The former manager of England’s national soccer team and Tottenham Hotspur, Terry Venables, has passed away at the age of 80 after a long illness, his family announced on Sunday.
Venables led England to the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championship hosted in their home country before being defeated by Germany in a penalty shootout.
“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.
Aside from managing Tottenham, where he won the FA Cup in the 1990-91 season, Venables also managed Crystal Palace, Leeds United, and Barcelona during his illustrious career as a manager.
While managing Barcelona, Venables gained the nickname El Tel, winning LaLiga and leading the team to the European Cup final in 1986. He is credited with 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.
Venables began his professional playing career with Chelsea in 1960 and also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers, and Crystal Palace before retiring to become a manager at Crystal Palace.
As a player, he made over 500 league appearances and won the League Cup with Chelsea in 1965 and the FA Cup with Spurs in 1967. He also made two international appearances for England.
Venables also served as the chief executive of Spurs from 1991-93 during a two-year stint.
“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.
(Reporting by William Schomberg and Aadi Nair; Editing by Jan Harvey and Pritha Sarkar)
