A mural on the side of a house in Cardiff of the late former Wales manager, Gary Speed, has been finished. The artwork has been painted on the side of a building near Cardiff City Stadium.
The tribute to the Welsh footballing legend depicts a black and white portrait of Speed alongside the words 'Only one Gary Speed.' The 42-year-old died at his home in Cheshire on November 27, 2011. You can read more about the inexplicable tragedy ten years on here.
As well as managing Wales, Speed represented the men's national team as a player. He earned 85 caps before retiring from international football in 2004. Speed represented Everton, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, and Sheffield United at club level.
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The mural can be seen on the junction of Atlas Road and Leckwith Road and has been developed by Unify Creative, the team behind the Butetown mural dubbed Cardiff's 'Mona Lisa.' The mural features mother-of-two Maimuna Yoncana, originally from Guinea-Bissau, wearing a Cardiff City shirt and cradling her baby bump.
The mural was designed to celebrate the diversity of the capital and was painted in April 2021 as part of a project of the same name organised by Cardiff creatives Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson. Unify is the team behind the My City My Shirt campaign, aim to encourage more people to connect with their city and football.
The project also included the development on Cardiff's Quay Street, featuring freelance artist and creative, Nicole Ready, wearing a yellow Wales away shirt. Unify posted the finished mural on social media on Tuesday, June 21, with people responding to the post with their thoughts on the artwork.
"I passed by this yesterday. It looks incredible. What a lovely tribute to Gary Speed," one person wrote in response to the finished mural. Another wrote: "Love this, what a player and what a man."
"Drove past it earlier today. Amazing tribute. Fantastic image," one fan said. Another wrote: "Glad I got to see it last week half completed. Historical. I really do miss him."
The mural started to take shape earlier this month, just days after Wales qualified for the World Cup. Yusuf said that the Gary Speed mural was something they had been talking about for some time.
He previously said : "We felt there was not really a lasting tribute to the manager who was instrumental in what we are seeing with the Wales football team today. We had hoped to have it ready before the Ukraine game but it is quite a complex undertaking, so it took a bit longer. But he hopes it will be a lasting legacy for his family and his fans in his memory and also as a tribute to the Welsh team."
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