Johnny Warren, "Captain Socceroo", former international star and a tireless promoter for the game, has died after a long battle with cancer aged 61.

Warren was one of the recognisable faces of Australian soccer. In his playing days he was one of the most recognisable Socceroos and played in Australia's only World Cup tournament appearance in 1974.

After his playing days ended, he remained a familiar face to soccer fans all over Australia through his involvement with SBS.

RIP Johnny Warren

RIP.

Lost for words.

It feels like a loss of a friend or even family. I was in shock when I found out. May he rest in peace and a big thank you for all that he has done for the game in Australia.

Yes, many thanks must go to him for the advancemetns in Australian football recently. He has always given us an in-depth analysis whenever he was on TWG, based on his great knowledge of the game. I must say that it was the segments that Johnny featured in, that I looked forward to most.

He'll be sorely missed, a huge loss for Australian Football, come on Socceroos lets get to the World Cup for Johnny!

RIP Johnny Warren