It has been announced today by the family of Terry Venables, that the successful former England and Tottenham Hotspur manager has died at the age of 80. Here we look at Venables career as both a football player, before going into management. This of course includes managing England at the 1996 European Championships.
Who Was Terry Venables?
Terry Venables is somewhat of a national hero. ‘El Tel’ of course took England to the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championships, as well as winning the FA Cup as both a player and manager with Tottenham Hotspur.
Not only that, but he completely turned around the fortunes of Barcelona during the three years he was manager at the Camp Nou.
Venables was originally from Dagenham and was born an only child. When he was just 13-years-old, Venables was sent to live with his grandparents, as his parents moved across England to run a pub. During his time with his maternal grandparents, this was when his love of football truly began.
Later in his life, Venables got heavily involved in writing and singing, after his footballing days were over of course. The English footballing legend co-authored five novels with writer Gordon Williams, which include: They Used to Play on Grass (1972), The Bornless Keeper (1974), Hazell Plays Solomon (1974), Hazell and the Three Card Trick (1975), and Hazell and the Menacing Jester (1976).
He also ventured into music, recording a single in 2002 for the World Cup with band Rider. The song ‘England Crazy’ reached number 46 in the UK charts. He then recorded a cover of the Elvis Presley song ‘If I Can Dream’ in 2010, with the cover reaching number 23 in the UK charts.
Terry Venables Playing Career
During the 1960s and 1970s, Terry Venables played for a whole host of elite clubs in England, including the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace. During his time as a player, Venables gained two senior caps for England. But it’s not as a player he is remembered as an English legend of course.
At the age of 15, Venables signed his first official contract as a footballer. He was straight on the books at Chelsea, but didn’t make his professional debut for the First Team until February 1960 in a 402 win over West Ham United. Venables never looked back from that point.
In total, Venables played 528 professional football games, scoring 50 goals from midfield in those appearances. Chelsea was where he spent most of his career, with 202 appearances for the Blues. He also most notably played 115 games for Tottenham Hotspur and 177 times for QPR.
Venables first taste of real success as a footballer was winning the League Cup with Chelsea in 1965, a match in which he scored a decisive penalty for the London club to help them win their first major trophy in 10 years.
He also enjoyed an incredibly fruitful time at Spurs, winning the FA Cup in 1967. His time at Chelsea and Tottenham was the most successful days of his playing career, but he did also go on to play for QPR, where his side finished runner-up in the Second Division (now Championship) in 1972/73.
Terry Venables Managerial Career
Shortly after retiring from football in the mid 70s, Terry Venables worked under Malcolm Allison at Crystal Palace as a coach in the 1975/76 season. After Allison was sacked by the London club, Venables succeeded him as manager in June 1976. This was his first taste of being a full-time manager of a top-class football team.
During his time as Crystal Palace manager, Venables guided them from the Third Division to the top flight, including winning the Second Division championship with The Eagles in 1979. He then moved on to QPR, where he reached the FA Cup Final in 1982, before winning the Second Division title with QPR the following season.
Then, in 1984 Venables was offered a totally new challenge – managing FC Barcelona. The successful manager of course jumped at the opportunity, and subsequently won La Liga in 1985, while reaching the final of the European Cup (now Champions League) the following season.
After three years in Spain, Venables returned to England and Tottenham Hotspur once again – this time on the side-lines. Just like as a player, Venables won the FA Cup with Spurs, guiding them to glory in 1991.
Terry Venables then went on to manage England from 1994-1996 – more details on this a bit later. To finish his managerial career, Venables enjoyed time in the dugout at both Middlesbrough and Leeds United, as well as managing the Australian national team.
Terry Venables, England & The 1996 European Championships
One of the most memorable and noteworthy times of Terry Venables successful and complete career was the period as manager of England.
Venables succeeded Graham Taylor as the National team manager, and was the man in the England hotseat for the 1996 European Championships. Venables guided the Three Lions to the semi-finals of Euro ’96, before his side crashed out on penalties to Germany.
The 1996 European Championships were heart-breaking for England, having progressed through a group with Scotland, the Netherland and Switzerland. England then advanced past Spain in the quarter-finals, ironically on penalties, before subsequently losing out on spot kicks to Germany following a 1-1 draw.
Following the 1996 Euros, Terry Venables was replaced by Glenn Hoddle as England manager, despite having lost just one of his 23 matches in charge of the Three Lions.
All in all, the career of Terry Venables was an incredibly successful one, both as a player and manager.
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