Reports are circulating that Gary Speed was about to be the subject of a tabloid expose of his personal life. Photo / AP
Gary Speed was smiling and relaxed as he spoke on national television about the day's upcoming soccer matches.
A few hours later, he was found dead at home in an apparent suicide.
The sudden death of the Wales manager and former Premier League star, who was only 42, shocked not only the British soccer world but also touched many people outside the sport.
Why Speed would take his own life remained unclear yesterday.
Several friends speculated he could have been depressed. Unsubstantiated rumours circulated online that Speed was to be the subject of a tabloid newspaper story about his personal life.
The first man to play 500 games in the English Premier League and the youngest member of the midfield that carried Leeds to its most recent league title in 1992, Speed had overhauled Wales' ailing national team and coached a young squad to four wins in their last five matches.
"Twenty minutes before we went on air on Saturday, he was the normal Gary Speed to me," said Gary McAllister, a former teammate who also appeared on the BBC programme Football Focus. "He was very excited about the prospects of the Welsh national team and was upbeat, looking class, immaculately presented.
"I could never have thought that 10-12 hours after I saw him I'd be getting that news. It's a nightmare."
Citing anonymous police sources, British media widely reported that Speed was found hanged on Sunday morning (local time) in the garage of his home in Huntington where he lived with his wife and two sons.
While officials scheduled an inquest into Speed's death tomorrow, police said there were no suspicious circumstances, a statement commonly made in cases of suicide.
Fans left shirts and homemade banners adorned with Speed's name outside the stadiums of each of his five former clubs, while British Prime Minister David Cameron said he watched highlights of those same matches Speed had talked about on TV.
"I think it has been incredibly moving," Cameron said. "I was watching Match of the Day last night and watching people, crowds, absolutely silent and footballers revering his memory."
Fellow Leeds midfielder Gordon Strachan said: "People have problems in football and you have an indication that you need to keep an eye on someone, but this was right out of the blue. It's hard for us as friends to understand."
Even those who played against Speed remembered him fondly.
"He was an amazing, talented player, a player that had such a glittering career and just began a great career in management as well," former England captain David Beckham said. "It is a sad time to lose a man like this."
British tabloids the Sun and the Daily Star both used their official Twitter accounts to deny rumours that they had been preparing to publish revelations about Speed's private life.
"No truth in this story. The Sun was not investigating Gary Speed in any way," the paper tweeted.
Depression has been suggested as a possible reason. Speed died just a day after former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore wrote about the illness from which he has suffered over several years.
"Suicidal thoughts. Thankfully I've not got to that part yet and in my last 10 years only once or twice has this practical reality entered my head," Collymore wrote on Twitter.
Suffering from depression, Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke ended his life two years ago by stepping in front of a train. A referee in Germany attempted suicide last weekend hours before a Bundesliga game.
English soccer's most infamous suicide was that of Justin Fashanu, the first black footballer to move in a £1 million transfer when he joined Nottingham Forest in 1981. Fashanu's career faded after he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality and he was found hanged in a London garage in 1998 at age 37.
"You would never hear a player confessing to his teammates that he had a problem and needed help," former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen wrote in the Telegraph. "I spent 14 years in the Liverpool dressing room and I can't recall that happening."
- AP
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