TRANSCRIPT
“A player, great individual great character and a great leader. ... He was a legend for the club. It was in playing, managing, even for England so it's a sad day. ... I didn't really know much about football when I was younger but I did know him.”
Terry Venables, a former England soccer player who led the national team to the semi-finals of the European Championship as a coach, has died aged 80.
His death was announced in a statement from his family, saying he died on Saturday after a long illness.
There have been tributes from English Football and from the clubs and players he's managed over the years.
This is former England captain Gary Lineker remembering Venables on BBC Sport.
“First, I'd like to say what an incredibly sad day this is. It's actually hit me quite hard because I was very close to Terry, he wasn't just a coach or a manager, but he was a friend. I've worked with him in television for many years. He was the only manager I had in my career that would regularly take me out for lunch, where we just talked football and that started at Barcelona when he signed me there. An incredibly important person in my footballing life, and this is dreadfully sad and I'll miss him a lot and I just want to send my condolences and thoughts to Yvette and all his family.”
Charming and popular, Venables, who was born just outside London, played for Chelsea, Tottenham [[tot-num]], Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace in a 16-year senior career that included two caps for England.
Palace and Q-P-R were the first teams he managed before spells in charge of Barcelona from 1984-87 and Tottenham from 1987-91.
Venables then turned to international management, coaching England from 1994-96, including at Euro 96 on home soil where the team lost to Germany in a penalty shootout in the semifinals.
This is Venables after stepping down as England's manager following Euro 96.
“Everyone has been superb. We couldn't have had more support and we were all in it together, not just the players but the fans, we win together and we lose together.”
He coached Australia's national team but they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1998 after losing in a playoff to Iran.
David Hill was the chairman of Football Australia back in 1996.
He remembers there was opposition to Venables being named as Socceroos coach.
“Of course, you're getting a few people that would have preferred somebody else. But in the end, if you say to anybody, any reasonable judge of football, in Australia or anywhere else, Venables is available, or somebody else, they'll all go for Venables.”
Venables' final coaching spells were back in club soccer with Palace, Middlesbrough [[middles-bruh]] and Leeds United.
Darren Anderton was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for the Tottenham Hotspur.
“Honestly, he was like a father figure to me, took me to Spurs as a youngster, 20 years of age, a very naive young boy. I really struggled, but he just gave me a belief that I belong there. I mean, literally, he cared. He cared about everyone that he that he came in contact with. He was just, as a human being, he was just the best, he really was. I mean I remember when I was struggling in those early days, we played Everton at home, we're losing one nil and I came off again, sat in the bath almost in tears, and he walked in, the game's still going on. And he went, hey, you're a kid.”
Anderton describes how Venables continued to encourage him.
“ And he just gave me a give me a pat on the head. He went, you're gonna be a special player. I really did look up to him as a father figure, he was a second dad to me. So, of course today's very, very sad.”
