Junior Agogo

Sheffield Wednesday

Born in Accra, Greater Accra, Agogo began his career at Sheffield Wednesday in 1995, but only made two league appearances for the Premier League side. During the 1999–2000 season he had loan spells at Oldham Athletic, Chester City, Chesterfield, and Lincoln City. His goal for Chester against Cheltenham Town in October 1999, was voted the best goal ever scored at the Deva Stadium.

United States

In 2000, Agogo left Sheffield Wednesday and moved to the United States to play for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. After playing just one match in Chicago, he was traded to the Colorado Rapids to replace the departed attacker Wolde Harris who had just joined New England Revolution. He went on to score 11 goals in 32 appearances for the Rapids, including 10 goals in his first season to end as the team's top scorer for the season. He was traded from Colorado to the San Jose Earthquakes in June 2001 for Chris Carrieri. He played for the Earthquakes for the rest of the 2001 season, culminating with their MLS Championship victory, but was waived early in the 2002 pre-season, and replaced on the San Jose roster by Devin Barclay.

Back in England

In 2002, Agogo returned to England, this time with Queens Park Rangers. He made his debut coming off the bench away against Swindon Town. However, after only two appearances he moved to Football Conference side Barnet.

Bristol Rovers

In the summer of 2003, Agogo joined Third Division…

In May 2006, Agogo was called up by Ghana for a friendly against French league side OGC Nice. However, he was not included in the final Ghanaian World Cup squad. He was recalled to the Ghana squad for an East Asia tour in which he faced Japan and South Korea. On 14 November 2006, Agogo scored his first goal for Ghana, the equaliser in a friendly against Australia; the game finished 1–1. He also scored the third goal in Ghana's 4–1 victory over Nigeria, played at Brentford's Griffin Park. Agogo was called up to the Ghana squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. He played in the first game of the cup against Guinea, hitting the post with a header in the 20th minute and helping Ghana to a 2–1 victory. He then scored in the following game against Namibia, tapping home Michael Essien's cross for the only goal of the game. Agogo then netted another goal, an 84th minute winner, in the quarter final against Nigeria after John Mensah had been shown a red card in the 60th minute. Ghana missed out on the final, however, and had to settle for a third-place play-off against Ivory Coast, in which he scored again in a 4–2 victory. Alongside Sulley Muntari he was Ghana's top scorer in the competition, and the 5th highest scorer overall. In total, Agogo scored 12 goals in 27 matches for the national team between 2006 and 2009.

Early life and education

Junior Agogo was born on 1 August 1979 in Accra, Ghana as one of 11 siblings. He attended the Ridge Church School in Accra, but before completing primary school, he moved with his family to the UK. He subsequently returned to Ghana for three years, attending St. Augustine's College, an all-boys Catholic boarding secondary school in Cape Coast. He did not play on the football team at St Augustine's College, but instead represented the school in dancing competitions. Agogo was the nephew of JJ Rawlings.

Other hobbies

It was not until his family moved to the UK that he discovered his love and talent for football while playing with his siblings and friends. Agogo's father, Mr Emmanuel Agogo, a businessman, encouraged him to study instead of playing sports. During an interview in 2008, Agogo revealed that he planned to open his own restaurant after his football career. However, Agogo instead started his own fitness training business.

Later life and death

On 29 January 2015, Agogo was hospitalised after suffering a stroke. He struggled with his speech after his stroke and expressed anxiety at his language problems. Agogo died in London on 22 August 2019, aged 40. On 20 September 2019, Agogo's remains were cremated in London after a private funeral ceremony at St Mark's Church. He is remembered with a memorial at Golders Green Crematorium in London. On 26 August 2019, four days after his death, Nottingham Forest fans paid…

San Jose Earthquakes

MLS Cup: 2001 Nottingham Forest League One second-place promotion: 2007–08 Apollon Limassol

Cypriot Cup: 2009–10 Ghana

Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2008 Individual

Barnet Player of the Year: 2002–03 Football Conference Team of the Year: 2002–03