them he scored, meant he was still popular among the supporters.

After the 2006 season, he moved to the Newcastle Geordies, who were resurrected as an expansion club in MLF for the 2007 season. After his European experience, Cohen wanted to set himself apart from the others, and it was during this time he first wore "CraiCo" on the back of his shirt (CraiCo, of course, being a diminutive of Craig Cohen.)

However only after half a season back on Tyneside, he moved to FC London, despite his stunning performances for Newcastle, which earned him his first England call-up and cap, caught the eye of the capital club.

However, he fell out with FCL's Spanish manager Juan Antonio García, who had replaced Bobby Hutchinson who in turn had stunningly resigned weeks earlier, and was transfer-listed at the end of the season.

CraiCo signed for city rivals London United, where Hutchinson was now the manager. In his first season, they won the Champions League and the BritLeague; this was followed by another Champions League the following year.

In July 2011, a highly-unsettled CraiCo wanted to leave London United, and subsequently signed for Spanish side Madrid Magic for an undisclosed fee (but believed be between £40m-60m).

International career
CraiCo won his first England cap in 2007, and since then has been an England regular.

In his first international tournament, EuroCup 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, it was a mixed campaign for the Geordie midfielder, beginning with his sending off in the opening match against Ireland for denying a goal-scoring opportunity when the ball accidentally hit his hand on the line. He then played a big role in the quarter-final win against Portugal, scoring in the victory. However, he was booked in the semi-final win against Croatia, which meant he had to miss out on England's 1-0 final victory over Spain.

He was called up to England's World Cup 2010 squad and the tournament started with a convincing 3-1 win over Uruguay. CraiCo then scored the second goal in a 3-0 win over Sweden, but was rested for England's 7-0 thrashing of Mexico, as England had already qualified for the second round. In the last 16 tie with Hungary, CraiCo scored a brace and also got an assist after a corner which was headed in by captain Daniel Perry. England winning 4-0. He then played in the 2-0 wins over Australia and Croatia on their way to the final against Germany. England got off to the worst possible start when Guenther Hessler gave Germany to lead after eleven minutes, before Edward Redwood equalised 22 minutes later, and the game went to extra-time. CraiCo scored towards the end of the first period, but Sergio Steiner scored right at the end of extra-time to force a penalty shoot-out. England went on to improbably win the shootout 3-1, and CraiCo was not needed to take a spot-kick. CraiCo became a World Champion.

Personal life
CraiCo married English singer Sunni Gordon in December 2010.

London United

 * BritLeague Championship winner: 2008
 * CSA Champions League winner: 2007-08, 2008-09
 * CSA European Club Championship winner: 2010-11

England

 * CSA EuroCup winner: 2008
 * CSA MegaCup third place: 2009
 * CSA World Cup winner: 2010