The Ghana Football Association (GFA) and English Premier League club, Nottingham Forest, today August 1 2023, paid a special tribute to the memory of the late Ghanaian striker, Manuel Junior Agogo to celebrate his 44th birthday.
He represented Ghana from 2006 to 2009 and scored 12 goals in 27 matches for the Black Stars.
One of his most memorable moments was during the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored a late match-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Nigeria, helping Ghana reach the semi-finals, and eventually finish in 3rd place.
Agogo played for Nottingham Forest from 2006 to 2008 and was their top-scorer in his final season with thirteen goals.
His goals helped the club get promoted to the Championship.
Sadly, on August 22, 2019, Agogo passed away in a London hospital at the age of 40.
In a social media post, the GFA said:
Forever in our hearts Happy birthday, Junior Agogo.
Thank you for all the memories
Continue resting well 🕊️#BlackStars pic.twitter.com/RGcBAELAJW
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) August 1, 2023
Nottingham Forest wrote on social media:
Never forgotten. Remembering Junior Agogo on what would have been his 44th birthday.
Never forgotten.
Remembering Junior Agogo on what would have been his 44th birthday ❤️ pic.twitter.com/y8SUwXoNF0
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 1, 2023
Agogo was born in Accra, Ghana, but spent a large chunk of his youth in the UK.
He later returned to Ghana to finish his secondary school studies.
The cause of his death is still unknown, but it was known that he had a stroke in 2015, three years after retiring from professional football, having spent some time at Scottish side, Hibernian.
Throughout his career, Agogo also played for teams like Apollon Limassol, Zamalek, Bristol Rovers, Barnet, Queen’s Park Rangers, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, and San Jose Earthquakes.