Jozef Vengloš

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Jozef Vengloš (18 February 1936 – 26 January 2021) was a Slovak football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for Slovan Bratislava from 1954 to 1966, making more than 200 league appearances and helping the club win the league title in 1955. His playing career ended due to hepatitis.

After retiring as a player, Vengloš became a manager and worked all over the world. He coached the Czechoslovakia national team at two World Cups and at Euro 1980, where the team finished in third place. He was assistant manager of Czechoslovakia from 1973 to 1978, then head coach from 1978 to 1982.

In club football, he managed teams in several countries, including Sporting CP, Fenerbahçe, and Celtic, among others. A major milestone came in 1990 when he became the first person born outside the British Isles to manage a top division club in England, Aston Villa. He led Czechoslovakia to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup. He later became the first head coach of Slovakia after its independence, from 1993 to 1995.

Vengloš also had a strong academic background, holding a doctorate in Physical Education and specializing in psychology. He worked with FIFA as a lecturer and adviser, and served in football administration roles in Slovakia and Europe.

He died in Bratislava on 26 January 2021, aged 84.