International Career
Speed played for Wales at youth level and earned three caps for the under-21 team. He played 85 times for Wales, making him the second highest capped player only behind goalkeeper Neville Southall who made 92 appearances. Speed captained Wales on 44 occasions. His first appearance for the national side had come on 20 May 1990 in a 1–0 friendly win against Costa Rica at Ninian Park as a second-half replacement for Glyn Hodges. He did not score until his 27th cap, a 3–2 away defeat in Moldova in a Euro 96 qualifier on 12 October 1994. Speed's first appearance as captain was during his 46th cap, a 3–0 away win in Malta on 3 June 1998.
Speed broke the record held by Dean Saunders for most caps by a Welsh outfield player when he won his 76th against Finland in a Euro 2004 qualifier on 10 September 2003. He captained the side to a 1–1 draw. Speed retired from international football in 2004 after the side's 3–2 defeat to Poland in a 2006 World Cup qualifier.
After his retirement from international football, he was recommended by both the former manager Mark Hughes and fellow Welsh midfielder Robbie Savage as a future Welsh national team manager.
Read more about this topic: Gary Speed
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)