Craitman O'Neale

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Craitman O'Neale
Personal information
Full nameCraitman O'Neale
Year of birth1979
Place of birthOsĵätoņCraitland
Playing positionCentre-back
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)*
2003–13Craitland Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC
International career
2012–13Craitland Craitland8(0)
* Appearances (Goals)
Player has received at least one call-up for any emboldened national teams

Craitman O'Neale is a Craitish former-footballer who last played for Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC, with whom he spent his entire professional career. A centre-back by trade, O'Neale gained eight caps as somewhat of an international late bloomer.

Career

Club

At the age of 23, O'Neale joined his hometown club Osĵätoņ Feyenoord FC—as Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC were then known—as a professional ahead of the inaugural CrFA League 1 season, and was given the number 5 jersey. Dependant on the formation utilised by the club's management, O'Neale was either used as a starter in a back four or as an able deputy to Paulio Demhivo during the majority of his early career with the Aztecs. While O'Neale's contributions were limited in the team's earlier successes, being primarily a substitute in their 2005 and 2006 league title wins, he saw more game time in cup competitions and played his part in the 2004 and 2007 King's Cup final triumphs. An injury to Demhivo in the 2008 season gave O'Neale more opportunities to start, but also saw further competition from new arrival Jyrki Paatelainen in central defence.

With an increase in the number of games in the domestic season from 2011 onward, O'Neale played more frequently as the squad rotated and was involved in the side's run to the 2011 EMUFA Champions' League final. This in turn led to qualifying for the 2012 FMF Champions' League, which the team won as part of a season with multiple success as a fourth league title was also added to O'Neale's honours. Despite making a number of appearances through the season, now aged 34, O'Neale announced his retirement from football that summer after eleven seasons with the Aztecs.

International

O'Neale was overlooked for Craitland for a number of years due to a lack of starting line-up consistency domestically, although he received call-ups in 2007, for an exhibition match, and 2009, for the summer's training squad, but wasn't capped either time. Later in his career, O'Neale was an unexpected addition to the Craitish squad for EMU 2012, and made his début in a pre-tournament friendly versus New Vaduz, before the team's third-placed finish. O'Neale missed-out on a place in that year's World Cup team, but continued to be involved in the international setup into 2013, playing in qualifiers and making the EMU 2013 roster. However, Craitland were eliminated in the group stage for the first time and, having announced his desire to retire, O'Neale was handed a final cap in a 2–1 friendly win over Valencia following the tournament. Although O'Neale only began playing for the national team relatively late; aged 32, he gained a total of eight caps before calling time on his playing career in 2013.

Honours

Osĵätoņ Aztecs FC

Personal life

O'Neale was born in Osĵätoņ to a family with Treesian ancestry. Eight years his junior, O'Neale's brother is fellow football player Ĵulian, who plays as a forward.