R.I.P Ugo Ehiogu

[Bruno Di Gradi]

Shocked man. Seen him couple times on match day. Always seemed bless from Villa days

Quote

 

Ugo Ehiogu: Former England defender dies after suffering cardiac arrest

 

 

• 38 minutes ago
• From the sectionFootball

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Ugo Ehiogu was capped four times by England, scoring one international goal

Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu has died at the age of 44 after suffering a cardiac arrest at Tottenham's training centre on Thursday.

A Spurs statement said Ehiogu died in hospital in the early hours of Friday.

Ehiogu, who was Spurs' Under-23s coach, was capped four times by England.

"Words cannot express the shock and sadness that we all feel at the club," said Tottenham's head of coaching and development John McDermott.

"Ugo's immense presence will be irreplaceable."

• Sportsday - reaction and tributes after Ehiogu dies

Ehiogu made over 200 appearances for Aston Villa between 1991 and 2000 and then spent seven years at Middlesbrough.

He won the League Cup with Villa in 1994 and 1996, and also with Boro in 2004.

The centre-back also played for West Brom, Leeds, Rangers and Sheffield United, before retiring in 2009. He began coaching at Tottenham in 2014.

Ehiogu was a co-founder of music label Dirty Hit, which has British indie band The 1975 on its books.

He married his wife, Gemma, in 2005 and had two children - son Obi Jackson and daughter Jodie.

Villa will hold a minute's applause before their Championship match against Birmingham City on Sunday, with both sets of players to wear black armbands.

 

This was the last tweet sent by Ehiogu, which he posted on 29 March

 

Ehiogu spent nine years at Aston Villa, winning two League Cups

'Football has lost a great man'

 

Ehiogu joined Middlesbrough in 2000 for a then club record fee of £8m

"I can't fathom he's no longer here," former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who won the League Cup with Ehiogu, told BBC Radio 5 live.

He added: "He was a tremendous person, a tremendous character, a dedicated footballer and dedicated to his family. He was a great guy to be around, so full of life and so enthusiastic.

"As a centre-back, I rate him right up there. He suffered from injuries throughout his career, but with more consistency he could have added to his England caps.

"He was very much a family man and it's such a shame to leave such a young family behind."

Former Aston Villa team-mate Andy Townsend told BBC Radio 5 live: "He was a defender every team would like to have at the back. It's a life that is so tragically cut short and so sad.

"He was on the training field with the academy boys and would have stayed active. I saw him recently and he was a picture of health, which is why this come as such a huge shock."

Tributes on social media

 

Former striker Stan Collymore played with Ehiogu at Aston Villa

Ex-Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas tweeted: "Gutted is an understatement. An aspiring coach and all round top guy. My thoughts and prayers are with your family."

Former England women and Arsenal Ladies forward Kelly Smith on Twitter: "RIP my friend Ugo Ehiogu, gone too soon. A wonderful, caring man."

Ex-Blackburn, Chelsea and Celtic striker Chris Sutton‏ posted:"Really upsetting news about Ugo Ehiogu. Football has lost a great player and a great man. Thoughts go out to his family. RIP Ugo."

Denise Lewis, Great Britain's Olympic heptathlon gold medallist in 2000, tweeted: "Another sad day for sport with the death of Ugo Ehiogu. RIP."

 

Ex-Ipswich and Republic of Ireland midfielder Matt Holland has referenced the last tweet that Ehiogu posted

Former Manchester City striker Paul d*ckov said: "Devastating news about Ugo Ehiogu this morning. Rock of a player and a rock of a person. Thoughts and prayers to all family and friends."

Former Middlesbrough forward Jason Euell posted on Twitter: "Still in shock from hearing of the passing of my former Boro team-mate. RIP Big Man."

Ex-Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich tweeted: "RIP Ugo Ehiogu. Tremendous player and an even better man. Words can't do justice to how sad I am."

Burnley midfielder Joey Barton said he is "shocked and saddened", adding: "To think he was on the training ground yesterday. Thoughts are with his loved ones."

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand‏ tweeted: "Can't believe the news that Ugo Ehiogu has passed away. Calm & warming vibe when in his company. My heart goes out to his family."

 

Ehiogu began his career at West Brom in 1989

'A beast on the field, a gentle soul off it'

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Murphy:

He was a very unassuming, gentle soul to deal with - very softly spoken. On the field he was an absolute beast, a colossus, an animal.

Gordon Cowans, a former midfielder at Aston Villa, and Ron Atkinson, his manager at the time, often tell the story of Ugo Ehiogu's first tackle at Villa.

In a pre-season game at Witney Town in Oxfordshire, he went into this tackle and Cowans, in the dugout with Atkinson, turned to him and said: "Did you see that?" He was such a strong defender, they knew they'd bought an absolute diamond for £40,000.

Atkinson knew him at Sheffield Wednesday and when he moved to Villa in 1991, he went after Ugo.

In his first game - Norwich City at home - he had a shocker. They lost 3-2 and Atkinson joked with Ugo that he was the player of the month - but he took it well.

For the next nine years, he was a tremendous centre-back alongside Gareth Southgate - a mixture of elegance, technical ability and strong, aggressive defending from Ehiogu.

 

Ehiogu celebrates winning the League Cup with Aston Villa fans

He was a bit unlucky with injuries - he only played four times for England. It was a good era of England centre-backs and there's no doubt he would've played more if not.

He was still playing less than a decade ago, which shows how fit he was.

Ehiogu was from the school of hard knocks. When he was trying to make his way in the game, he wrote to about 10 top clubs looking for a chance but got nowhere - other than at West Brom, where Atkinson liked the look of him.

So Ugo's career was a triumph of perseverance as well as undoubted talent and ability to look after himself physically.

He was a role model to a lot of the young players he'd been coaching at Tottenham because he could say he didn't have a gilded passage, like so many in academies nowadays.

Ehiogu had to work for everything he got, as an international and a Premier League defender.

 

Ehiogu scored for England against Spain in a friendly in 2001

 

 

 

only 44

[O Fenomeno]

☹️☹️

 

I remember when Eriksson gave him and Chris Powell debuts against Spain.

[Drift]

RIP 

Tough reliable player. So sad 

[Thizz]

So sad.

RIP. 

[Bruno Di Gradi]

didnt even know UK Olympic silver medalist Germaine Mason died in a motorbike crash as well

[Da Luv Doc]

Deep!

[Bruno Di Gradi]

 

[The Infamous]

Rip 

 

Sad stuff

[Gambino]

Sad news,

RIP.

[Bruno Di Gradi]

 

[Rsonist]

Was loved by all the young lads in the setup

So fucked up

[Haze-e]

RIP

 

Saddening.

[Wavant]

RIP

 

[darkman]

RIP

[Young £]

1 hour ago, Haze-e said:

RIP

 

Saddening.

 

[JOHN DOE]

36 minutes ago, Young £ said:

 

 

[Taurus]

31 minutes ago, FA23 said:

Sad stuff,

RIP

 

[The Somalian]

R.I.P

 

his poor kids 

[Em Dott]

RIP

It's mad how young he was and likely how fit he was to be struck with a heart attack out of the blue like that. Can only imagine how the kids he was coaching feel. Watching a man helping you play a game you love collapse in front of you and then finding out the next morning he died. It's heartbreaking ?