The Maccabi Tel Aviv family mourns the loss of its former defensive back Steve Gohouri from the Ivory Coast. Gohouri, who died at the age of 34, began his Yellow-and-Blue career in September 2012 after playing two and half years with Premier League outfit Wigan.
Jordi Cruyff, who brought Steve Gohouri to Maccabi Tel Aviv said to the Official Website: “This is a very, very sad moment. We kept track of the news over the last few weeks when we found out about Steve’s disappearance. It was not easy to hear about the news of his death this evening. It puts everything in a different perspective. We are grateful to Steve for his smile and love that he gave all of us during his time here in Israel.”
The defender played his youth career for Paris St. Germain and then moved to play as a striker for Bnei Yehuda. Gohouri then plied his trade in a defensive role for a number of Swiss sides.
Following six years in Switzerland he was on the move again, this time to Germany and Borussia Monchengladbach where he hooked up with Roberto Colautti whom he would also play with at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Gohouri’s debut with the Yellow-and-Blue was against Hapoel Haifa when he came in as a 75th minute substitution. He would go on to score his first goal with Maccabi in a 5:0 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Following his final match in Israel against SC Ashdod, Gohouri left Maccabi Tel Aviv to continue his playing career in Europe. This past December there was grave concern for his well being when he disappeared and it was announced in Germany that his body was found on January 2nd in the Rhine River, though the cause of death was still uncertain. The Ivory Coast native made 13 appearances for his country and scored three goals for The Elephants.
