Ugochuku Ehiogu (; 3 November 1972 – 21 April 2017) was an English 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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

from 1989 to 2009. He was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team until his death in April 2017. He played in the

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 ...

with lengthy spells at Aston Villa and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He also played in the Football League for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, as well as a spell in the Scottish Premier League with Rangers. He won two Football League Cups, with Aston Villa in 1996 and then with Middlesbrough in 2004. Ehiogu was an

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

, with a record of 4 caps and 1 goal. In 1993, playing for the England under-21 team, he became the first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

player to captain an England team in a competitive match. In 2012, he came out of brief retirement by signing for non-league side

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

to participate in the club's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

games alongside other retired veteran players. Ehiogu died on 21 April 2017 after suffering a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground.

Club career

Early life

Ehiogu was born in Hackney, London, into a family of Nigerian background. He began his career at

as a trainee, turning professional in 1989.

Aston Villa

After just a few games for Albion in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939), commonly known as "Big Ron" or "Mr. Bojangles", is an English former football player and manager. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits. Nic ...

brought him to First Division club Aston Villa for a £40,000 fee in August 1991. By 1994, he had replaced Shaun Teale as the main central defensive partner to Paul McGrath. In the 1993–94 season Villa played

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

over two legs in the semi-finals of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, in which Ehiogu took part in the second leg. Ehiogu was selected as a substitute and came on to replace

Ray Houghton Raymond James Houghton (born 9 January 1962) is a former professional footballer and current sports analyst and commentator with RTÉ Sport. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably playing for Liverpool where he won two First Division titles ...

during the game, helping the team to a 3–1 win leaving the two legs at 4–4 on aggregate. In the following penalty shoot-out he went on the take the fifth penalty, which he struck against the bar and missed. Ron Atkinson had told ''The Independent'' newspaper that it was "the most dramatic football match" of his managerial career. However, Villa went on to win the shootout for a League Cup final showdown with Manchester United, which Ehiogu missed out on. In the 1994–95 season, Villa competed in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

, where in the second round second leg in a match against Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

, Ehiogu scored in the 90th minute in a 2–1 home win. However, this wasn't enough as the tie ended 2–2 on aggregate, meaning Trabzonspor went through on the away goals rule. He was part of the Villa team that won the 1995–96 Football League Cup, as Villa beat

3–0 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. Ehiogu also received a runners-up medal when Villa lost 1–0 to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the

2000 FA Cup Final The 2000 FA Cup Final was the 119th final of the FA Cup, and the 72nd (excluding replays) and last to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. It took place on 20 May 2000 and was contested between Chelsea and Aston Villa, the latter making its fi ...

. He remained at the club for nine years, making over 300 appearances in all competitions until November 2000, when he joined

from Villa for, at the time, a club record fee of £8 million. The deal went ahead after negotiations between Villa and West Bromwich Albion, whose 50% sell-on clause on the player had been seen as a stumbling block to the move.

Middlesbrough

His career at Boro got off on the wrong foot when he was forced to limp off with a calf injury five minutes into his debut at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. Whilst at Middlesbrough, Ehiogu quickly became a mainstay in the central defence since joining the club and rejoining his former teammate

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

in central defence. He missed the start of the 2003–04 season with a knee injury sustained in the final match of the previous season. He returned in time to play in Boro's League Cup final win against Bolton Wanderers, the first major trophy in the club's history. Only into the third game at the start of 2004–05 season Ehiogu had an accidental clash with his own keeper

Mark Schwarzer Mark Schwarzer (; born 6 October 1972) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented Australia at international level from 1993 to 2013, and was selected for both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups ...

which resulted in knee ligament damage. Again he was forced to miss many important games, although Boro still managed to secure a place in the

for a second successive season. He agreed a loan move to West Bromwich Albion during the January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

of 2006, but this move was cancelled when a number of Middlesbrough players became injured. West Brom then tried to secure a permanent transfer, but were unable to agree personal terms with Ehiogu. On 23 November 2006, he moved to

on loan. He made six appearances and scored one goal against Barnsley and also an own goal against Stoke, during his spell at Leeds, which ended in January 2007 when his loan deal expired. After returning to Boro, he made one final appearance for the club.

Rangers

Ehiogu was released from his contract at Middlesbrough and signed an 18-month contract with Scottish Premier League club Rangers in January 2007. His first goal for Rangers came in March 2007 with a spectacular overhead kick in his first

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

game, giving Rangers a 1–0 win against Celtic. The Rangers fans voted for Ehiogu's goal against Celtic as their ''Goal of the Season''. Ehiogu found his first team opportunities limited at the start of the 2007–08 season, with Carlos Cuéllar and David Weir being preferred by manager

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

. He was released by Rangers that January.

Sheffield United

On 16 January 2008, it was reported that

were interested in signing Ehiogu. The next day he was released by Rangers and travelled down to Sheffield for talks with club manager

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

. He completed the move on 18 January 2008. Ehiogu made his first team debut for the Blades in a 1–1 home draw with

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

at the end of January, and was used as a defensive cover for the remainder of the season. With injuries and suspensions to his fellow defenders in the early stages of the following season he forced his way into the first team and was rewarded with what turned out to be his only goal in Blades colours, scoring the winner against Preston North End in October 2008. Having embarked on his most successful spell for United he suffered an injury in the Boxing Day game against

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

which sidelined him for the rest of the season. After the Blades failed to gain promotion, Ehiogu was released at the end of the season when his contract expired as the club tried to cut costs. On 3 August 2009, Ehiogu retired from football after a trial with

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

Wembley

On 24 August 2012, Ehiogu came out of retirement to sign for

, agreeing to play in the club's

games alongside fellow former professionals

Ray Parlour Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport. He was a midfielder from 1992 to 2007, and spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hul ...

Martin Keown Martin Raymond Keown (; born 24 July 1966) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club a ...

Claudio Caniggia Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both ...

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For m ...

and

Graeme Le Saux Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit. As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southamp ...

. Ehiogu played alongside Caniggia in the club's 2–2 draw with

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

in the preliminary round. Wembley subsequently lost the replay 5–0.

International career

In April 1993, Ehiogu became the first black player to captain an England team in a competitive match, in a game for the England U21 team against the Netherlands. Ehiogu made his senior England debut on 23 May 1996, replacing

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 t ...

after 76 minutes of a 3–0 friendly win against China at the

Workers' Stadium The Workers' Stadium (), often called Gongti, Gong Ti or Kung T'i, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Chaoyang District of north-eastern Beijing, China. It was mostly used for association football matches. The stadium was built in 1959 and was l ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He went on to win another three caps in friendly matches and scored once for his country, a header in a 3–0 victory over

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 28 February 2001 at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

Coaching career

Ehiogu worked with the England under-20 football team in 2013 and was part of

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

's coaching team at the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

. Following a period working part-time with the

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

Academy, Ehiogu was appointed under-21 team (subsequently reclassified as U23) coach as part of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Academy in July 2014. Writing after he had suffered a heart attack, Henry Winter noted that Ehiogu "is one of the most thoughtful English coaches, frequently talking eloquently about the need for English football to have a more distinct culture and commit more to age-group tournaments so that senior internationals of the future can experience differing styles".

Personal life

Ehiogu married Gemma Coleman in 2005. The couple had a son, Obi Jackson, together. Ehiogu also had a daughter Jodie from a previous relationship. After retiring, Ehiogu jointly founded a successful

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Dirty Hit Dirty Hit is a British independent record label founded in December 2009 by Jamie Oborne, Brian Smith, and former England footballer, Ugo Ehiogu. It is currently based in West London, England. Their releases are distributed to digital platforms ...

Death

On 20 April 2017, Ehiogu collapsed due to a

at the Tottenham Hotspur training ground and was taken to hospital, where he died early the next morning at the age of 44. In the aftermath, it was announced that Ehiogu's widow Gemma would set up a charity in his honour. She used social media site

JustGiving JustGiving is a global online social platform for giving. The firm's headquarters are located in Bankside, London. History In 2000, Zarine Kharas and Anne-Marie Huby founded JustGiving, (initially clickforaction.com) a company to provide o ...

with the aim of raising £1,000 to start the charity. By 24 April, the appeal had raised £11,000. In the days following Ehiogu's death, many clubs held tributes to him in the form of a minute's applause before matches, in which players wore black armbands. He is buried in

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Ehiogu goal.''

Honours

Aston Villa * Football League Cup: 1995–96 *

runner-up:

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 ...

Middlesbrough *Football League Cup: 2003–04

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehiogu, Ugo 1972 births 2017 deaths English sportspeople of Nigerian descent English footballers England international footballers England B international footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football central defenders Senrab F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Wembley F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff Black British sportspeople English football managers Footballers from the London Borough of Hackney Burials at Highgate Cemetery FA Cup Final players