Remembering Ugo Ehiogu

Today (Saturday 21 April) marks the one-year anniversary of the sad passing of our former Under-23s Coach Ugo Ehiogu.

A highly-respected former Premier League player, England international and progressive young coach, Ugo suffered a cardiac arrest at our Training Centre on 20 April, 2017, and passed away in the early hours of the following morning.

His memory fondly lives on among his family and friends and throughout the football community, especially at Hotspur Way, where Club staff and young players who benefitted from Ugo’s tutelage gathered yesterday (Friday) to share memories of him and pay an informal tribute to one of the real students of the game.

In honour of his now famous last tweet that encouraged people to ‘do something kind’, a group of Academy players and staff will be volunteering at a local homeless shelter in the spirit of helping others.

A 20-foot mural was also installed in the Academy wing of our Training Centre on what would have been his 45th birthday last year, providing an unmissable view of Ugo in full coaching mode.

John McDermott, our Head of Coaching and Player Development, this week paid the following tribute to Ugo...

"One year has flown by since Ugo's tragic collapse, the heroic efforts to revive him, his passing and then the highly emotional funeral we were allowed to share with his wife Gemma, their son Obi, Ugo’s daughter Jodie and his family. It is difficult to remain sombre when thinking about Ugo – ‘that photo’ which was used in the press and at Wembley last year (above) is how we remember him.

“Ugo was the Under-23s Coach at the time of his passing, and he truly understood what it meant to be a coach to the 18, 19 and 20-year-old young men we have on our playing staff. He was a wonderful stickler for teaching fundamentals – especially of defending – and he would often join in the sessions and be the best player. His telescopic legs blocking every goalbound shot, he was guaranteed to get the first headed touch on a cross into the box and his massive personality drove his team and drove the session. He hated losing.

“A football man, he was the most wonderful football role model for the Academy boys and I hope it transpires in years to come that this has been contagious for the players with whom he worked most. Yet to only refer to Ugo as a ‘football man’ is to massively undersell the person he was.

“Ugo had interests and friends spanning far beyond football. This enabled him to be a coach in the true sense of the word – a developer and pusher of those around him. He understood that less than half of his job was teaching football – he knew that, to play at the top, they had to develop a character to help them thrive and survive.

“Ugo had a strong moral compass, he had worked incredibly hard to achieve his success and he’d fought incredibly hard to overcome the disappointments the game and life brings. I loved watching him hold court with a player – sometimes to support, sometimes to challenge, sometimes to tell home truths, but always trying to stretch them as people and young men.

“We always mention to our players that they need this aura – we call it the ‘it’ factor. The top players have ‘it’ but most don’t. Ugo oozed ‘it’ from every pore. He was a kind and caring man who always wanted to give his best for those in his charge. We miss him.”

A further tribute to Ugo from the Club will be published in the Football Association’s official matchday programme for today’s FA Cup semi-final match against Manchester United at Wembley.