Gary Speed ​​is one of the most successful Wales players in history, which will be remembered by all football fans. He managed to play for many British clubs, and after completing his career did not leave football, but received a coaching license and engaged in mentoring. Unfortunately, his life ended prematurely, and it is still unknown how exactly this happened.
In this article, you will find out who Gary Speed ​​is, how his football career developed, how he later became a coach, and also study both versions of the cause of his death.
Carier start
Gary Speed ​​was born in September 1969 in the Welsh city of Mancot. He was very fond of football and was engaged in it since childhood, which eventually led him to the football academy of the English club Leeds, which at that time was far from being the most powerful club in England. At fifteen, Speed ​​was admitted to the academy, where he trained hard, for which he received a reward - in 1988, when he was eighteen, Gary received a professional contract with the club.
In his first season, he practically did not appear in the main team, speaking only for the reserve. But already in the second season, Gary earned a place at the base, played 26 matches, scored three goals and contributed to the release of his club in the top division. Over the next six years, Speed ​​was one of the key players of Leeds, which has transformed from a weak club into real English power.
Already in the second season in the major league, the club managed to win the championship, and Speed ​​played a very important role in this. In total, he played 312 matches in the Leeds T-shirt, scoring 58 goals. During all this time, together with Leeds, Gary Speed ​​won the FA Cup and the FA League Cup - but in 1995 at the age of 26 he decided to change his club registration. The reason for this was the proposal received from Everton - Gary was a fan of this club since childhood, so he was happy to join him.
Going to Everton
Gary Speed, whose photographs were on all the covers of sports magazines by that time, immediately became the main player in the new club. He spent two seasons there, having played 65 matches and scored 18 goals. Unfortunately, the tale was not destined to last too long - already in 1997, Speed ​​left Everton, moving to Newcastle, which paid for it an amount equivalent to the modern eight million euros.
Neither the footballer nor the club revealed the reasons why their cooperation failed. However, as you already understood, the transfer market was in great demand for a player like Gary Speed. The midfielder's biography was still far from over, so he decided not to give up and start all over again.
A New Beginning at Newcastle
Fortunately, the failure in Everton did not affect the performances of the football player as a whole, and in Newcastle he immediately won a place at the base - and began to show excellent football. He spent six whole years in this club, and all these years he remained one of the club leaders - he 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 ​​was still young and full of energy. Therefore, he decided to pursue a career in a smaller club, which does not have such high demands on a player as Newcastle. Therefore, in 2004, for one million euros, Speed ​​moved to Bolton, which gladly accepted the Welsh legend.
Performances for Bolton
This surprised many, but at 35, Speed ​​was a much more impressive player than many young players. He spent three and a half years at Bolton, having played another 139 matches and scored 14 goals. A striking result for a player who is 38 years old at the end of his performance for the club. Moreover, he still did not want to end his career, so he was leased for six months to Sheffield United, who played in the Championship.
Last club
Speed ​​had a great time all the matches in the lease, having entered the field 22 times and scoring three goals. Therefore, Sheffield decided to expand the agreement with a player whose contract with Bolton has expired. Gary signed a game contract with the club, for which he spent another full season, having entered 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 position of assistant coach. Only in 2010, Gary Speed ​​announced that he was completing a player’s career, and immediately announced that he was accepting the post of Sheffield coach.
Coaching
So, in 2010, it became known that Gary Speed ​​was a Sheffield United coach, but it didn’t last very long. At the beginning of the season, the former footballer 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 is that his work was very noticeable, so he was so soon invited to coach the Wales team. He spent a whole year at the helm of the national team, giving her a good chance of reaching the final of the 2012 European Championship . Perhaps his coaching career would have progressed further, if not for the sad incident that occurred in November 2011. The victory in a friendly match against the Norwegian team 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, photos of which after the wedding could be seen on the covers of all British magazines, had two young children and led a perfectly normal married life, which could not do without small quarrels.
On November 26, the Wales national team coach appeared on television, after which he returned home, where there was a small party in honor of his broadcast. She ended not very fun - Speed ​​on the little things once again quarreled with his wife. She eventually told how she wanted to unwind after the conflict, but Gary would not let her go. After a while, she still managed to get out, got into the car and drove away.
When Speed's wife returned and headed towards the garage, she suddenly changed her mind and drove on. Then she returned, but could not get into the house. Deciding that these were just 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, - it was then that the woman noticed that there were no keys to the garage. She thought that Gary decided to spend the night in the garage and then noticed through the window that he had hanged himself. When the police and doctors arrived, 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 a television cable and threw it on his neck to impress his wife after a quarrel. However, she never returned to the garage, and Gary, most likely, fell asleep on the stairs, with which he slipped as a result, which caused the hanging.