Terence Frederick Venables, better known to football fans around the globe as ‘Terry’, was born on this day in soccer history in 1943.  Since turning professional with the Chelsea Football Club in 1960 after a three year apprenticeship, Venables has left his mark on the game most notably in England.

During his playing days he suited up for a number of clubs and earned two caps playing for the England national team but it was a manager that he became a legend.

After hanging up his boots, Venables has focused on management leading Crystal Palace (1976-1980), Queen's Park Rangers (1980-1984), FC Barcelona (1984-1987), Tottenham Hotspur (1987-1993), England (1994-1996), Australia (1996-1997), Portsmouth (1997-1998), Crystal Palace (1998-1999), Middlesbrough (2000-2001), Leeds United (2002-2003), and England; assistant manager (2006-2007).

After taking over Crystal Palace in his first stint, Venables took the London club from the third division to the first division, then the top flight in England, leading many to call the side ‘the team of the 80’s.’

Venables moved to QPR after leaving Crystal Palace but was soon in Spain with Barcelona.  While with the Catalan giants he became known as ‘El Tel’.  He brought several English players, Mark Hughes, Gary Lineker and Steve Archibald, with him to Spain and was a success winning the Spanish League title in 1985 and the League Cup the following season but came up short in the European Cup final, now known as the UEFA Champions League, losing to Steaua Bucharest on penalties.

But Venables will always be most fondly remembered by English fans for his time with the England National Team from 1994 through 1996.  El Tel took over after the Three Lions failed to make the 1994 World Cup in the United States and the program needed to be pushed in the right direction.

England made it to the semi-final of the 1996 European Championship, losing out to Germany on penalties.  The run included a 4-1 win over Holland in the group stage, considered one of the top England wins in the last 20 years and a penalty win over Spain in the quarterfinal match.

Venables was as much loved for his off the wall quotes as much as his skills as a manager.  See what he was saying…

'If you can't stand the heat in the dressing room, get out of the kitchen '

'There are two ways of getting the ball. One is from your own team-mates, and that's the only way.'

'If you can't outplay the opposition, you must outnumber them.' –

'The mere fact that he's injured stops him getting injured again, if you know what I mean' -

'Everybody says Steve McManaman played on the left for me in Euro 96 but he never played on the left. The one time he did play on the left was against Switzerland.'

'I’ve been asked that question for the last six months. It is not fair to expect me to make such a fast decision on something that has been put upon me like that.'

‘If history is going to repeat itself I should think we can expect the same thing again.’

‘Apart from their goals, Norway haven't scored’

Happy Birthday El Tel!

Other Birthdays

1986 - Paul McShane, Irish footballer
1991 - Nikola Saric , Danish footballer

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