In Remembrance: Tottenham U23 Coach Ugo Ehiogu

Michael Gervais (0:09)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. I'm Michael Gervais. This conversation is with Ugo Ehiogu, whom I just met in Great Britain. And he was a former English professional footballer. And if you're in the States, you would call him a soccer player, in a long career from 1989 to 2009 And at the time I met him, he was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur under-23 team.

Ugo had this inner brilliance, this humility and thoughtfulness that was apparent right from the first interaction. It was the handshake and the eye contact that gave it away.

And it was the combination of the way that he carried himself, but also it was the words that he chose. And maybe even more striking was the care that he took to choose the words, to find the most authentic way to express what he's come to understand. Ugo and I were not able to finish this conversation and it's heartbreaking. And it's for two reasons. The first made sense. He needed to run out into the field and begin his coaching for his under-23 team. And the second one is harder to process. Ugo passed away at the age of 44 before we were able to reconnect. And I think probably a lot of people would say before they were able to reconnect with him, which is the tragic part of it. I can only imagine what it's like for his wife and his family, his children. And so with the highest regard for the man that I briefly met and condolences to his family, I did as much reading as I possibly could to understand his life and his death. And so many of the people that commented on who he is, players and coaches and friends, they described him as a great player and a wonderful human.

So I feel fortunate to have this conversation and to have a brief interaction with him. And I'm honored to be able to hopefully celebrate his genius. And it does come through in the short time that we spent together. Thank you, Ugo, for the time that we spent sharing your insights and reminding us all of how important it is to love.

How are you?

Ugo Ehiogu (2:23)

Good. Anxious.

Michael Gervais (2:26)

Yeah. So I get that response a bit from people.

And the anxiousness for you is... where does that come from?

Ugo Ehiogu (2:33)

I don't know. The unknown.

What layers are going to be peeled off?

Michael Gervais (2:38)

Yeah.

Ugo Ehiogu (2:39)

How deep we go? How deep I go? How deep? You question.

Michael Gervais (2:42)

Isn't that it, though? Isn't that the part where we start to really get real? Is knowing that there's so many layers that we have.

And am I going to go or not go? Am I going to explore or not explore?

Ugo Ehiogu (2:55)

How much am I going to truthfully reveal?

Am I going to hold some back? What am I going to hold back?

Michael Gervais (3:01)

And how much do I want to keep private?

Yeah. So let's start with the obvious. Like, how did you deal with anxiousness as being the top player for a long time?

Ugo Ehiogu (3:13)

I guess I didn't really feel that anxious.

Michael Gervais (3:15)

Not in sport?

Ugo Ehiogu (3:16)

Not really, no. While I was playing, I felt because I worked hard, I felt I was fitter than most, I felt I was as quick as most, and I was probably more dedicated than most.

And that gave me a superior feeling, knowing that if I prepared right, I wouldn't have too many issues.

There was never really a fear of going out and not hitting the right standard, because no matter how good or bad I was, I'd analyze and then I'd watch back again.

Michael Gervais (3:51)

Were you genetically gifted from a young age that you were bigger, faster, stronger? Or did you have some combination of that high work ethic with some genetic coding?

Ugo Ehiogu (4:02)

Yeah, probably the latter. I was 14, 15, I was skinny. Lanky would be the word that most people use, skinny, long arms, long legs.

And I left home at about 15, 16, that would be. And then I got into a professional club, and I ate loads, I trained loads. And it was an opportunity I had never expected in my dreams.

Michael Gervais (4:29)

Okay, so in soccer, in what we'll call football, but American soccer, you were not part of an academy program?

Ugo Ehiogu (4:39)

No.

Michael Gervais (4:40)

No, so you got spotted at a relatively old age.

Ugo Ehiogu (4:44)

Yes, I was 15, which is quite late. Yeah.