After winning a title with Arsenal, he rose to fame as a TV analyst.
The 54-year-old striker Kevin Campbell, who previously played for Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Arsenal, passed away.
Almost two weeks after it became known that Campbell was hospitalized due to a terrible illness, his death was declared. He won a league title with Arsenal, was a tremendously popular character in the game, and in more recent times, became a charming TV analyst.
Arsenal wrote, “We are devastated to learn that our former striker Kevin Campbell has passed away after a brief illness.” At the club, everyone loved Kevin. We are all praying for his family and friends during this trying time. Kevin, rest in peace.
Everton honored him with a message referring to him as “Super Kev.” “As anyone who has ever met him will attest, he is not only an iconic figure of the English game and a true hero of Goodison Park, but he is also an amazing person,” the club stated.
Campbell, a Lambeth native, scored a lot of goals for Arsenal as a young player and made his debut in the first squad in 1988 against Everton. During the final stretch of the 1990–91 season, when George Graham’s club won the First Division title for the second time in three years, he scored eight goals in ten games. Starting in an attack alongside Paul Merson and Alan Smith, he won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Arsenal in 1994 after winning the League Cup and FA Cup Double with the team in 1993.
Campbell left his childhood club in 1995, having made 210 appearances and scored 55 goals, despite tough competition for starting positions in a lineup that was bolstered by Ian Wright’s arrival in 1991. After spending £2.5 million, he moved to Forest, where he was a key player in their promotion to the Championship the following season after they had been relegated from the top division in 1997.
In March 1999, Campbell signed a loan deal with Everton following a brief and miserable stint at Trabzonspor, where he was subjected to racial abuse at the hands of club chairman Mehmet Ali Yilmaz. What started out as a brief agreement developed into a very fruitful and long-lasting relationship with the team.
When Campbell joined Everton, the team was in danger of relegation, but he immediately made an impression both on and off the field. He inspired the players in the locker room and scored nine goals in his first eight games to help Walter Smith’s team escape trouble. He scored the most goals for Everton the next two seasons after the £3 million permanent transfer was completed that summer. As the team’s first black captain, Campbell also scored the game-winning goal in the 1999 Merseyside derby at Anfield, which was Everton’s final away victory against Liverpool until 2021. He was a tremendously popular figure among supporters and continued to visit Goodison on a regular basis even after his playing career ended.
Campbell also had stints at Cardiff and West Bromwich Albion, when he once more assisted a club in danger of relegation to climb out of the Premier League. In May 2007, he retired following his release from the Welsh club. The former England Under-21 international went on to have a prosperous career as a TV analyst and commentator, with his kindness, good nature, and warmth coming through on screen as they always did when he walked into a room.
“Life can be so cruel sometimes,” Mark Crossley, a former teammate from Forest, remarked. “I am deeply saddened by the news of my former Forest teammate Kevin Campbell’s passing. He was a wonderful player, a true gentleman, a bright spot in the locker room, and a fun-loving person. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Away from sport, Campbell operated the 2 Wikid record label for a short while before getting into legal trouble with Mark Morrison, the first artist he signed. He was also a co-owner of an upscale security firm. Tyrese Campbell, the son of the coach, was released from Stoke City last month.
“Thank you for that at such a difficult time, Tyrese. I appreciate my dad was admired by many, and the outpouring of love has been some comfort for us as a family.” “As a son, you see your dad as unbeatable, and the pain you feel from this is beyond words. He is my hero and the person I aspired to be when I was older. He was a unique individual who was adored by all, the life and spirit of every celebration and space he graced.
Pingback: Veteran actor Donald Sutherland, known for his diverse filmography, dies at 88.