TERRY VENABLES was an icon of the game and he also had a lot of whimsy and character to his personality too.
The legendary England manager sadly passed away on Saturday aged 80 following a long battle with illness.
And as tributes and memorable stories come in from all corners of the footballing world fans are reminded of the kind of man he was.
His sense of humour was just one of his superb qualities and it was displayed perfectly in his incredible advert for The Sun back in 2010.
Venables channelled his inner Elvis Presley in the ad as he gave his best rendition of the iconic singer’s “If I Can Dream” single.
The brilliant campaign was released just before England’s attempt at World Cup glory in South Africa in 2010.
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The former Three Lions boss sang alongside a choir as he dreamed of adding a second star atop the England badge by winning a World Cup for the first time since 1966.
And he wasn’t the only familiar face to feature in the video either with Ian Wright and Harry Redknapp making up the numbers in the choir too.
Venables released the single to the public for people up and down the nation to listen to in the hopes of inspiring some magic in South Africa.
Unfortunately for Venables and the rest of the country, England were unable to do the business at the tournament and crashed out to familiar foe Germany in the last 16.
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The former Chelsea and Spurs midfielder was England boss himself between 1994 and 1996 and returned to the set up as an assistant from 2006 to 2007.
And some of his former players have paid tribute to the wonderful job he did at coaching them.
Including Gary Neville who labelled Venables as “without doubt the most technically gifted British coach we’ve ever produced”.
Football is in mourning over the loss of the legend after his family released a statement confirming the heartbreaking passing.
The statement read: “We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness.
“We would ask that privacy be given at this incredibly sad time to allow us to mourn the loss of this lovely man who we were so lucky to have had in our lives.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
