'His impact was incredible' - Pep Guardiola praises Terry Venables ...
Pep Guardiola says Terry Venables will go down as a Barcelona great because of the “incredible” impact he had during his short spell at the club.
Venables landed Barcelona a first La Liga title in 11 years when he guided them to the trophy in 1985.
The ex-Chelsea, Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers midfielder went on to manage Spurs, before he led England to the semi-finals of Euro 96.
A picture of a young Guardiola looking up at Venables has surfaced on social media, and the Manchester City boss says Venables changed the way the game was played at Barca.
“As a Barcelona fan, he gave us the La Liga title after 11 years - his impact was incredible there,” said Guardiola about Venables, whose success in Spain earned him the nickname 'El Tel'.
“He introduced something I’d never seen before, a certain type of pressing and the set pieces for example, I remember how many goals [Jose Ramon] Alexanko - the former central defender, captain - scored. [He] introduced many, many things.
“A true gentleman. I was a ball boy so I was not in contact with him, unfortunately we could not win the Champions League in that time [losing] in the final against Steaua Bucharest.
"He’s a big loss for English football, for his family, for his wife.
“I read a lot in the last 24 hours and how many players talk about him - it’s really impressive. Big condolences to all of his family.”
Although he never had direct contact with Venables as a young player at Barcelona, Guardiola says he brought more to the club than what were revolutionary tactics at the time.
“I was 13 or 14 years old - it’s the first time I saw us win La Liga. For many years it wasn’t possible - Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, other teams…”
“The impact - I remember talking to friends of mine who played with him and the words were not just as a manager, as a person - he was so funny. He was on programmes in Catalonia, singing, imitating Frank Sinatra - he was a proper, proper [gentle]man.”
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