Jozef Vengloš (18 February 1936 – 26 January 2021) was a Slovak professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He held a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Physical Education and also specialised in Psychology. He was selected by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

on various occasions to lecture at the FIFA academies throughout the world.

Playing career

Born in

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(now in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

), Vengloš played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Slovan Bratislava 1954–1966, and later captained the team, and also played for Czechoslovakia at the B level. After his playing career was prematurely ended by

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

, he began his managerial career in Australia, first in club football, before going on to manage the national team. He then returned to Czechoslovakia and coached at club and Under-23 national level.

Coaching career

In 1973, Vengloš was appointed as manager of Slovan Bratislava. During his three years in charge, he twice won the championship. He was also assistant manager of

from 1973–1978. As assistant to Václav Ježek, he helped guide the team to victory in the Euro 1976, beating the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the semi-finals and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the Final. As manager of Czechoslovakia from 1978 to 1982, Vengloš led his side to 3rd place in the 1980 European Championship. He also led them to the 1982 World Cup Finals, where they went out in the first round. He then coached Sporting Lisbon from 1983 to 1984, before coaching in Malaysia (

Kuala Lumpur FA Kuala Lumpur City Football Club, known simply as KL City FC, is a Malaysian professional association football, football club based in Kuala Lumpur. The club competes in the Malaysia Super League, the top level of Football in Malaysia, Malaysia ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

). In 1988, he was re-appointed to manage Czechoslovakia and took them to the quarter-finals of the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. Following the 1990 World Cup, he took over at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, becoming the first manager born outside Britain or Ireland to take charge of a top division club in England. He left after one season after they finished just two places above the First Division relegation zone. He then moved to the Turkish league, where he managed Fenerbahçe from 1991 to 1993. He was the first manager of the Slovakia national team from 1993 to 1995, before managing

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

1996–1997. Vengloš was appointed as Head Coach of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on 17 July 1998 following a prolonged search. Initial reaction from supporters was of anger, hundreds congregating outside the stadium and citing his doctorate by chanting "Dr Who?" Season 1998–99 saw his Celtic team in some excellent form, but they failed to qualify for the Champions League. At the end of the season, Vengloš left to take up a new position as a European technical adviser and as a scout for Celtic. He is most credited with signing fans' idol Ľubomír Moravčík during his season as manager. Other successful signings include club legend Johan Mjällby and while not winning a trophy, he is still looked upon fondly by fans for bringing such players to the club. The stand-out of his reign came as his Celtic side inflicted a punishing 5–1 defeat on arch-rivals Rangers in the first half of the season. In the new year of 1999, he also took Celtic to Ibrox where they held their

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

rivals to a 2–2 draw on their own soil. He later managed Japanese side JEF United Ichihara (now

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

) briefly in 2002.

Other roles

Venglos also served as president of the European Coaches Union, chairman of the UEFA Commission for Technical Progress, a technical adviser to

, a member of the SFZ executive committee, and an adviser to the President of the Slovak Republic and the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic. He also ran for president of the Slovak Olympic Committee (SOV) in 1999, but lost out to František Chmelár.

Honours

Player

Slovan Bratislava *

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League (, ) was the premier football (soccer), football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who formed Gauliga Sudetenland and Ga ...

(1): 1955 *

Czechoslovak Cup The Czechoslovak Cup () was a football cup competition held in Czechoslovakia. It was officially created in 1960 and folded in 1993 with the split between Czech Republic and Slovakia. The cup was played throughout Czechoslovakia until 1968–69. F ...

(2): 1961–62, 1962–63

Assistant

Czechoslovakia *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

(1):

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Manager

Sydney FC Prague * Ampol Cup: 1969 Czechoslovakia U23 * UEFA U-23 Championship (1):

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Slovan Bratislava *

(2): 1973–74, 1974–75 *

(1): 1973–74 *

Slovak Cup The Slovak Cup (), currently named Slovnaft Cup due to sponsorship agreement with Slovnaft, is the only nationwide Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in Football in Slovakia, Slovak football. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Euro ...

(2): 1973–74, 1975–76 Czechoslovakia *

bronze medal:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

: quarter-final Kuala Lumpur City * Malaysian First Division (1): 1986 *

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

runner-up: 1985 Malaysia * Merdeka Tournament: 1986 Fenerbache * Chancellor Cup runner-up

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Celtic *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1998–99 Individual *

Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee (, SOŠV) is the National Olympic Committee representing Slovakia in the International Olympic Committee. It is based in Bratislava, Slovakia. History The Czechoslovak Olympic Committee is one of the oldest ...

(SOSV) ** Chairman's Fair Play award (1993) ** Bronze Rings award (2001) ** Silver Rings award (2009). ** Honorary member of SOSV (2011) * CIFP Honorary Diploma of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

(1993) *

Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

Crystal Wing award (2001) * UEFA Diamond Order of Merit (2007) * FIFA Centennial Order of Merit (2014) * Slovak Football Hall of Fame (2017)

Death

On 26 January 2021, Vengloš died at the age of 84.

Cultural references

Vengloš is mentioned in the song "This One's for Now" by the band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

on their 2014 album '' Urge For Offal''.

References

External links