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Terry Venables was the lost great England manager and, until Gareth Southgate, the last great England manager. The link between Alf Ramsey, for whom he briefly played, and Southgate, who he plucked from Aston Villa and turned into an assured international with seeming ease, Venables may have fashioned the best England team since 1966. And if that verdict comes from the slender evidence of perhaps two-and-a-half games of playing well on home soil – the second 45 minutes against Scotland, the rout of the Netherlands, the semi-final against Germany – Euro 96 will forever leave a generation with a sense of what might have been. From the wreckage of the doomed campaign to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, Venables seemed to inspire an English enlightenment. From the plodding dullness of long-ball football purveyed by limited players, he allied technical and tactical excellence with attacking intent and a willingness to embrace all the talents at his disposal. It may have been the only time in the last half-century when England were the finest team in a tournament; it is not jingoism to think that, had Germany been worse at penalties, Venables’ team would have beaten Czech Republic in the final. It ought to have been the start of an era; instead, it was an interlude. On Sunday, Venables died aged 80 after a long illness. He managed England for two-and-a-half of those years and it should have been more. If the FA’s reluctance to extend his deal before Euro 96 reflected a sense of disquiet about his business dealings – Venables ended up being banned from being a company director for seven years – it was a mistake. No one else took England to a semi-final for more than two decades; even when Southgate did, no one else brought such adept man-management and tactical nous. If Venables was England’s most charismatic manager, a throwback in that respect to Tommy Docherty, under whom he emerged at Chelsea, and Malcolm Allison, who gave him his first coaching job at Crystal Palace, he was years ahead of his time in other respects. Gary Neville recalled ostensibly playing right-back in three consecutive games at Euro 96, but actually occupying different positions in each. In an age of a lumpen 4-4-2, Venables could switch systems, adopt the Christmas tree or the back three, school the Dutch in Total Football. The managers England later imported at great expense, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, produced less sophisticated football than the boy from Dagenham. The tributes reflected his rare gifts. “The best, most innovative coach that I had the privilege and pleasure of playing for,” said Gary Lineker, who also played for Johan Cruyff. “The most technically gifted coach that I ever played under,” said Neville, who played 602 times for Sir Alex Ferguson. And yet the tragedy of Venables, for him as well as England, was that his eventual achievements placed him in the category of the very good and not the great. Perhaps only penalties kept him out of the pantheon: Southgate’s tame spot-kick in 1996, the four that – ludicrously – Barcelona contrived to miss while scoring none in the 1986 European Cup final shootout. And if there is an Anglocentric focus on the national team, it is worth noting that in the last seven decades, only one English manager has won either the French, German, Italian or Spanish league title: Venables, in his first season at Barcelona, when they had not been champions for a decade, when Diego Maradona had been sold and the man hired from QPR replaced him with Steve Archibald. They won La Liga by 10 points, topping the table from start to finish. He was a game away from a second stunning achievement, winning Barcelona’s maiden European Cup. Steaua Bucharest defended for 120 minutes in the final before what Venables subsequently described as “the worst penalty shootout you’ve ever seen”. Yet there is a picture after the semi-final of a teenager on Barcelona’s books gazing up adoringly at Venables. If a young Pep Guardiola was influenced by Venables, he was not alone. Yet a managerial career can be divided into two halves: before and after Euro 96. He enjoyed success everywhere in the first part of his coaching career, taking Palace to promotion and, briefly, top of the old Division 1, QPR to a fifth-place finish, Tottenham to third and the FA Cup, which he had also won as a Spurs player. But football sometimes seemed insufficient for a man of his ideas, energy and entrepreneurial spirit. Venables was author, crooner, nightclub owner. He had a sharp intellect, a belief in his own ability, but also a willingness to aim for the boardroom when he was at his best on the training pitch and in the dugout. In a way, Venables’ other interests made him suited to international management; the nature of them made the FA uncomfortable. And he left the job that suited him best. He went on to take Australia to the brink of the World Cup, denied only by away goals, and rescue Middlesbrough from relegation, but spells back at Palace, at Leeds and as assistant to Steve McClaren at England represented an underwhelming end to a coaching career that took him to the brink of history. There was, though, a fitting element to finishing with England. Venables played for his country at every level, from schoolboy to youth, amateur, under-23 and the full senior team. He was capped just twice by Ramsey; perhaps it did not help that sons of Dagenham were very different – Ramsey the social climber who took elocution lessons, Venables the brash, wisecracking showman. He was not to be a World Cup winner; he made the provisional 33-man squad for the 1966 tournament, but not the final 22. But the glimpse of glory as a manager was tantalising. Venables brought hope to English football, boosting its self-esteem, forging indelible memories, whether of Paul Gascoigne’s goal against Scotland or the 4-1 evisceration of the Netherlands. He left England – the players and the fans, anyway – wanting more. Nostalgia for Euro 96 is already a cottage industry and, as no Englishman has emerged with his managerial skillset since, there will be reasons to remember Terry Venables fondly for years to come. Read More The sporting weekend in pictures Former England boss Terry Venables remembered as an innovator and inspiration Terry Venables gives important advice to Southgate after Euro 96 in resurfaced clip Gareth Southgate pays tribute to ‘outstanding coach’ Terry Venables How Terry Venables brought football home in England’s greatest summer since 1966 England’s Euro 96 stars including Gary Lineker pay tribute to Terry Venables

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Pep Guardiola has claimed that he has not properly trained his Manchester City players in his seven years at the Etihad Stadium – despite winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and a treble. And the Catalan said it is impossible to work with his players on the training pitch now without risking injuring them, because the fixture list is so packed. Guardiola said City are instead learning from their past after revealing they only did 20 or 25 minutes work on the pitches at the Etihad Campus to prepare for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, while they had a shorter pre-season than everyone else to give players time off after winning two finals in June. “In seven years I don’t train,” he said. “Maximum 35 minutes. We don’t train. They started pre-season 15 days before… do you know what 15 days is? We played the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. They had 15 days more with the new players. We didn’t do one day [of] tactical [work]. The day before, we train… it is the same for Jurgen [Klopp, the Liverpool manager], I’m pretty sure. We did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively.” City face RB Leipzig in the Champions League next and Guardiola is worried that if he tries to work with his players, he will lose others. Midfielders Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are injured while the ill Jack Grealish also missed the Liverpool game, as he only named six outfield substitutes. “Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way,” Guardiola added. “We cannot train. If we train, we don’t have players for the next game. We don’t have them. That’s why we have to learn from the past: just understand what you have to do. The press, who jumps. This is what we absolutely rely on.” Guardiola joked that, instead of time on the training pitch, his players absorbed his message from his good looks. “Because I’m really good. I’m a handsome man, I seduce them,” he smiled. “No, today we have the TV images, we talk individually. I spoke with Ruben [Dias] and Kyle [Walker] about what happened at Chelsea [in the 4-4 draw]. They can make mistakes but just understand it. If they lose the ball, they lose the ball. But it’s about where and when you move, the spaces. Today [Saturday] was so good. I know what I’m talking about.” John Stones was an unused substitute on Saturday and Guardiola said the defender needs more time before he returns to the starting 11 or he may break down again. He explained: “He feels good but we want to give him one or two weeks to have proper strength training sessions. John is so important for us, I like him playing when he’s completely ready. He’s going to train, partially or complete, with us. His legs especially, to be sure that when he comes back he is stronger. And we then use him, we need him.” Read More Man City boss Pep Guardiola taking safety-first approach with John Stones Terry Venables inspired a generation to dream and left England wanting more Opposing managers happy with a point as Manchester City and Liverpool draw

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What the papers say Chelsea are set to make Victor Osimhen their prime target in the January transfer window. The 24-year-old Nigerian striker is keen to make the move from Napoli to Stamford Bridge, according to The Daily Telegraph. Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq are chasing goalkeeper David De Gea, reports The Sun. The 33-year-old is a free agent since leaving Manchester United at the end of last season. Saudi Arabia is also a potential destination for West Ham winger Said Benrahma. The Sun reports various clubs in the Saudi Pro League are eager to snap up the 28-year-old Algerian. Boca Juniors full-back Valentin Barco is a target for Manchester City. The Sun reports the Premier League champions would loan the 19-year-old to Leicester. Social media round-up Players to watch Samuel Lino: Newcastle are monitoring the progress of the 23-year-old Brazilian winger from Atletico Madrid as the transfer window period approaches, reports Spanish sports publication Todo Fichajes. Thomas Partey, Kalvin Phillips and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Juventus are keen to sign a midfielder in January and have three Premier League names on their shortlist, claims French site Foot Mercato. Read More On this day in 2007: Christine Ohuruogu wins appeal against Olympic ban The sporting weekend in pictures Laura Kenny sets her sights on a fourth Olympics

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