There was so much more to Terry Venables than a colourful character and wheeler-dealer persona.

He was a coaching innovator who galvanised players and improved them.

Not just in England but in Spain as well.

For Lobo Carrasco - a La Liga title winner at Barcelona in 1985 - Venables was a "great strategist" and "showman".

Gary Neville - part of England's run to the Euro '96 semi-finals - recalled: "The ability that we had to change systems during matches and from game to game was incredible."

And Venables was the perfect pick to cope with that pressure of a first home tournament since the glory of the 1966 World Cup.

From the despair of England failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup under Graham Taylor, Venables adeptly navigated a troubled Euros build-up.

Not only were the performances on the pitch underwhelming. The players' conduct was seen as unacceptable.

A boozy trip to Hong Kong before the tournament just brought the squad closer together when the tabloid outcry could have sunk them.

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Venables could be ruthless with his stars but knew how to bring the dressing room together.

And he brought the country together too in that summer of '96.

Football didn't come home - but it produced more than just a lasting soundtrack from the Three Lions.

Look beyond the penalty pain against Germany in the semi-finals.

England captured the spirit of the age - the nation confidently projecting itself on the world stage and rekindling a love affair with football after the tragedies of the previous decade.

How the players rued Venables only spending two years in the England dugout.

Visionary who wanted to entertain

For some in positions of power he was just too unsuitable for such a prestigious job.

There were unscrupulous business dealings culminating in a ban from being a director.

But Venables was trying to have it all.

Not just being a player and then a coach but also an investor in the game and an entrepreneur.

A nightclub owner who created a football board game and even produced a hat with a built-in wig for women.

Few players like him have won trophies as a player and coach with a club, and then become chief executive, as he did at Tottenham.

But it was on the pitch rather than the boardroom where successes came more naturally.

Terry Venables had the presence and personality that brought so much joy to football fans - a visionary who just wanted to entertain.