Slovakian and European football is mourning renowned coach Jozef Vengloš

 Slovakian and European football is mourning renowned coach Jozef Vengloš, who has passed away at the age of 84.

Vengloš, born in Ružomberok, played in midfield for Slovan Bratislava from 1954 to 1966 before going on to enjoy a unique and distinguished coaching career. His greatest success came as assistant to Václav Ježek, when he played a vital role in Czechoslovakia's triumph at the 1976 UEFA European Championship in Yugoslavia. A vibrant Czech team clinched the title, Antonín Panenka's remarkable chipped spot kick winning a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the final against West Germany in Belgrade after the game had finished level at 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Four years later, having taken over as head coach, Vengloš led Czechoslovakia to third place at EURO 1980 in Italy, another shoot-out win against the Italian hosts giving the Czechs the bronze medal. He also reached the 1990 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in Italy during a second stint as Czechoslovakia coach. Vengloš coached four other national teams – Australia, Malaysia, Oman and his native Slovakia.

Widely travelled at club level, Vengloš became the first foreign coach to manage a club in England's top flight when he took charge of Aston Villa in July 1990. Slovan Bratislava, Fenerbahçe and Celtic were among his other club coaching assignments. He won two Czechoslovakian league titles with Slovan, as well as the Malaysian championship with FC Kuala Lumpur.

EURO 1976 final hero Panenka paid a warm tribute, telling UEFA.com: "I will always remember Jozef Vengloš as one of the best coaches I played under – not because of the successes we achieved, but for his personal and coaching qualities. He formed a perfect duo with Václav Ježek, who was a bit more impulsive and motivating, while Jozef was calm, distinguished, patient when explaining the tactics. He was a natural authority, experienced, well educated. I will always have only very nice memories of him."

"He helped me to move further forward than any other coaches," added Ján Švehlík, the former Slovan Bratislava forward who scored Czechoslovakia's first goal in the 1976 final. "I am very grateful for what he did for me. He was very professional, and ahead of his time."

Aston Villa, in paying tribute, described Vengloš as "an intelligent manager, strict disciplinarian and highly respected...there was no question about his pedigree." Celtic said that Vengloš "always remained a hugely popular figure with fans."

Distinguished UEFA career

Vengloš was a much-respected figure with UEFA coaching circles. He was chairman of the European body's Technical Development Committee from 2000 to 2004, and vice-chairman from 2004 to 2006, before serving as a member of the UEFA Jira Panel of European coaching experts between 2004 and 2009. Vengloš also gave invaluable service to UEFA as a member of technical study groups at various major competitions.

He received the UEFA Order of Merit in Diamond in 2007 for his outstanding services to European football.