Gary Speed: biography of the coach of Wales and an unexpected death

Gary Speed is one of the most successful players in the Wales team in history, which will be remembered by all football fans. He managed to play for many British clubs, and after the end of his career he did not leave football, but received a coaching license and started mentoring. Unfortunately, his life was prematurely cut short, and it is still unknown how this happened.

From this article you will find out who Gary Speed is, how his career developed, how he then became a coach, and also learn both versions of the cause of his death.

Carier start

Gary Speed was born in September 1969 in the Welsh city of Mankote. He was very fond of football and from childhood he was engaged in, which eventually led him to the football academy of the English club "Leeds", which in those days was not the most powerful club in England. At the age of fifteen, Speed was admitted to the academy, where he trained intensively, for which he received a reward - in 1988, when he was eighteen years old, Gary received a professional contract with the club.

In his first season, he almost did not appear in the main team, speaking only for the reserve. But already in the second season Gary earned a place in the base, played 26 matches, scored three goals and contributed to the release of his club in the top division. The next six years, Speed was one of the key players of Leeds, which turned from a weak club into a real English power.

Already in the second season in the higher league the club managed to win the championship, and Speed played a very important role in this. In total, in a T-shirt "Leeds", he played 312 games, scoring 58 goals. For all this time, along with Leeds, Gary Speed won another FA Cup and the League of England Cup - but in 1995 at the age of 26 he decided to change club registration. The reason for this was the proposal received from Everton - Gary was a fan of the club from childhood, so he was happy to join him.

Going to Everton

Gary Speed, whose photos by that time were on all the covers of sports magazines, immediately became a player of the main staff in the new club. He spent two seasons there, having played 65 games and scoring 18 goals. Unfortunately, the tale was not destined to last too long - already in 1997, Speed had left Everton, moving to Newcastle, which paid for it an amount equivalent to the modern eight million euros.

Neither the footballer nor the club did not disclose the reasons why their cooperation failed. However, as you already understood, there was a great demand in the transfer market for such a player as Gary Speed. Biography midfielder was still far from completion, so he decided not to give up and start all over again from the beginning.

A new beginning in Newcastle

Fortunately, the failure in Everton did not affect the performances of the player as a whole, and at Newcastle he immediately won a place in the base - and began to show fine football. In this club he spent six years, and all these years he remained one of the leaders of the club - played 285 matches, in which he scored forty goals. With "Newcastle" midfielder broke up only in 2004, when he was already 35 years old. Most players at this age are already completing a football career, but Speed felt still young and full of energy. Therefore, he decided to continue his career in a smaller club, which is not presented to such high requirements for the player, as "Newcastle". Therefore, in 2004, for one million euros, Speed moved to Bolton, who gladly accepted the Welsh legend.

Speeches for Bolton

This surprised many, but at 35, Speed was a much more impressive player than many young players. In "Bolton" he spent three and a half years, winning 139 more matches and scoring 14 goals. Striking result for the player, who at the end of performances for the club has already turned 38 years old. Moreover, he still did not want to finish his career, so he was given a six-month lease at Sheffield United, who competed in the Championships.

The last club

Speed perfectly held all the matches in the lease, going on the field 22 times and scoring three goals. Therefore, "Sheffield" decided to expand the agreement with the player, whose contract with "Bolton" has already expired. Gary signed a game contract with the club, for which he spent another full season, going to the field 18 times and scoring three goals. In 2009, the forty-year-old midfielder was still listed as a player in the club, but at the same time he also held the post of assistant coach. Only in 2010, Gary Speed announced that he was completing his career, and immediately announced that he was taking the post of coach of Sheffield.

Coaching activities

So, in 2010 it became known that Gary Speed is the coach of Sheffield United, but it did not last very long. At the beginning of the season the former football player was appointed to the coaching bridge, and already in the middle of the season he had to break the contract with the club. The fact that his work was very visible, so he was so soon invited to coach the Wales team. The whole year he spent at the helm of the team, giving her a good chance of reaching the final of the European Championship in 2012. Perhaps his coaching career would have progressed further, if not for the sad event that occurred in November 2011. The victory in the friendly match against Norway on November 12 with a score of 4: 1 will remain the last in the history of this talented coach.

Death of Speed

The death of Gary Speed was very tragic and extremely stupid, especially if you believe the second version. But first things first. Gary Speed and his wife, whose photographs after the wedding could be seen on the covers of all British magazines, had two young children and led a completely normal married life that did not do without minor quarrels.

On November 26, the Welsh national team coach appeared on television, then returned home, where there was a small party in honor of his broadcast. Ended it is not very fun - Speed in the details once again quarreled with his wife. She told in the end how she wanted to unwind after the conflict, but Gary did not let her. After a while she still managed to get out, got into the car and drove away.

When Spida's wife returned and headed toward the garage, she abruptly changed her mind and went on. Then she returned, but could not get into the house. Deciding that it was just the tricks of her husband, she spent the night in the car. In the morning I still wanted to get into the house to go to the bathroom and change clothes, but the doors were still closed. Therefore, she went to the toilet, located outside - that's when the woman noticed that there are no keys from the garage. She thought that Gary decided to spend the night in the garage and then noticed in the window that he hung himself. When the police arrived and doctors, it was confirmed that Gary Speed committed suicide.

However, when studying the details of the case, another version appeared, because Speed had everything in life very well. It is assumed that he went to the garage, made a loop from the television cable and threw it on his neck to impress his wife after the quarrel. However, she never returned to the garage, and Gary, most likely, fell asleep on the stairs, with which as a result and slipped, because of what happened and hanging.