Ugo Ehiogu

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Ugo Ehiogu
Ugo Ehiogu.jpg
Personnel
Surname Ugochuku Ehiogu
birthday 3rd November 1972
place of birth London ,  England
date of death April 21, 2017
Place of death London ,  England
position Central defender
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1989-1991 West Bromwich Albion 2 0(0)
1991-2000 Aston Villa 237 (12)
2000-2007 Middlesbrough FC 126 0(7)
2006-2007 →  Leeds United  (loan) 6 0(1)
2007-2008 Glasgow Rangers 9 0(1)
2008-2009 Sheffield United 26 0(1)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1992-1993 England U-21 15 0(1)
1994 England B 1 0(0)
1996-2002 England 4 0(1)
1 Only league games are given.

Ugochuku "Ugo" Ehiogu (born November 3, 1972 in London ; † April 21, 2017 ibid) was an English football player . As a powerful and tall central defender , who was trained at West Bromwich Albion and then played over 450 competitive games at local rivals Aston Villa and later at Middlesbrough FC , he won the League Cup twice in 1996 and 2004 and came later after initially 15 U-21 internationals to four short appearances in the English senior team .

Professional career

In the club

Aston Villa (1991-2000)

The center-back with Nigerian roots - both parents came from the southern Anambra region  - was transferred in 1991 from Ron Atkinson to the English first division club Aston Villa for a transfer fee of 45,000 pounds . He had previously played for the second division and local rivals West Bromwich Albion and had come on as a substitute in two league games. Ehiogu made his debut for the "Villans" on August 24, 1991 against Arsenal (3-1), but in the first two years he was only used sporadically - only five times during this time he was in the first team's starting line-up in championship games . It was only in the second half of the 1993/94 season that he frequently represented Paul McGrath in the defense center; However , he contributed only marginally to winning the league cup , as he was only substituted on in the semi-final second leg against the Tranmere Rovers for extra time - in the official statistics his name is therefore not listed as a title holder.

The sporting breakthrough came in the 1994/95 season, when Ehiogu established himself with speed, headball strength and good positional play but also with advantages in the direct man marking , which was still more common at the time . At the same time, he developed qualities in the offensive, which were primarily revealed in standard situations and contributed to the club's close relegation . At the side of Gareth Southgate and McGrath, Ehiogu then played an extremely successful 1995/96 season, which not only brought him the unexpected jump to fourth place and the League Cup trophy after a 3-0 final win against Leeds United , but also him personally promoted to the English national team after already 15 completed U-21 games . Further recognition was his nomination for the first division team of the year ( PFA Team of the Year ) in 1996 . After McGrath's departure, he increasingly took his position as the "tower in battle" and was responsible for the defense network with mostly Southgate and Carl Tiler and / or Steve Staunton . He also made better use of his scoring qualities with four competitive goals in the 1996/97 season, including a 1-0 winner against Everton in September 1996.

Due to Achilles tendon problems, Ehiogus' form curve showed down at the beginning of the 1997/98 season, which was also reflected in the mixed results of Aston Villa. This led to short-term experiences on the bench before he was able to build on his old performance and led the club back into the UEFA Cup . On January 30, 1999, after a duel with Alan Shearer of Newcastle United with a fracture in his left eye socket, he suffered a serious injury that put him out of action for almost three months and made the three operations necessary. His own supporters greeted him with a standing ovation when he was substituted for Nottingham Forest on April 24, 1999 and quite a few attributed the fact that Aston Villa, which was temporarily higher in the Premier League, still slipped in the table, to Ehiogu's absence. More bad luck overtook him in the league cup against Manchester United and the calf injury sustained him sideline for another two months. Regardless of this, the 1999/2000 season was again successful in sport and alongside Southgate and Gareth Barry in the three-man defensive chain, he moved into the 2000 FA Cup final , which was lost 1-0 to Chelsea .

At the beginning of the 2000/01 season, Ehiogu suddenly found himself back in the "second row" after buying Alpay Özalan and so it was hardly surprising that in October 2000 a transfer request from first division rivals FC Middlesbrough led to a positive conclusion. The move was even more explosive because West Bromwich Albion had built a resale clause into Ehiogu's original transfer to Aston Villa, which granted the club a 50 percent share of the transfer fee in the event of a resale. After intensive discussions, the parties involved finally agreed that three million of the total of eight million pounds that Middlesbrough FC was willing to pay should be "diverted" to WBA.

Middlesbrough FC (2000-2007)

Ehiogu quickly fitted into the new team and with 21 league games and three goals he was largely responsible for keeping “Boro” up in 2001 . In the summer of 2001, Gareth Southgate, his former team-mate from Aston Villa, also moved to Middlesbrough FC and despite a few problems on the groin, he stabilized the previously holy defense and helped his team to jump into secured midfield . In the following year there was a further improvement of one rank . He sustained another serious injury on New Years Day 2003 when he broke three ribs and damaged his lungs in a duel with goalkeeper Brad Friedel of the Blackburn Rovers . This was later joined by a cruciate ligament rupture and only at the end of December 2003 Ehiogu returned to the team. Due to the good harmony with Southgate, the acclimatization period was short; he also represented his defensive partner as captain in March 2004 when he had to pass due to an injury and at the end of the season he extended his contract.

The 2004/05 season was again characterized by “light and shadow”. On the one hand he had knee and calf problems again, which meant he only played two Premier League games by the turn of the year, on the other hand he was very present again at the end of the season and, as a stabilizing element in the defense, ensured that the club qualified for the UEFA Cup through seventh place . A yellow-red card in the first league game of the 2005/06 season against Liverpool , further groin problems and a knee injury from a league cup game against Everton made for further unwanted breaks, but although there were rumors of an imminent move in January 2006 increased and the future was uncertain whether the expiring contract, Ehiogu acted regularly at the end of the season in the defense center - also due to an injury miserable in the club at that time.

At the end of November 2006, Ehiogu moved on loan to second-rate Leeds United , where he was central defense alongside Matt Heath and even scored a goal against Barnsley FC . After his return to Middlesbrough he completed the FA Cup against Hull City one last game for "Boro" and at the end of January 2007 he moved to the Scottish Premier League with the Glasgow Rangers .

Career finale (2007–2009)

He scored after successful coping with a medical checks signed Ehiogu at Rangers a 18-month contract, and shortly after his arrival in the Old Firm derby against Celtic Glasgow a spectacular goal by a bicycle kick to 1: 0 victory, which later within the association at the best goal of the last season was chosen. Nevertheless, his prospects in the first team at the beginning of the 2007/08 season were very limited. Coach Walter Smith preferred Carlos Cuéllar and David Weir in central defense and so the only one-year interlude ended in January 2008. Ehiogu moved to Sheffield United in the English second division free of charge.

In Sheffield Ehiogu met again on coach Bryan Robson , with whom he had already worked in Middlesbrough and who took him under contract for another 18 months. However, his opportunities were limited due to Matt Kigallon and Chris Morgan , who acted as regular players . It mostly served as a hedge and was only in the starting line-up five times. Further as "number 3" behind Morgan and Kigallon he went into his last professional season 2008/09 and for a short time he even found himself at an advantage after the suspension of Kigallon before an Achilles tendon injury meant the premature end of the season and the expiring contract no longer extended has been. In the summer of 2009 Ehiogu ended his active professional career.

English national team

After 15 appearances for the U-21 team - including a participation in the Toulon tournament in 1992 - and a game for the B national team in December 1994, Ehiogu made his debut on May 23, 1996 against China for the England senior team , which was then played by Terry Venables was trained. However, he had to wait almost five years for his next international match when he was substituted on by Sven-Göran Eriksson in a friendly against Spain (3-0) - as on his debut - and even scored the last goal of the game himself. There were only two more appearances against the Netherlands and Italy ; in both he was not in the starting line-up and both games ended in defeat for the "Three Lions".

death

Ugo Ehiogu, who worked as a U-23 coach at Tottenham Hotspur after ending his active career , died in hospital early in the morning of April 21, 2017 as a result of a heart attack after collapsing at his club's training ground the day before.

Title / Awards

literature

  • Rob Bishop, Frank Holt: Aston Villa - The Complete Record . DB Publishing, Derby 2010, ISBN 978-1-85983-805-1 , pp. 214-215 .
  • Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1995, ISBN 0-09-180854-5 , pp. 68 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nigeria: Ehiogu For Tottenham . allAfrica.com, May 11, 1999, accessed April 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ Online media mostly write from only £ 40,000.
  3. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 68.
  4. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 80.
  5. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 87.
  6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 93.
  7. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 94.
  8. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 99.
  9. ↑ a b Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1995-96 Official PFA Footballers Factfile ; P. 93.
  10. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85291-648-6 , pp. 128 .
  11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85291-651-6 , pp. 134 .
  12. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 1-85291-660-5 , pp. 127 f .
  13. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2005/2006 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2005, ISBN 1-85291-662-1 , pp. 130 .
  14. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006-07 . Mainstream Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84596-111-0 , pp. 127 .
  15. ↑ a b Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007-08 . Mainstream Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3 , pp. 127 .
  16. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008-09 . Mainstream Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8 , pp. 139 f .
  17. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009-10 . Mainstream Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0 , pp. 135 .
  18. ↑ Dons delighted as Puncheon returns . Milton Keynes Citizen, August 3, 2009, accessed April 26, 2017.
  19. ^ Barrie Courtney: England - U-21 International Results 1986–1995 - Details . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF), January 10, 2004, accessed April 26, 2017.
  20. ^ Barrie Courtney: England - International Results B-Team - Details . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF), May 22, 2014, accessed April 26, 2017.
  21. ↑ Ugo Ehiogu: Former England defender dies after suffering cardiac arrest. In: BBC.com . April 21, 2017, accessed April 26, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Ehiogu, Ugo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ehiogu, Ugochuku (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd November 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH April 21, 2017
Place of death London , England , UK