England’s Euro 96 stars pay tribute to Terry Venables: ‘He made people feel special’

A number of former England players have paid their tributes to former manager Terry Venables

Gary Lineker and Gareth Southgate led the tributes to his former England manager Terry Venables, who passed away aged 80 following a long illness.

Venables took charge of England in 1994 and led them to the Euro 1996 semi-finals when they were knocked out on penalties by Germany.

“Devastated to hear that Terry Venables has died,” Lineker said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“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. Sending love and condolences to Yvette and the family. RIP Terry.”

Current England manager Southgate said: “Any player will have a great affinity with the manager that gave them their opportunity, but it was quickly evident playing for Terry Venables that he was an outstanding coach and manager.

“Tactically excellent, he had a wonderful manner, capable of handling everyone from the youngest player to the biggest star.

“He was open minded, forward thinking , enjoyed life to the full and created a brilliant environment with England that allowed his players to flourish and have one of the most memorable tournaments in England history.

“A brilliant man, who made people feel special, I’m very sad to hear of his passing and my thoughts are with Yvette and all of his family.”

Venables was also a former player and manager of Tottenham, who will hold a minute’s applause before their match against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon and all players will be wearing black armbands.

Former England player Stan Collymore said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Terry Venables today. He my dream come true of representing my country which I could never really thank him enough for.

“Vivacious, funny, a superb coach, multi-talented, a man who really lived life to its fullest.

“Rest in Peace, Terry.”

Gary Neville said on X: " A man who gave me a chance to play for my country and became without a shadow of doubt my number one England coach in my whole career... I sit here today thinking back to my special times with Terry and can say he is without doubt the most technically gifted British coach we’ve ever produced.”

Alan Shearer said on X: “Extremely sad news the great Terry Venables has passed away. RIP Boss. I owe you so much. You were amazing.”

David Seaman said: “Dear Terry, you’ll be sadly missed, you told me I was your England Number one and I’ll never ever forget that, you were by far the best England manager and the nation will always remember the way you managed us at Euro ‘96 - great man, great loss.”