Mohammed Gargo (born 19 June 1975) is a Ghanaian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender.

Playing career

Club

Torino

Gargo's performances at the

1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fourth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Florence, Montecatini Terme, Viareggio, Massa, Carrara, and Livorno in Italy between 16 August and 31 August 1991. Players born after 1 Augu ...

brought him to the notice of European clubs'

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

. He had initially agreed to join Bayer 04 Leverkusen alongside fellow

Ghana national under-17 football team The Ghana national U-17 football team, known as the Black Starlets, is the youngest team that represents Ghana in football. They are two-time FIFA U-17 World Cup Champions in 1991 and 1995 and a two-time Runner-up in 1993 and 1997 ...

member Sebastian Barnes. However Leverkusen withdrew from the Gargo transfer when it became evident that they could not compete financially with a much larger offer from

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. In October 1991 a payment of 100,000,000

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

to Gargo's parents secured his move to Turin, where he was joined by his national under-17 team colleagues

Samuel Kuffour Samuel Osei "Sammy" Kuffour (born 3 September 1976) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his physical power, Kuffour is best remembered for his time with Bayern Munich, whom he represented for ...

and Emmanuel Duah. Torino's president Gian Mauro Borsano planned fake employment for the three players as "messengers" in his construction company until they were 18 years old and eligible to be registered as professional footballers. The plan was controversial and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) refused to register the Ghanaian players as either amateurs or professionals. FIGC president

Antonio Matarrese Antonio Matarrese (born 4 July 1940) is an Italian sports manager for football. He is known for having owned A.S. Bari for almost 20 years. Family His brothers also worked in notable positions. Giuseppe Matarrese, was the Bishop of Frascati from ...

compared the situation to the

trafficking of children Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...

. Although Gargo and his father emphasised that they were happy with the arrangements in Turin, the football authorities retained their opposition. An appeal by Torino and Gargo to Confederation of African Football (CAF) was thrown out in October 1992, by which time Kuffour and Duah had already left the club. CAF president

Issa Hayatou Issa Hayatou (born 9 August 1946) is a Cameroonian sports executive, former athlete and football administrator best known for serving as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) between 1988 and 2017. He served as the acting ...

was particularly hostile to Dominico Ricci, whose African Football Management agency had brokered the transfers. During the 1993–94 season, Gargo spent time at

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

, where his

cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

Ibrahim Tanko Ibrahim Anyars Tanko (born 25 July 1977) is a Ghanaian retired footballer who played mostly as a second striker or an attacking midfielder, scout and manager who last served as the head coach of the local Black Stars - Ghana A' national footbal ...

already played. He was restricted to the club's Amateure team in the

Oberliga Westfalen The Oberliga Westfalen is the highest level football league in the region of Westphalia, which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The league existed from 1978 to 2008, but was then replaced by the NRW-Liga, a new statewide league. Wit ...

, and when Dortmund tried to buy him outright Torino declined the transfer fee on offer. In November 1994

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

took Gargo to Bayern Munich. He suffered the same fate he had at Dortmund and was unable to conclude a transfer. In May 1994 Gargo had appeared for Torino in a non-competitive game against rivals Juventus. The "Memorial Giorgio Calleri" fixture was staged in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

and was marred by poor attendance and

hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

. Gargo was subjected to racist chanting, while Torino supporters mocked the recent death of Andrea Fortunato. Gargo scored in a 2–2 draw before Torino lost the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Despite his three years of inactivity, Gargo maintained ambitions of playing competitively for Torino. However he was not favoured by the club's incoming president Gianmarco Calleri.

Stoke City

Gargo joined Stoke City as a

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

trialist ahead of their 1995–96 campaign. After fielding him in a friendly match with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

, Stoke's manager

Lou Macari Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...

was impressed with Gargo's potential. However, Macari was less impressed with Gargo's poor attendance record and sudden unexplained departure, which took place shortly afterwards.

Udinese

Increasingly unhappy at his lack of competitive football, Gargo then joined Italian team

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

in October 1995. After a further year of inactivity, Gargo was allowed to register with Udinese before their 1996–97 season. He transferred to Udinese on a free transfer, on the expiry of his five-year contract with Torino. Real Tamale United remained entitled to a sell-on fee and Gargo gave his former club a promissory note for $20,000 so they did not dispute his transfer to Udinese. In

Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams. He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...

's progressive 3–4–3 formation, Gargo was usually deployed in defence, but was also capable of playing in midfield. The team performed above expectations although Gargo sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 4–0 defeat at

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

on 18 May 1997. With Udinese Gargo came to be recognised as a competent Serie A central defender, although troubled by frequent injuries. With his contract due to expire in 2001, he was linked with transfers to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

, and even an improbable return to Torino. In January 2003 he was loaned to

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

and in January 2004 sold to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

side

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

along with Vittorio Micolucci, in exchange for

Rodrigue Boisfer Rodrigue Boisfer (born 24 January 1981) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie B team Gubbio. Career Genoa Born in Marseille, Boisfer started his career at Monegasque club AS Monaco FC. He then left for Italian ''Serie B'' ...

and

Valon Behrami Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Behrami was capped 83 times at international level by the Switzerland national team, playing at four FIFA World Cups, UEFA Euro 2008 and UE ...

, all in a co-ownership deal, which few years later accused for inflated price in order to create paper profit. Udinese and Genoa were already fined in June 2008 by FIGC and criminal charge were continued.

International

Gargo was a member of the men's national team that won the bronze medal at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain, and gold in the

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 2013 Gargo claimed that he had refused an approach to play for Ghana at the 2006 FIFA Women's World Cup, the first time the nation had qualified, after being asked to pay a

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

Coaching career

Gargo started after his retirement the job as coach in February 2010 by

New Edubiase United New Edubiase United Football Club are a Ghanaian professional association football club, based in New Edubiase and currently a member of the Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league ...

. He trained the club of the Poly Tank Division One League until summer 2010. On 6 August 2010, he was named as the new manager of Poly Tank Division One League rival Real Tamale United. He coached the club RTU until November 2012 and resigned after the relegation from the

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

his contract. Gargo was appointed manager of Ghana Premier League club BA United in March 2015, but was sacked after one match when he accused his players of betting against themselves. The following year a short spell in charge of

Okwawu United Okwawu United is a Ghanaian professional Football team, football club based in Nkawkaw, Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region. They are competing in the Eastern Region Division Two League, Ghana, Division Two League. Their home stadium is Nkawkaw ...

ended when he fell out with his players again, this time accusing them of "sexually promiscuous acts" in the club house. In September 2018

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club

Tura Magic F.C. Tura Magic F.C. is a Football in Namibia, Namibian football club based in Windhoek. It plays in the Namibia Premier Football League. References

2006 establishments in Namibia Association football clubs established in 2006 Football club ...

signed a contract with Gargo as their head coach.

Personal life

Gargo was born in the Burma Camp in Accra, where his father was a

Physical training instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Ph ...

in the

Ghana Army The Ghana Army (GA) is the main ground warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal Wes ...

. The family hailed from

Bawku Bawku is a town and is the capital of the Bawku Municipal District, district in the Upper East region of north Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Bawku has a 2012 settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community ...

, part of the of Busanga tribe of Mandé ethnicity.

Honours

Udinese * UEFA Intertoto Cup:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gargo, Mohammed 1975 births Living people Association football defenders Ghanaian footballers Ghana international footballers Ghana under-20 international footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Ghana Olympic bronze medalists for Ghana 1992 African Cup of Nations players 1998 African Cup of Nations players 2000 African Cup of Nations players Torino F.C. players Borussia Dortmund II players FC Bayern Munich II players Stoke City F.C. players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Udinese Calcio players Venezia F.C. players Genoa C.F.C. players Al-Wakrah SC players Real Tamale United players Ashanti Gold SC players Serie A players Serie B players Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Qatar Place of birth missing (living people) Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Qatar Stars League players Ghana Premier League players Real Tamale United managers Ghana Premier League managers New Edubiase United F.C. managers