Former Wales captain and manager Terry Yorath passed away at 75. He made history as the first Welsh player to feature in a European Cup final, yet his life was profoundly marked by two devastating personal tragedies outside football.
Yorath played for clubs including Leeds United, Coventry City, and Tottenham Hotspur. He earned 59 caps for Wales, captaining the side in 42 of them, and later managed Swansea City, Bradford City, Cardiff City, and Sheffield Wednesday.
He remains best remembered for leading Wales so close to qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, only to suffer a heartbreaking home defeat to Romania.
Yorath is survived by three children: son Jordan and daughters Louise and Gabby, the BBC Sport presenter who married former Scotland rugby player Kenny Logan in 2001. His son Daniel died suddenly at 15 in 1992 from undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In 1985 Yorath was present at Bradford’s Valley Parade when fire claimed 56 lives.
Playing Career and Natural Leadership
Born in Cardiff, Yorath developed into a tough-tackling midfielder with strong leadership qualities while coming through at Leeds United in the early 1970s under Don Revie.
Joining as a schoolboy in 1967, he initially found opportunities limited alongside stars Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles. He became a regular during the 1973/74 league title success and started in the 1975 European Cup final, where Leeds lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich.
He moved to Coventry in 1976, serving as captain for much of his time there, before joining Tottenham in 1979. His playing days ended with spells at Vancouver Whitecaps and Bradford, where he took on a player-coach role.
Twice on the Verge of World Cup Qualification
Yorath came agonisingly close to World Cup qualification with Wales on two occasions, a rare achievement previously accomplished only in 1958.
As captain in 1977, he featured in a controversial match at Anfield where Scotland won 2-0, helped by a disputed penalty after handball by Joe Jordan, a former Leeds teammate who was also godfather to Yorath’s daughter Gabby.
In 1993 as manager, he guided Wales to needing just one more victory for the 1994 finals in the United States. In the decisive home game against Romania, Paul Bodin struck the crossbar from a penalty that would have made it 2-1, and Romania eventually won 2-1.
Yorath always defended Bodin, pointing out goalkeeper Nev Southall’s error on Gheorghe Hagi’s opener. The loss marked his final game in charge, as his contract was not renewed.
Tragedies Away from the Pitch
In 1985 Yorath was player-coach at Bradford and helped evacuate fans, including his family, during the Valley Parade fire disaster. He later described breaking a window to escape and seeing severe burns on an elderly supporter, calling the aftermath shocking.
The sudden death of his son Daniel from an undetected heart condition in 1992 affected him deeply. Yorath admitted he struggled to cope, turning to alcohol more and visiting the grave nightly while keeping his son’s clothes untouched.
