As many matches were drawn – 11- as were won under him.His legacy is evident beyond results. He was initially uncomfortable when asked about it, but did consider the improvements. “We have shown that if it’s physical we can handle that and if it’s a football match, we can deal with that too,” he said “We have men for all seasons. Always hard to beat, they only looked like finishing off the opposition against Holland, and too often left themselves open to the draw that was to prove their undoing. Certainly England would have relished a final against the Czech Republic. Anderton’s lack of match sharpness was probably one regret and the period of nervousness after Alan Shearer’s early goal against the Germans another.It did point out a shortcoming of Venables’s England teams.

The day before the match he spent 90 minutes dissecting their game and suggesting an antidote. Impressed by the information, his players emerged from the meeting feeling like world-beaters.Regrets? He’s probably had a few, but too few for him to mention. The real fans had been inside Wembley turning it into a museum of the moving image. Football may not truly have come home but something more important has. The class has turned on the disruptive bullies spoiling it for everyone else. England has moved on – as Venables’s team and the genuine supporter has shown.The coach’s aim was always to marry the fabled English heart to a new tactical thoughtfulness. If Germany confirmed the former, the breathtaking hour against Holland revealed the latter for the most satisfying moment of his tenure.”We’ll always have Paris,” Bergman said to Bogart at the end of Casablanca Venables will always have the Dutch.

Their easy, efficient displays of flexibility were recognised as the very stuff we need and should nurture.Heartening, too, was the reaction to the pre-game jingoism trained on the Germans. Those seeking cheap laughs or looking to score easy, distasteful points were quickly shown to have misjudged the mood and they quickly withdrew in shame.So did the hooligans who finally crept out under cover of that night’s darkness. David Seaman and Andreas Kopke came together to exchange best wishes before the penalty shoot-out; the injured Jurgen Klinsmann hobbled on to commiserate with the hapless Gareth Southgate at the deflating conclusion. Then Southgate, a tear never more than a word away, stood tall to face the press. His reward was an ovation.Here was redemption all round for the English.

The collective response of dignified sympathy for Southgate showed the nation at its best; the collective responsibility of the players was an example to the young of what a team sport can instil Venables’s team had a brave, true and honest soul. Gascoigne, frustrated, returned to the prostrate Helmer with a smile on his face and patted the colossus of a defender on the head.More followed. It brimmed with quality and heroism and celebrated the human spirit in its shared experience and sportsmanship.One moment typified it. Paul Gascoigne played a wall pass with Darren Anderton and seemed to be through on goal.

Then, from nowhere, Thomas Helmer stretched every sinew of his right leg to flick the ball away for a corner. When there were doubts, Venables ate them up and spat them out.It all came to fruition last Wednesday against Germany in a match that transcended nationalism. This was an event that confirmed why this game is worthy of so much attention, one that improved with each intensely absorbing minute as had the World Cup encounter between the two nations in Turin six years ago. Then came the midfield as Venables emphasised the need to match up numbers with modern teams who moved men more smoothly around the field.