Steve Ogrizovic

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Ogrizovic started his professional career at Chesterfield before moving to Liverpool. His time at Liverpool was frustrating as he was unable to displace Ray Clemence. He made his debut on 8 March 1978 in a 4–2 defeat at Derby County. He managed a few more team appearances before moving to Shrewsbury Town. In 1984 he joined Coventry for £72,500. He was still Coventry's first choice goalkeeper in the 1997–98 season, when at the age of 40 he was the oldest player to play a Premier League game that season. In order to gain his final playing contract Ogrizovic had to give up smoking as one of the conditions. He was the club's second choice goalkeeper for the next two seasons following the arrival of Magnus Hedman, and finally retired at the end of the 1999–2000 season. In 16 seasons at Coventry, he collected an FA Cup winner's medal, but never played in European competition, as Coventry were unable to compete in the Cup Winner's Cup due to the ban on English teams in European competitions following the Heysel disaster, and the highest position Coventry attained in this period was seventh in the 1988–89 First Division. On no fewer than seven occasions in Ogrizovic's time at the club, they came close to relegation from the top flight. They were finally relegated from the Premier League one season after his retirement. During his time at Coventry, Ogrizovic scored in a 2–2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday in the First Division on 25 October 1986. He is also one of four players to have played top-flight football in four different decades, along with Peter Shilton, John Lukic and Sir Stanley Matthews and holds the club record of 209 consecutive League appearances for a Coventry City player, from August 1984 to September 1989. Overall, he made 604 professional league appearances in a playing career spanning 23 years from 1977 to 2000. His final appearance for Coventry came on 6 May 2000 against Sheffield Wednesday. The keeper had not been first choice for much of that season, alternating the number 1 position with Magnus Hedman, but was awarded the jersey for the club's final home game in recognition of his outstanding service to the club.

In Their Own Story

The rain lashed down on the wet grass of Villa Park as the clock ticked past the ninetieth minute. The scoreline was level, and the atmosphere inside the ground was electric with tension. Steve Ogrizovic stood tall in his goal, mud splattered across his white gloves, eyes locked on the chaotic scrum in front of him. A cross came in from the right, high and dangerous. Without hesitation, Oggy rushed out, timing his jump perfectly to punch the ball clear over the heads of three waiting strikers. The roar that erupted from the Hoop End was deafening, a testament to the man who had stood firm for eleven years.

Reader's Guide

Ogrizovic was caretaker manager in conjunction with Trevor Peake at the end of the 2001–02 season, between Roland Nilsson's departure and Gary McAllister's appointment, and for a couple of days towards the end of the 2003–04 season. During Iain Dowie's spell as manager, Ogrizovic was the manager of the Coventry City reserve team, and he continued to hold this role under Chris Coleman. He was Coventry City's goalkeeping coach from 2008 to 2019.

Did You Know?

• Ogrizovic is the son of Nikola Ogrizović, a Yugoslav (Serb) prisoner of war in Italy during World War II, who sought refuge in the United Kingdom after being liberated by British troops.
• Ogrizovic served both as a Police Cadet and as a Police Officer at Mansfield Police Station in Nottinghamshire prior to signing as a professional footballer.
• In 2003 Ogrizovic was the subject of a hoax that said that he had been kidnapped in Kazakhstan and an online petition was set up to campaign to get him released. This was proved to be false when the Coventry Evening Tele
• Ogrizovic also played cricket for Shropshire as a right-arm medium-fast bowler between 1983 and 1984, taking five wickets in four games.