Terry Venables, ex England, Spurs and Barcelona manager, dies aged 80
Venables, who guided England to the Euro 96 semifinals and Barcelona to the 1986 European Cup final, died after a long illness.
Terry Venables, the former manager of England’s national football team, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona, has died aged 80 after an illness, his family said.
Venables guided England to the semifinals of the 1996 European Championship on home soil before losing to Germany on penalties.
“We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness,” the family said in a statement on Sunday.
In addition to his spell in charge of Tottenham, during which he won the FA Cup in the 1990-91 season, he also took charge of Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Barcelona in a glittering managerial career.
During his time at Barcelona, Venables earned the nickname El Tel, winning La Liga and reaching the European Cup final in 1986. Venables was also responsible for bringing British strikers Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes to the Nou Camp.
“The best, most innovative coach that I had the privilege and pleasure of playing for,” Lineker, who also played under Venables at Spurs and England, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He was much more, though, than just a great manager, he was vibrant, he was charming, he was witty, he was a friend.”
Devastated to hear that Terry Venables has died. The best, most innovative coach that I had the privilege and pleasure of playing for. He was much more, though, than just a great manager, he was vibrant, he was charming, he was witty, he was a friend. He’ll be hugely missed.…
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 26, 2023
Venables started his professional career as a player with Chelsea in 1960 and played for Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace before retiring to take over the manager’s role there.
As a player, he made more than 500 league appearances and won the League Cup with Chelsea in 1965 and the FA Cup with Spurs in 1967. He made two international appearances for England.
Venables also had a two-year stint as chief executive of Spurs from 1991-93.
“We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Venables, our former player, manager and chief executive, who passed away on Saturday,” Spurs said in a statement.
The club said they would pay tribute to his memory by holding a minute’s applause ahead of their Premier League fixture with Aston Villa on Sunday.
The League Managers Association also paid tribute to him.
“The LMA is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of LMA member and former LMA President Terry Venables,” said LMA chief executive Richard Bevan.
“Our thoughts are very much with Yvette and all of Terry’s family at this time.”
