Lohoré Steve Ulrich Gohouri (8 February 1981 – December 2015), known as Steve Gohouri, was an Ivorian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Gohouri started his career in France, playing in the youth teams at CS Brétigny and Paris Saint-Germain. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he had a brief spell in Israel with Bnei Yehuda before moving to Switzerland and joiningYverdon-Sport. He spent the next seven seasons in the Swiss leagues, later playing for Vaduz, where he made his debut in European competition, and Young Boys, where he won a runners-up medal in the Swiss Cup.
In 2007, he signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga. He struggled to become a regular in the first team, and was eventually demoted to the reserves in 2009. He was released by the club at the end of the year, and signed for Premier League side Wigan Athletic. He also represented Ivory Coast at international level, but only played sporadically since first appearing for his country in 2006.
Early career
Gohouri was born in Treichville, Ivory Coast. At the age of five, he moved to France with his family, and grew up in the suburbs of Paris. He started his career with CS Brétigny, where he played in the same youth team as Patrice Evra. He then spent two years at Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to break into the first-team. He signed for Israeli side Bnei Yehuda midway through the 1999–2000 season. He made his debut on 5 February 2000 against Hapoel Haifa, scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw. He scored two more goals in the next game – a 2–1 win against Beitar Jerusalem, and instantly became a fan favourite at the club. He finished the season with four goals in 13 appearances as the club avoided relegation from the Israeli Premier League with an 11th-place finish.
Switzerland
He left the club at the end of the season and joined Yverdon-Sport in Switzerland. He was initially signed by the club as a striker, scoring nine goals in his first season at the club as they were relegated from Nationalliga A. However, his coach Gabet Chapuisat felt that if Gohouri switched to playing in defence, he “could probably play in any league in the world”.He has since played primarily as a central defender, but can also play at right-back or left-back. In January 2003, he moved to Bologna on loan for six months, but did not appear in Serie A during the spell. He moved to Vaduz the following summer. In July 2004, he made his debut in European competition in a UEFA CupPreliminary Round tie against Longford Town. In September 2005 he signed for Young Boys, having agreed a four-year contract with the club.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gohouri left Young Boys for Borussia Mönchengladbach on a three and a half-year contract on 28 December 2006 for a transfer fee of €1.5 million. He made his Bundesligadebut on 27 January 2007 against Energie Cottbus. In summer 2009, he was demoted to Borussia’s reserves and was released in late December after a clash between the Club and his representative and best friend Rui Alves.
Wigan Athletic
On 12 January 2010, Gohouri joined Wigan Athletic of the Premier League, signing until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Wigan on 3 May 2010 against Hull City. The equalizer brought the game to 2–2 and relegated Hull, prompting a pitch invasion at the DW Stadium. On 7 May 2010, Gohouri signed a new two-year contract with Wigan to extend his stay at the club until the end of the 2011–12 campaign.During the 2010–11 season, he made 28 appearances in all competitions, including a goal Gohouri scored against Liverpool in a 1–1 draw on 12 February and was rewarded with another contract extension, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013. Unfortunately the 2011–12 season started badly for Gohouri, getting sent off against Tottenham Hotspur after picking up a second yellow card during a match on 24 September as well as falling down to the pecking order, making just 10 league appearances.Subsequently, Gohouri was released by Wigan when his contract expired at the end of the 2011–12 season.
VIDEO: R.I.P Steve Gohouri
Skoda Xanthi
On 29 June 2013, Gohouri joined Skoda Xanthi F.C. in the Greek Superleague.
International career
Gohouri made his debut for the Ivory Coast national team in August 2006 against Senegal. In March 2007, he scored his first two goals for the team in a friendly againstMauritius. He also played in the 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Antananarivo, scoring the opening goal in the 3–0 victory.
Death
Gohouri was reported missing in December 2015, six days after he had attended TSV Steinbach’s Christmas party. On 2 January 2016, German police confirmed that Gohouri had been found dead on New Year’s Eve in the river Rhine near Krefeld
CREDITS: WIKIPEDIA