Craig Bellamy: The Playing & Coaching Career of the Welsh Manager

In July 2024, Craig Bellamy was appointed head coach of the men’s Welsh national football team. Wales narrowly missed out on a place at Euro 2024 and had to watch on as England and Scotland took part. After they made the semis of the tournament in 2016, and then the last 16 in 2020, it was a bitter blow. The Welsh were pipped on penalties by Poland in the play-offs.

Ultimately, however, it was not this “failure” that cost Rob Page, Bellamy’s predecessor, his job. It certainly played its part, but the 0-0 draw against minnows Gibraltar that followed was what really put the pressure on. When that was succeeded by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Slovakia the Welsh FA decided they had to act. On the 21st of June, 12 days after the defeat in Slovakia, the Welsh FA ended Page’s contract and the hunt for a new manager began.

That hunt ended with Bellamy. But who is the new head coach of Wales and what can Wales fans expect?

Bellamy’s Playing Career

Bellamy was born in Cardiff on the 13th of July 1979 and was 44 when appointed to what he described as the “best job in the world”. He added some realism by adding, “that’s how it feels to me” and there is no doubt that Bellamy is a fiercely proud Welshman. He played 78 times for his country, scoring 19 goals, and also played for Wales at U18 and U21 level.

He began his playing career in the Bristol Rovers youth system but moved to Norwich’s academy at around the age of 11. He stayed with the Canaries and signed his first senior contract there, impressing in particular in the 1998/99 season when registering 19 goals.

He was beginning to attract the attention of Premier League clubs and moved to Coventry City for £6m, effectively replacing Robbie Keane, in August of 2000. He took time to adapt and was unable to prevent Coventry from being relegated. He wasn’t happy at the club and when Newcastle came in for him he was glad to leave after just one season.

Sir Bobby Robson paid £6.5m to bring Bellamy to St James’ Park, Newcastle having been interested in him when he was still at Norwich. There were a number of controversial incidents at Newcastle, but Bellamy’s fiery character meant this was a common thread throughout his career. Both on and off the pitch he showed flashes of anger but in football terms he established an excellent partnership with Alan Shearer.

He scored 14, and provided an excellent foil for Shearer, who got 27, as Newcastle briefly mounted a title challenge in the 2001/02 PL campaign. Three more seasons followed at Newcastle but he never bettered that tally and was sold to Blackburn.

He would go on to play for Liverpool, West Ham, Man City and eventually hometown club Cardiff (on loan). Throughout his career he didn’t tend to stay long in one place, his 167 appearances for Newcastle the most he made at a single club. In all he finished his playing career with 549 appearances and 170 goals.

What Type of Player was Bellamy?

As we have noted, Bellamy was fiery and that “spice” was a big part of what made him so good. He was the sort of footballer that his own fans would love but others would hate. Possessing incredible pace, he worked tirelessly, chasing lost causes and throwing himself about the pitch.

Early in his career he played as a midfielder but he was a forward really, be that playing wide, in the middle, or behind a target man such as Shearer. He suffered a lot of injuries in his career, not overly surprising given his great speed and the gusto with which he played. However, he was also held back by an attitude problem, or certainly a perceived one. Whilst his Wales and Blackburn boss Mark Hughes loved him, several other managers certainly did not, and he had high-profile bust-ups with with Graeme Souness, Roberto Mancini and John Toshak. Even Robson called him “the gobbiest footballer I’ve ever met”.

Coachng Career

Players such as Bellamy are not always seen as obvious choices to go into management but when he moved to Liverpool, Steven Gerrard remarked how surprised he was by the Welshman’s professionalism and hunger for the game. He began by volunteering with the academy at Cardiff and in 2016 was promoted to oversee all of their youth development.

In 2018 he was interviewed for the job he now has, as Wales boss, but Ryan Giggs got the nod. The following year he moved to Anderlecht, working with their U21 team under Vincent Kompany (who was manager of the first team). He subsequently became Kompany’s assistant at Anderlecht and then moved to Burnley with the former Man City defender in July 2022.

When Kompany was somewhat surprisingly snapped up by Bayern Munich, Bellamy was appointed Burnley head coach on a provisional/acting basis. However, with Wales’ poor performances opening up the role as national manager, Bellamy was always likely to be interested. The Welsh FA, obviously having liked what they heard and saw from the former Liverpool striker back in 2018, acted quickly to appoint him.

What Next for Bellamy and Wales?

Work starts straight away for Bellamy and he clearly has a huge task in trying to improve performances. Much of what Wales have achieved in recent times has been down to the brilliance of Gareth Bale. For a time the former Spurs and Real Madrid ace was probably the best in the world behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and, fully committed to his nation, he carried Wales at times.

Bale retired in 2023 after the 2022 winter World Cup, and it is no coincidence that Wales’ performances and results have dipped. Bellamy simply does not have the pool of talent needed to mean qualification becomes expected, rather than simply dreamed of. He will no doubt work tirelessly to find a way to make Wales win, but he will be up against it. They have some tough fixtures in Nations League B, starting with Turkey in September. One thing we can be sure of though is that Bellamy will give it everything he has – and demand the same from his players.