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Stars pay Richards respects

Image: Richards: Laid to rest

Robbie Keane and James Beattie were among hundreds of mourners at the funeral of Dean Richards.

Footballers come out in force to mourn loss of ex-defender

Robbie Keane and James Beattie were among hundreds of mourners at the funeral of former Wolves and Tottenham defender Dean Richards on Friday. Richards, who was forced to finish his playing career in 2005 due to illness, died last weekend aged 36. His funeral was held on Friday at Bradford Cathedral, in Richards' home city. Republic of Ireland international Keane played alongside Richards at Wolves and Tottenham, while on-loan Blackpool striker James Beattie played with the former centre-half at Southampton. They joined friends, family and former colleagues in paying their respects to Richards, including Wolves legend Steve Bull and former Bradford manager Chris Kamara.

Wolves favourite

Richards began his career with his hometown club in 1992 before joining Wolves in 1995, becoming a firm favourite at Molineux. He then left for Southampton in 1999 before earning an £8.1million move to Tottenham in 2001, where he was forced to retire in March 2005 after suffering from dizzy spells and headaches. After making a total of 348 appearances, scoring 17 goals, Richards returned to the game in 2007 as youth-team coach at Bradford before losing his long-term battle with illness last weekend.