Former England manager Terry Venables dies aged 80

Former England, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona manager Terry Venables has died at the age of 80 following a long illness.

Venables was famously in charge of England during their run to the Euro 96 semi-finals on home soil, when they were beaten by Germany as they fell agonisingly short of a first international title for 30 years.

The Dagenham-born former midfielder also spent time in charge of Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Australia, Middlesbrough and Leeds United during a highly-successful managerial career.

As a player, Venables was most closely associated with Chelsea, where he made 237 appearances, while he also enjoyed significant spells at Spurs and QPR in addition to winning two England caps in 1964.

Being capped at senior international level saw Venables claim the unique distinction of being the only player to represent England at schoolboy, youth, amateur, Under-23s and senior level.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Venables at the age of 80.

Having won two senior caps as a player, Terry went onto manage the #ThreeLions between 1994 and 1996 - proudly leading us to the semi-finals of Euro 96.

Our thoughts and condolences are with... pic.twitter.com/e1zzUpCZCn

— England (@England) November 26, 2023

"We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness," read a statement from Venables's family.

"We would ask that privacy be given at this incredibly sad time to allow us to mourn the loss of this lovely man who we were so lucky to have had in our lives."

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan added: "The LMA is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of LMA member and former LMA President Terry Venables. Our thoughts are very much with Yvette and all of Terry's family at this time."

Venables made over 600 career appearances as a player, winning the League Cup with Chelsea and the FA Cup with Tottenham, and only narrowly missing out on a spot in Sir Alf Ramsey's 1966 World Cup-winning England squad.

However, it is as a manager that he is best remembered, most memorably when he took England to within two games of emulating Ramsey by lifting a major international trophy at the home Euro 96.

© Reuters

Prior to his time as England boss, Venables had spent spells in charge at Barcelona and Tottenham, where he built his reputation as one of the country's greatest managers.

Venables steered Barcelona to their first La Liga title for 11 years in 1984-85, and then one year later won the Copa de la Liga and reached the European Cup final - Barcelona's first since 1961.

At Spurs, he repeated the feat from his playing days of helping the club to FA Cup glory as a team including Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne lifted the trophy in 1991.

Venables also lifted silverware as manager of Crystal Palace and QPR - the Second Division title on both occasions - with his last managerial role coming at Leeds from 2002 to 2003.

Nicknamed 'El Tel' due to his stint in Spain as Barca boss, Venables was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2007.