The death of Gary Speed at the age of 42 this week shocked the Welsh nation and, indeed, the footballing world. One of his finest moments on the pitch - and in the words of team-mate Robbie Savage one that defined him as a player - was a 2-1 win over Italy in 2002, in which the midfielder filled in at left-back. It would be one of the best results in Wales' history, although their qualifying campaign for Euro 2004 would end with a heartbreaking play-off defeat to Russia.
At the start of the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, there was real optimism among the Wales supporters that their side would finally be able to reach the final stages of a major tournament for the first time in 44 years. It had been a long wait since the 1958 World Cup when the likes of Ivor Allchurch, Cliff Jones, Alf Sherwood, Jack Kelsey, Trevor Ford and the legendary John Charles, came up against a 17-year-old Pele and lost 1-0 to Brazil in the quarter-finals.
In truth, the Welsh had been lucky to seal a spot at the World Cup finals in Sweden after a drawing of lots for all the second-placed teams in qualifying granted them a play-off against Israel. With political tensions in the Middle East running high, Israel's qualifying opponents in the CAF/AFC Second Round - Turkey, Indonesia and Sudan - had refused to play them and, as a result, Israel were awarded the top spot in the group by default. However, as FIFA was not keen to have a side at the World Cup who had not played a single qualifying match, a special play-off was arranged and, after Belgium had refused, Wales accepted the invitation.
That campaign of 1958 would be their only appearance at the World Cup and Wales' next hope on the international scene came in 1976 at the European Championships. With a talented set of players including John Toshack, Terry Yorath and Mike England, they failed to reach the final tournament but only because in those days the semi-finals were viewed as the 'final tournament' and therefore contained just four teams.
Losing out to hosts Yugoslavia in a bad-tempered two-legged quarter-final ensured that 1976 would be the last time that Wales would make an impact on the international game. There were a series of near-misses, such as in 1982 World Cup qualifying when floodlight failures contributed to their 2-2 draw with Iceland that ultimately scuppered their chances. And Iceland, again, were Wales' nemesis in 1986 as they missed out on goal difference after losing 1-0 in Reykjavik.
Yorath, as player-turned-manager, led them to within a whisker of USA '94 as Paul Bodin missed a penalty in their final must-win game against Romania (they lost 2-1) and Welsh expectations were low until the appointment of former striker Mark Hughes as manager in 1999 - following a 4-0 defeat to Italy - which had fans believing once again that the country could return to the world stage again.
First impressions suggested that it would take time as, despite a win over Belarus in Minsk, defeats to Denmark and Switzerland saw them miss out on Euro 2000 by five points, and they failed to make an impression on qualifying for the 2002 World Cup either as they finished fifth in a group that was won by Poland.
However, the final game of that campaign - a meaningless 1-0 win over Belarus - had snapped the side's worst ever run after they had failed to win in 12 games. And the New Year brought renewed vigour as three friendly matches in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium lifted Welsh spirits ahead of the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Drawing with Argentina and Czech Republic, the Welsh beat Germany 1-0 with a debut goal from Rob Earnshaw before flying to Varazdin to draw 1-1 with Croatia in their final warm-up match.
The friendlies gave Wales some much-needed momentum and Hughes was lauded as his side travelled to Helsinki to beat Finland 2-0. Described by the Guardian's Mark McGuinness as ''one of their best competitive results in years'', it appeared that things were changing. ''There seems to be a bit more depth to the current Welsh squad than one can remember them having over the past 20 years,'' McGuiness wrote, and heralded Hughes' ''mini revolution'' for giving Wales hope once more.
A winning start to their campaign was vital and, with Italy up next, Hughes left the public in no doubt about how important he felt the match could be.
"It could have an impact on not only the group but, possibly, Welsh football for years to come,'' he said. ''It's a chance to really push Welsh football forward in the minds of everybody in the country and it's an opportunity for us to establish football once and for all in this country and really inspire a whole new generation of Welsh sporting people. So there is an obligation on us to perform well. If we got a positive result it could prove to be a defining moment. The overall goal is to qualify for Portugal; if we were able to do that the impact on Welsh football would last for years ahead.''
Traditionally, the coverage of Welsh sport in the country had centred on a game with an oval ball, rugby, but Hughes' determination to "change people's perceptions of football in Wales" saw the Italy fixture treated as a huge event. Cardiff-based band Manic Street Preachers were called in to perform two songs for the pre-match entertainment, while the great John Charles (who also played in Italy) was paraded on the pitch. Ahead of the kick-off, world-famous tenor Bryn Terfel sung the national anthem and, after weeks of build-up in the press, the atmosphere was ''fervent and furious'' according to the BBC report.
Wales had only played the then three-time World Cup winners eight times in history - winning just once in 1988 - and, although the Italians had only won two of their last nine games (a run that had raised questions over the future of boss Giovanni Trapattoni), they were still heavy underdogs. Hughes' men, though, would pay no attention to that.
Quick off the mark, the Welsh should have been ahead when Danny Gabbidon spurned a good chance from a free-kick, but were on course soon after as Craig Bellamy and Mark Delaney found space down the right and Bellamy fed Wales' footballer of the year Simon Davies to slot past Gianluigi Buffon in the 12th minute.
Marshalled well by Alessandro Nesta, Italy defended well to keep the score at 1-0 and, after half an hour, they were level as a questionable free-kick from Alessandro Del Piero looped over Paul Jones having taken a wicked deflection off the top of the wall. ''The goal choked the belief in the stands, which fell into pessimistic silence,'' The Guardian's Roy Collins wrote.
However, as John Hartson began to make more of an impact up front, Wales' belief grew and a perfect through-ball from the striker found Bellamy bearing down on goal with 20 minutes remaining. Bellamy's sidestep of goalkeeper Buffon and his cool finish sent the stands into raptures and the defence - which included Gary Speed playing out of position at left-back - hung on bravely to claim a well-deserved win.
''The home side dominated the second half with an energetic, free-flowing display... to leave three-time World Cup-winners Italy a well-beaten side,'' the BBC's match report read, while Collins waxed: ''A victory that in these changing sporting times in the principality will rank among anything Gareth and Barry [two of their rugby greats] ever did against England at the Arms Park sees Wales on top of Group Nine with two wins from two games. It was a performance that deserved nothing less than a splendid victory.''
It was a performance to lift a nation and 23-year-old Bellamy added in the Daily Star: ''Only a year ago, people were saying that we were the worst Welsh side in history. We knew we weren't. Now we're one of the best.''
What happened next? Wales won their next game against Azerbaijan in Baku and drew the next 2-2 against Bosnia, before beating Azerbaijan again at home. The results had them sitting pretty at the top of their qualifying group, but a friendly defeat to the USA saw their run come to an end and it all went downhill. Wales lost three of their final four qualifiers and were sent into a play-off with Russia as Italy finished top. A 0-0 draw in Moscow raised hopes once more, but Hughes' men lost 1-0 in Cardiff and there was a controversial edge as Russian midfielder Yegor Titov, who had tested positive for the use of a banned substance after the first qualifying leg, was given a reprieve. Instead of throwing Russia out of the tournament, UEFA decided to just stop Titov from playing for a year. Sadly for Wales, there was to be no backtrack and they have not sealed progress to an international tournament since.
