The world of football was shocked when Gary Speed MBE tragically died on November 27, 2011. At the time he was the manager of Wales.

Gary Speed MBE represented Leeds United, Everton, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers, and once held the record for the most appearances in the Barclays Premier League at 535.

He was the first player to reach 500 Premier League appearances and he scored in every season of top flight football that he played in.

In total, Gary was capped 85 times for Wales – a record for an outfield player, second only to Neville Southall in the all time list. Gary also captained Wales on forty-four occasions.

Speed entered coaching after a highly successful playing career with Sheffield United, as first team coach at Bramall Lane, whilst also gaining the UEFA Pro License.

After briefly managing The Blades, he was later confirmed as the new manager of the Welsh National team on December 14, 2010. On his appointment, Speed became the eleventh manager of the Wales International football team.

Under Speed's guidance, there were signs of real improvement under his tenure as Wales had won their last three internationals. Wales, gained more Fifa world ranking points than any other side in 2011 under his guidance.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.