Gary Speed brought a professionalism to Welsh football that built on the foundations laid by John Toshack which put them on the path to international tournaments, says Wales skipper Gareth Bale.
Wales are heading to the World Cup in Qatar in just three weeks' time, their first appearance at a global competition in 64 years. And a great deal of credit is down to Speed, who succeeded Toshack in the Wales dugout and paved the way for Cymru to be included among the international elite before his tragic death in 2011 at the age of just 42.
In the first part of a new BBC documentary called Together Stronger from Merthyr's own Jonny Owen, which will air on BBC Wales at 8pm on Wednesday night, the rise of the Welsh football team is chartered from the doldrums on 2004 to new eras under Toshack and Speed.
