The death of Ugo Ehiogu in the early hours of Friday morning following a cardiac arrest has plunged the footballing world into a state of sadness.
The Tottenham Hotspur U-23 coach collapsed when working on one of the training pitches on Thursday morning. Even as the tributes poured in, it was impossible to make sense of the loss of a universally popular and ostensibly fit 44-year-old.
The passing of the former England defender, whose playing career was defined by long spells at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, has cast a shadow over Saturday's Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley – a tie between the top two clubs in the Premier League.
Tottenham announced that the players from both teams would wear black armbands and there will be a minute’s applause prior to kick-off.
The English FA has displayed an image of Ehiogu outside the national stadium while Tottenham have postponed all academy matches over the weekend and Monday’s under-23 fixture at Manchester United.
There had been panicked scenes at the club’s Enfield training centre on Thursday, when their medics rushed to treat the stricken Ehiogu, and an ambulance and a medical-assistance car were scrambled out to him. The ambulance took Ehiogu to hospital about 20 minutes later. Ehiogu had spent time working with the Spurs youth teams during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons while he completed his coaching badges, and he became the full-time coach of the under-21s – later reclassified as the under-23s – in July 2014.
He was a fundamental part of their closely-knit youth set-up, working under the head of coaching and player development, John McDermott.
“Words cannot express the shock and sadness that we all feel at the club,” McDermott said. “Ugo’s presence will be irreplaceable. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his wife, Gemma, and his family.”
The tributes also came from club chairman, Daniel Levy, and the manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
Levy said: “This is an incredibly sad day for the club and a tragic loss of a talented member of our Spurs family. Ugo was an extremely popular and respected academy coach, a tremendous influence on our younger players, both in training and away from the pitch, and he will be greatly missed. Everyone’s thoughts are with Ugo’s family at this difficult time.”
Pochettino added: “Ugo was a lovely man and we had a very good relationship from the first day [my coaching team] arrived at the club. He was always a person who helped us a lot and we will miss him greatly. I send all my love to his family and friends at such a difficult time. It’s a huge loss both personally and for all the Tottenham Hotspur family.” Guardian Service
