Ugo Ehiogu facts for kids
Ehiogu in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ugochuku Ehiogu | ||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney, London, England | ||
| Date of death | 21 April 2017 (aged 44) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Senrab | ||
| –1989 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1989–1991 | West Bromwich Albion | 2 | (0) |
| 1991–2000 | Aston Villa | 237 | (12) |
| 2000–2007 | Middlesbrough | 126 | (7) |
| 2006–2007 | → Leeds United (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Rangers | 9 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Sheffield United | 26 | (1) |
| 2012 | Wembley | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 406 | (22) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992–1993 | England U21 | 15 | (1) |
| 1994 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–2002 | England | 4 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2014–2017 | Tottenham Hotspur Under-23s | ||
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Ugochuku Ehiogu (born November 3, 1972 – died April 21, 2017) was an English professional footballer. He played as a centre back from 1989 to 2009. After his playing career, he became a coach for the Tottenham Hotspur Under-23 team until his death in 2017.
Ugo Ehiogu played in the Premier League for many years. He had long periods with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. He also played for other teams like West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United, and Sheffield United. He even played in Scotland for Rangers.
He won the Football League Cup twice. First with Aston Villa in 1996, and then with Middlesbrough in 2004. Ugo Ehiogu also played for the England national team four times and scored one goal. In 1993, he made history by becoming the first black player to captain an England team in a competitive match. This was for the England Under-21 team.
In 2012, he briefly came out of retirement. He signed with a non-league team called Wembley. He played in their FA Cup games alongside other famous retired players. Ugo Ehiogu sadly passed away on April 21, 2017. He had a cardiac arrest at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out at West Brom
Ugo Ehiogu was born in Hackney, London. His family came from Nigeria. He started his football journey at West Bromwich Albion. He became a professional player there in 1989.
Time at Aston Villa
After playing only a few games for West Brom, Ugo Ehiogu moved to Aston Villa in August 1991. He joined for £40,000. By 1994, he became a key central defender for the team, playing alongside Paul McGrath.
In the 1993–94 season, Villa played Tranmere Rovers in the semi-finals of the League Cup. The game went to a penalty shootout. Ugo Ehiogu took a penalty but missed it. However, Villa still won the shootout and reached the final. They played against Manchester United in the final, but Ugo Ehiogu did not play in that match.
In the 1994–95 season, Villa played in the UEFA Cup. Ugo Ehiogu scored a goal in the 90th minute against the Turkish team Trabzonspor. Villa won that game 2–1, but it wasn't enough to win the overall tie.
He was a big part of the Villa team that won the 1995–96 Football League Cup in 1996. Villa beat Leeds United 3–0 in the final. He also got a runner-up medal when Villa lost to Chelsea in the 2000 FA Cup Final.
Ugo Ehiogu stayed at Aston Villa for nine years. He played over 300 games for the club. In November 2000, he moved to Middlesbrough for £8 million. This was a record fee for Middlesbrough at the time.
Years at Middlesbrough
Ugo Ehiogu's time at Middlesbrough started with a calf injury on his first game. But he quickly became an important central defender. He played alongside his former teammate Gareth Southgate.
He missed the start of the 2003–04 season because of a knee injury. But he returned in time to help Middlesbrough win the League Cup final against Bolton Wanderers. This was the first major trophy in Middlesbrough's history!
In the 2004–05 season, he got another knee injury after accidentally clashing with his own goalkeeper. This meant he missed many important games.
In November 2006, he went on loan to Leeds United. He played six games and scored one goal for them. His loan ended in January 2007.
Moving to Rangers
After leaving Middlesbrough, Ugo Ehiogu signed with the Scottish club Rangers in January 2007. He scored his first goal for Rangers in March 2007. It was a spectacular overhead kick in his first Old Firm game against Celtic. This goal gave Rangers a 1–0 win. Rangers fans even voted it their Goal of the Season.
He left Rangers in January 2008 because he wasn't playing as much as he wanted.
Final Club: Sheffield United
On January 18, 2008, Ugo Ehiogu joined Sheffield United. He played his first game for them at the end of January. He scored his only goal for the Blades in October 2008, which was the winning goal against Preston North End. He got injured in December and missed the rest of the season. He left Sheffield United at the end of that season.
On August 3, 2009, Ugo Ehiogu announced his retirement from professional football.
Brief Return with Wembley
On August 24, 2012, Ugo Ehiogu came out of retirement. He signed with Wembley to play in their FA Cup games. He played alongside other famous former players like Ray Parlour and Martin Keown. He played in one game, a 2–2 draw, but Wembley lost the replay.
International Football
In April 1993, Ugo Ehiogu made history. He became the first black player to captain an England team in a competitive match. This was for the England Under-21 team against the Netherlands.
He made his debut for the senior England team on May 23, 1996. He played in a friendly game against China. He went on to play three more friendly matches for England. He scored one goal for his country. It was a header in a 3–0 win against Spain on February 28, 2001, at Villa Park.
Coaching Career
Ugo Ehiogu also worked as a coach. In 2013, he worked with the England Under-20 team. He was part of the coaching staff for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In July 2014, he became the coach for the Tottenham Hotspur Under-21 team (later called U23). People saw him as a very thoughtful coach. He often talked about how English football needed to have its own style and focus more on youth tournaments.
Personal Life
Ugo Ehiogu married Gemma Coleman in 2005. They had a son named Obi Jackson. Ugo also had a daughter named Jodie from a previous relationship. After he retired from football, Ugo Ehiogu helped start a successful record label called Dirty Hit.
His Passing
On April 20, 2017, Ugo Ehiogu collapsed at the Tottenham Hotspur training ground. He had a cardiac arrest. He was taken to the hospital but sadly passed away the next morning at 44 years old.
After his death, his wife Gemma started a charity in his honor. She used a social media site to raise money for it. Many football clubs paid tribute to Ugo Ehiogu. They held a minute's applause before matches, and players wore black armbands. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 1990–91 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Aston Villa | 1991–92 | First Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 39 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 4 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 49 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 38 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 37 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 44 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 237 | 12 | 24 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 303 | 15 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2000–01 | Premier League | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 126 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 151 | 8 | ||
| Leeds United (loan) | 2006–07 | Championship | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Rangers | 2006–07 | Scottish Premier League | 9 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2007–08 | Scottish Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 9 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
| Sheffield United | 2007–08 | Championship | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | Championship | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 406 | 22 | 35 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 501 | 26 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1996 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Ehiogu goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 February 2001 | Villa Park, Birmingham, England | 2 |  Spain |
3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Honours and Awards
Aston Villa
- FA Cup runner-up: 1999–2000
- Football League Cup: 1995–96
Middlesbrough
- Football League Cup: 2003–04
Individual Awards
- PFA Team of the Year: 1995–96 Premier League
See also
In Spanish: Ugo Ehiogu para niños
