Craig Bellamy

Welsh football player
For the australian rugby league football bus and former player, see Craig Bellamy ( rugby league )
Craig Douglas Bellamy ( bear 13 July 1979 ) is a Welsh erstwhile professional football player who played as a forward. He most recently managed the under-21 team of belgian english Anderlecht. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norwich City, where he made his professional debut in 1996. He signed for Premier League side Coventry City in 2000, breaking the baseball club ‘s record transfer fee, but suffered relegation in his only season. He joined Newcastle United the postdate class where he helped the cabaret achieve two top-four finishes during a four year spell. Bellamy fell out with director Graeme Souness in 2005 and spent the latter function of the 2004–05 season on loanword at Celtic, where he won the scots Cup.

Reading: Craig Bellamy

Bellamy returned to the Premier League late that year, playing one temper with both Blackburn Rovers, where he was named the clubhouse ‘s player of the year, and Liverpool, helping the club reach the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final. In 2007 he signed for West Ham United but wound disrupted his clock time there and in 2009 he joined Manchester City. For the 2010–11 season, Bellamy dropped a division to the Championship to represent his boyhood club Cardiff City on a season-long loan. He helped Cardiff reach the play-offs before they were defeated in the semi-finals. Bellamy returned to Liverpool the watch season, winning the 2012 League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final, before rejoining Cardiff City permanently in 2012. He by and by led them to the Premier League ; the first gear fourth dimension in more than fifty years that Cardiff had played in the top tier of English football. He played one more season with the club in the Premier League, setting a new record by scoring for his seventh unlike club in the division, before retiring from playing in 2014. Having represented Wales at several youth levels, in 1998 at the age of 18, Bellamy made his senior introduction for Wales against Jamaica. Over the next fifteen years, Bellamy gained 78 caps for his state and scored 19 goals. He was the captain of the side from 2007 to 2011, when he stepped down from the function due to recurring injuries. Bellamy retired from international football following the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He was besides a penis of the Great Britain Olympic team at the 2012 Olympics in London, appearing five times and scoring once. Bellamy has been involved in numerous high-profile incidents during his career with teammates, managers and members of the public and was described by Bobby Robson as “ the gobbiest football player I ‘ve always met ”. Outside football, he has been a patron of several charities and started his own administration, The Craig Bellamy Foundation, in Sierra Leone to provide school and football coach to disadvantaged children .

early life [edit ]

Craig Douglas Bellamy was born on 13 July 1979 at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, [ 3 ] the second of three boys born to Douglas and Angela Bellamy. At the time of his parturition, the family lived on Swindon Street near the Splott zone of the city, a traditionally wage-earning environment. Bellamy ‘s mother worked as a clean and his father worked at the nearby Allied Steel and Wire locate that overlooked the family home, [ 4 ] where he remained until the implant ‘s closure in 2002. [ 5 ] With both his parents working full-time, Bellamy spent most of his school holidays at his paternal grandma ‘s base in Adamsdown. [ 6 ] He suffers from asthma ; as a child he made patronize visits to hospital to manage the condition. [ 7 ] At the age of five, Bellamy and his family moved to the eastern suburb Trowbridge, which is character of a council estate of the realm built in the 1960s. [ 4 ] Bellamy ‘s father was a acute football fan who supported Cardiff City and Bellamy ‘s first have of professional football was watching a Football League Fourth Division match between Cardiff and Newport County during the 1987–88 season, which the base side won 4–0. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] His father played amateur football for local Cardiff-based sides ; Bellamy described him as a “ inert right-back “. [ 8 ] Bellamy ‘s pastime in the sport grew quickly ; he regularly attended Cardiff matches at the club ‘s home ground Ninian Park and played in ABC Park near his home with his older brother Paul and his friends. Bellamy credits playing against older children as making him “ into a better player identical cursorily ”. [ 10 ] He first attended Baden Powell Primary School before switching to Trowbridge Juniors where he joined the school football team at the senesce of seven. [ 5 ] [ 11 ] Despite being younger than most of the other players, he was selected to play and featured in his first match against Gladstone Primary School. Local team Pentwyn Dynamo took an interest in Bellamy but were put off by his little size ; his don rather offered to form a team if Bellamy could find enough players. soon after, the under-10s side of local team Caer Castell FC was formed, and Bellamy scored all four goals in the club ‘s first fastness. He was late picked to represent both Cardiff Schools and a Cardiff and District side in national rival. [ 11 ] He went on to attend Rumney High School, [ 12 ] [ 13 ] but left the educate with no GCSEs. [ 14 ] At the age of 12, Bellamy became friends with a group of by and large older boys and began to regularly drink alcohol and skipped school for up to two weeks at a time. [ 12 ] [ 15 ] He saw respective of his friends using cannabis and sniffing glue but denies ever using the substances himself. He late admitted to acting as a lookout while his friends broke into vehicles to steal car stereo to sell for drug money. He described himself as “ a kyd who knew he was going to be a football player and thought he knew it all ”. [ 15 ] By age 14, Bellamy was scantily attending school and was smoking cigarettes and drink alcohol everyday. [ 15 ] In 1993, his brother introduced him to his future wife, Claire ; Bellamy credits the relationship as a keystone factor in moving him away from his early troubles. [ 6 ]

Club career [edit ]

Bristol Rovers and Norwich City [edit ]

Bellamy attended youth sessions organised by Cardiff City in Ely for a year after being encouraged by his father. [ 16 ] The golf club, however, took short interest in him as a child and, at nine-years-old, he joined Bristol Rovers after being spotted by early professional Stan Montgomery, who was working for Rovers. Although an hour ‘s drive from his family family, Bellamy was swayed by the better coach and his own bring kit. He spent two years with Bristol Rovers before being spotted by a lookout working for Norwich City. [ 12 ] [ 17 ] The clubhouse invited Bellamy to a trial match in Somerset where he impressed and was asked to travel with the side to compete in the Dana Cup, an external young football tournament held in Hjørring, Denmark. His performances led to a permanent rate with the Canary Rangers, Norwich ‘s youth development side. [ 12 ] Prior to signing with the club, respective early teams took an interest in Bellamy ; Leeds United offered his parents £10,000 if he signed for them. Norwich responded by guaranteeing him a biennial YTS sign when he was old enough to sign. Bellamy travelled to Norwich by train on Saturday afternoons, then played a youth catch on Sunday good morning before returning to Cardiff. [ 15 ] At the historic period of 15, Bellamy moved away from Cardiff to start his youth apprenticeship with Norwich, being placed with a local family along with another apprentice. [ 18 ] His beginning year away from home proved troublesome and he describes it as “ the hardest year of my liveliness ”, regularly crying himself to sleep at night after suffering from homesickness. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] Each apprentice was assigned to a senior musician for whom they performed basic tasks such as cleaning boots or making tea. Bellamy was paired with John Polston but found the experience defender difficult to work with and believed Polston tried to “ humiliate ” him. [ 18 ] Bellamy ‘s homesickness was lessened after he became friends with another apprentice from Cardiff, Tom Ramasut, but problems with his discipline became commonplace. On one occasion, Bellamy received a final warn from staff after he broke the sleeve of a trialist goalkeeper during a fight on the discipline ground ; Bellamy former wrote that he believed Norwich showed him indulgence when disciplining him in fear of losing a player regarded as having a bright future. [ 18 ] [ 20 ] Bellamy reached a sour distributor point in his career when his girlfriend Claire became pregnant while he was a youth player. He has credited the concept of his first child as a catalyst for his career that saw him become more compulsive to become a professional football player, state, “ I have had the career I have had because of that moment when Claire phoned me up to tell me she was fraught ”. [ 21 ] At the end of the first year of his YTS softwood, Bellamy was the alone player promoted to the golf club ‘s modesty side by coach Mike Phelan. [ 22 ] Bellamy signed his beginning professional contract with Norwich when he turned 16, earning £250 a week, with the choice to renegotiate after ten first-team appearances. [ 3 ] He made his professional introduction for Norwich on 15 March 1997 under coach Mike Walker at the age of 17, as an injury-time substitute in a 2–0 get the better of to Crystal Palace in the First Division, the second tier of the English football league system. Remarking on the rush nature of his appearance, he said, “ It all felt very last minute. I was wearing a kit about three sizes excessively big for me, I touched the ball doubly, we lost 2–0 and it was over. ” [ 3 ] Two further ersatz appearances in fixtures against Manchester City and Oldham Athletic followed before the end of the season. [ 23 ] Bellamy made his first career originate in the opening month of the following season in the inaugural circle of the League Cup against Barnet on 12 August 1997, and started in the league for the foremost time on 20 September against Manchester City. [ 24 ] During the early stages of the political campaign, Bellamy played his tenth match for the first team, leading to new shrink negotiations. Despite an undertake by newly-promoted Premier League side Crystal Palace to sign him for a fee of £2 million, he chose to extend his hand with Norwich. [ 25 ] On 1 November, Bellamy scored his first senior finish, the opener in a 2–2 dwelling draw with Bury. He received his first career crimson batting order on 7 February 1998 in the 23rd moment against Manchester City, but finished his inaugural wide temper with 13 goals from 38 appearances, while playing largely as a central midfielder. [ 24 ] As a young musician, Bellamy was unafraid to voice his public opinion to more aged members of the police squad. His approach annoyed some teammates who sought vengeance during coach sessions ; Bellamy subsequently commented, “ one or two of them would try to clean me out with flying tackles. They wanted to bring me down a peg or two. ” [ 26 ] One discipline session left him “ closely in tears ” after Kevin Scott repeatedly singled him out. Bellamy won accompaniment from his midfield partner, the experience Peter Grant, who struck up a friendship with Bellamy. [ 26 ] Bruce Rioch was appointed Norwich director in 1998 and immediately moved Bellamy from cardinal midfield to attack. The decision reaped rewards immediately ; Bellamy scored seven goals in his first base eight league appearances of the crusade, including his first career hat-trick on 22 August 1998 in a 4–2 home win over Queens Park Rangers. [ 27 ] By November, he was one of the leading goalscorers in the First Division and was rewarded with a new five-year compress. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] In December 1998, Bellamy suffered an injury to his leave stifle following a high challenge by Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Kevin Muscat that ruled him out for two months and left him with a deflate weave in his patella caused by one of Muscat ‘s stud. [ 30 ] The fishing gear caused so much alarm that Rioch had to be physically restrained by his coaching staff while Bellamy ‘s Norwich teammate Iwan Roberts late admitted taking retaliation on Muscat by stamping on his back when the pair met in a match two years later. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Bellamy continued to experience discomfort in the stifle after his return for the remainder of the season but ended the campaign with a career high gear 19 goals in all competitions. [ 27 ] [ 30 ] In a pre-season friendly against Southend United prior to the following season, Bellamy ruptured his cruciate ligaments in an innocuous challenge with an opposition defender and was ruled out for between six and eight months. [ 30 ] He made his return key to the first team against Port Vale on 22 April 2000 and finished the season by scoring goals in consecutive matches against Barnsley and Sheffield United. [ 33 ] Interest in Bellamy grew during the summer ; Norwich rejected an offer of £3.5 million by Wimbledon while Newcastle United showed interest but held back from making a bid because they were waiting to sell Duncan Ferguson to finance the transfer. [ 33 ] [ 34 ]

Coventry City [edit ]

As Newcastle stalled over a bid, Coventry City offered a club-record £6 million to sign Bellamy, which Norwich accepted. Bellamy was reluctant to join the club, preferring a move to Newcastle ; he met with Coventry coach Gordon Strachan to discuss the transfer. Bellamy did not employ an agent at the time so asked his fiscal adviser to attend the meet. His adviser had recently met former football player John Fashanu and telephoned him for advice, leading to Fashanu arriving at the confluence unannounced. The imperativeness of the situation led Bellamy to agree to the move but he regretted his decision, gloss, “ They were persuasive. I felt undermined by the mess with Fashanu. I wanted to save face with Strachan. I felt stressed. My breast was tight because I ‘m asthmatic. I was struggling to breathe properly because I was so tense. I was in a express. So I did what everybody had told me not to do. I told Strachan I ‘d sign. ” [ 33 ] Bellamy became Coventry ‘s phonograph record sign, joining on 16 August 2000 as a replacement for Robbie Keane. [ 35 ] He made his Premier League introduction on the first step day of the 2000–01 season in a 3–1 defeat to Middlesbrough and converted a penalty in the follow crippled, a 2–1 victory over Southampton. [ 36 ] He endured a inadequate startle to his career with Coventry, however, scoring lone three league goals—two of which were penalties—by the start of December as the club found itself in the relegation partition. On 10 December 2000, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Leicester City to gain his side three all-important points and Bellamy ‘s form improved further after the arrival of his Wales strike-partner John Hartson. Coventry were relegated at the end of the 2000–01 temper after the team finished 19th in the Premier League. Bellamy ended his lone season at Coventry with eight goals from 39 appearances. His run of six in the league resulted in him finishing as the club ‘s joint-highest goalscorer in the league, tied with Hartson and Mustapha Hadji. [ 37 ] After leaving the club, Bellamy said, “ I never once enjoyed it at Coventry. I felt quite demoralised. I had enjoyed myself then much at Norwich – but I found I had taken a back step. ” [ 38 ]

newcastle United [edit ]

Bobby Robson era [edit ]

coventry looked to reduce their engage bill following relegation and accepted an offer of £6.5 million from Newcastle United for Bellamy. [ 37 ] [ 39 ] Newcastle director Bobby Robson former wrote that Bellamy was “ a great musician wrapped round an unusual and volatile quality ”. [ 40 ] Bellamy ‘s Newcastle debut came in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, with the golf club draw against belgian side Lokeren. In the first leg, Newcastle secured a 4–0 victory, in which Bellamy assisted Wayne Quinn and Shola Ameobi before scoring his first goal for the clubhouse in the second leg. [ 41 ] Bellamy scored his first Premier League finish for Newcastle in a 1–1 disembowel against local rivals Sunderland at St James ‘ Park on 28 August 2001. [ 42 ] Two weeks later, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Brentford in the League Cup, scoring all three goals within 12 minutes. [ 43 ] Newcastle enjoyed a positivist begin to the season and moved into beginning position on 18 December 2001 after a 3–1 win over Arsenal. Bellamy was shown a square crimson card in the match after being adjudged to have swung an arm at Ashley Cole, [ 44 ] although the decision was overturned on appeal. [ 45 ] Under Robson, Bellamy formed a productive strike partnership with Alan Shearer ; the pair scored 41 goals between them during his first class. [ 43 ] [ 46 ] [ 47 ] Bellamy remarked that his pace and creativity complemented Shearer ‘s game. [ 43 ] Bellamy was one of four players sent home from a winter prepare camp in La Manga after missing a team meal in award of early president John Hall. The group were said to be unaware of the meaning of the dinner and had stayed on at a local restaurant. [ 45 ] [ 48 ] Later in the temper, he was given a patrol caution for common rape after being accused of throwing a student out of teammate Kieron Dyer ‘s car before kicking her. [ 49 ] Bellamy refuted the accusations and stated the incident was sparked by the scholar slamming the car door on his leg after she refused to get out. [ 50 ] Newcastle ‘s entitle challenge gradually faded and Bellamy missed most of the season ‘s final months after tearing a tendon during a match against Sunderland. He featured once in the last three months of the crusade as Newcastle finished one-fourth. In his foremost season, Bellamy scored 14 goals for the side and was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award. [ 51 ] Bellamy undergo knee operation during the summer break and was primitively expected to be fit in time for the new season. His rehabilitation, however, was dull and he missed Newcastle ‘s first four fixtures of the temper. [ 52 ] After returning from injury, Bellamy made his UEFA Champions League debut against ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv and was former given a retrospective three-match ban for headbutting Tiberiu Ghioane in the latter stages of the equal. [ 52 ] On 13 November 2002, he scored two goals, including a 90th-minute achiever, in a 3–2 succeed over Feyenoord, which took Newcastle into the second group stage of the tournament. [ 53 ] Complications from his knee surgery caused problems throughout the season ; inflammation occurred systematically after matches, leaving him struggling for fitness the be week. [ 52 ] In the second round of the Champions League, during a 4–1 home frustration to Internazionale, Bellamy received the fastest bolshevik circuit board in the competition ‘s history when he was sent off for swinging an arm at opposition defender Marco Materazzi five minutes into the crippled. Bellamy reacted to being pinched, which resulted in him receiving a three-match prohibition. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] Bellamy began suffering from tendinitis in his knee and, following the death of his grandma, experienced personal issues that culminated in an argument outside a Cardiff cabaret with a strange. He was charged with the use of racially aggravated linguistic process over the incident. [ 56 ] The charges were late dropped but Bellamy was convicted of using disgusting and abusive language and fined £750. [ 57 ] He finished the 2002–03 season with nine goals in 37 appearances as Newcastle finished in one-third position. [ 58 ] During mid-2003, Bellamy was advised that he required surgery on his knee but decided to postpone the operation to play in two euro 2004 qualifying matches for Wales at the begin of the 2003–04 season. He missed respective matches for Newcastle to ensure he was fit for Wales ‘s matches. This decisiveness angered Newcastle president Freddy Shepherd, who tried to block Bellamy from appearing for Wales until he returned to military action for his club side. Shepherd threatened to sue the Football Association of Wales ( FAW ) if Bellamy featured for Wales but this was subsequently dismissed. [ 57 ] Bellamy underwent the operation but returned to Newcastle to be informed by Shepherd the club were willing to sell Bellamy if he failed to return to form. [ 59 ] He missed more than three months of the crusade in recovery before returning to first-team natural process on 31 January 2004 in a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City. [ 60 ] Bellamy enjoyed a fecund scoring run following his tax return, scoring seven goals in two months before his season was ended due to a pull hamstring as Newcastle finished one-fifth. [ 61 ] In March 2004, media reports stated Bellamy threw a electric chair at first-team bus John Carver after a public argument between the pair. The affray occurred when the squad was travelling to play a UEFA Cup regular with Real Mallorca and Bellamy refused to travel. Robson persuaded Bellamy to attend the meet after a drawn-out discussion ; Bellamy praised Robson ‘s handle of the incident and blamed the argument with Carver on pranks that had got out of pass. [ 62 ] [ 63 ]

Graeme Souness era [edit ]

The arrival of Patrick Kluivert from Barcelona provided increased competition for Bellamy going into the 2004–05 season and the sale of his Wales external teammate Gary Speed farther weakened his place at the club. [ 61 ] After a poor start to the temper, Robson was sacked after four league matches. His refilling was Graeme Souness, a coach with a repute as a martinet and he promptly clashed with Bellamy. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] The pair had a public controversy when Bellamy was pictured curse at Souness after being substituted during a match and later had a physical affray during a aim seance. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] The two stated the rift had been healed after Bellamy scored a last-minute-winning finish in a 4–3 victory over Manchester City in late October. [ 68 ] His last goal for the club came in a UEFA Cup group stage match against Sporting CP in December, a 1–1 draw at St. James ‘ Park ; it was his tenth goal for Newcastle that season. [ 69 ] On 23 January 2005 Bellamy was omitted from the team for a Premier League match with Arsenal at Highbury, which Newcastle lost 1–0. Before the match, Souness stated Bellamy was left out because of a hamstring problem but in a post-match consultation said it was because Bellamy was unwilling to play as a right-sided midfielder. [ 68 ] [ 70 ] Minutes late, Bellamy gave an interview saying he was prepared to play in any side for his club. With his Newcastle career in doubt, Bellamy late revealed he had feigned injury to leave a training session concisely before the Arsenal match. [ 66 ] Days subsequently, Bellamy argued with Shearer and in an interview accused Souness of lying about him and his commitment to the club. [ 71 ] Souness responded by stating that Bellamy would never play for Newcastle again while he was coach and the cabaret fined Bellamy two weeks ‘ wages ( about £80,000, around £120,000 in 2020 ). [ 72 ] Bellamy was told to apologise to Souness but refused to do indeed and was subsequently excluded from first-team aim. [ 66 ] Bellamy ended his newcastle career with a sum of 42 goals from 128 appearances. [ 73 ] [ 69 ]

celtic loan [edit ]

On 31 January 2005, Bellamy joined Scottish Premier League side Celtic on lend for the remainder of the season. Celtic had the option of making the transfer permanent wave at the end of the loan. Following his departure, Souness stated it was “ him or me ” at Newcastle and that allowing Bellamy to remain would have ended his managerial career. He besides criticised Bellamy ‘s goalscoring phonograph record, commenting ; “ he ‘s average 9.3 goals per season. half of those were not in the top flight. We need two strikers near 20 goals. ” [ 72 ] Bellamy rejected a £6 million transfer to Birmingham City to move to Celtic. [ 72 ] He made his debut for the baseball club in a 2–0 kill against Celtic ‘s Old tauten rivals Rangers on 20 February. [ 74 ] The follow workweek, he scored his inaugural goal in a 5–0 gain against Scottish First Division side Clyde in the scots Cup. [ 69 ] He scored a hat-trick for Celtic against Dundee United during a 3–2 victory and later scored the open finish in a 2–1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox, a all-important game for Celtic. [ 69 ] On the final day of the season, Celtic led rivals Rangers by two points heading into the team ‘s final fixture against Motherwell but suffered a get the better of that, coupled with a Rangers win over Hibernian, cost them the title. [ 75 ] Bellamy ‘s last game of his loanword spell was the 2005 scottish Cup Final, in which he secured the first major trophy of his career after Celtic defeated Dundee United 1–0 at Hampden Park. [ 76 ] Bellamy finished the season having scored 19 goals all in all for Newcastle and Celtic. [ 69 ] Bellamy ‘s clubhouse and external hit spouse John Hartson wanted him to make his transfer permanent, saying “ He ‘ll never get the adulation he receives here anywhere else, even if he were to sign for Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal ”. [ 77 ] Celtic, however, were unable to meet Newcastle ‘s evaluation of Bellamy or his engage demands. [ 78 ]

Blackburn Rovers [edit ]

With Newcastle seeking to sell, Bellamy attracted pastime from numerous clubs, including Aston Villa, Fiorentina and Benfica, before agreeing terms with Everton following discussions with coach David Moyes. Bellamy, however, backed out of the transfer after his final meeting with Moyes, describing him as “ tense and hostile ”. [ 78 ] [ 79 ] He rather signed for Blackburn Rovers, managed by his former Wales coach Mark Hughes, for an undisclosed fee. [ 80 ] Bellamy described the presence of Hughes and Wales teammate Robbie Savage as a major factor in his decisiveness to join the side. [ 81 ] He made his debut on the opening sidereal day of the 2005–06 season in a 3–1 defeat to West Ham United but picked up a second joint stress that ruled him out for respective weeks. [ 82 ] Although his early on months at the golf club were disrupted with injury, featuring in only 13 matches by the end of December, [ 83 ] he scored 17 goals for Rovers in 2005–06 in all competitions, including a career-high top tier entire of 11 in 20 appearances, in a successful but injury-tempered season. [ 8 ] [ 70 ] Blackburn finished in sixth position in the Premier League as Hughes built the team ‘s attack around Bellamy. The top-six finish marked a huge improvement on the previous season ‘s 15th placement, qualifying the club for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup. The side besides reached the semi-finals of the League Cup before being eliminated by Manchester United. Bellamy was subsequently given the clubhouse ‘s inaugural address Player of the Year award, which was voted for by fans, [ 8 ] [ 84 ] and Hughes discussed plans with Bellamy to appoint him team captain for the follow temper. Bellamy has credited Hughes with “ restoring his career ” during his clock at Blackburn. [ 8 ]

liverpool [edit ]

On 20 June 2006, Bellamy was the subject of a £6 million transmit bid from Liverpool, triggering a clause in his contract that obliged Blackburn to allow him license to talk to the club. [ 85 ] Blackburn had previously opened discussions about paying £2 million to remove the clause with Bellamy but negotiations had not been completed when Liverpool made their bid. Liverpool coach Rafael Benítez had identified Bellamy as a surrogate for Djibril Cissé, who had suffered a break leg during an external regular. [ 8 ] As a boyhood fan of the golf club, Bellamy described the motion as “ like a dream ” and took a reduction in wages to join Liverpool. [ 86 ] Bellamy made a goalscoring debut for Liverpool against Maccabi Haifa in the first leg of the Champions League third base qualifying round on 9 August 2006, in a 2–1 victory. [ 87 ] He went on to set up the acquire finish for Peter Crouch in the 81st infinitesimal of the 2006 FA Community Shield with a hybrid from the left-hand corner of the 18 yards ( 16 molarity ) box. [ 88 ] His first months at the club were overshadowed by an at hand court lawsuit over an alleged rape of two women in a Cardiff cabaret in February 2006. The case reached woo in November but was dismissed by the judge ; the defense stated that the prosecution ‘s evidence “ was a shambles ”. [ 89 ] In his first appearance following the court event, Bellamy scored two goals during a 4–0 victory over Wigan Athletic on 2 December 2006. He continued his estimable kind throughout the month, scoring two weeks former against Charlton Athletic and soon after against Watford. [ 87 ] In February 2007, Bellamy was involved in a fight with teammate John Arne Riise during a train school term in Portugal ahead of a Champions League tie with Barcelona. [ 90 ] The pair had argued in a banish on the final nox before Riise had returned to his hotel room. Bellamy, fuelled by alcohol, remained irate and went to Riise ‘s hotel board with a golf golf club. Finding the room unlocked, Bellamy entered to find his teammate asleep. Bellamy late stated, “ I barely whacked him across the buttocks with the club. You could n’t actually call it a swing. It was precisely a thwack very. ” [ 91 ] Riise refuted Bellamy ‘s description in his own autobiography and said the incident was much more fierce and that Bellamy took several forceful swings with the club at him before leaving. [ 92 ] After exchanging words, Bellamy returned to his hotel room before apologising to Riise the next morning. He was fined two weeks wages by the baseball club. [ 92 ] The incidental earned him the dub “ The Nutter with the Putter ” in the media. [ 93 ] In the beginning match following the incidental, a Champions League last-16 round match against Barcelona, Bellamy celebrated his goal that tied the score at 1–1 by emulating a golf throw. [ 94 ] Although Liverpool had a disappointing stopping point in the Premier League, they reached the final of the Champions League where they lost 2–1 to A.C. Milan with Bellamy an fresh substitute. He expressed frustration over Benitez ‘s decision to use his concluding utility in the match to make a defensive change despite trailing 2–0. During the plane escape home, Benitez informed Bellamy the clubhouse were planning to sign a newly forward at the end of the temper and that he was free to move on. [ 95 ]

West Ham United [edit ]

Everton and Aston Villa again enquired about Bellamy ; Sam Allardyce, who was coach of Newcastle, was rejected over a hint trade distribute involving Michael Owen. Bellamy rather moved to West Ham United on 10 July 2007 for a fee of £7.5 million, signing a five-year narrow as the club brought in several modern players including Kieron Dyer and Scott Parker under modern chair Eggert Magnússon. [ 96 ] The fee paid for Bellamy was a cabaret record at the time. [ 97 ] He made his West Ham debut in an opening-day 2–0 home get the better of by Manchester City on 11 August. [ 98 ] His first two goals for the cabaret were scored in a 2–1 League Cup victory against Bristol Rovers two weeks late. [ 99 ] Bellamy and his wife saw the parturition of their third base child during his early period at West Ham. He late described how being away from the family home in Cardiff for extended periods caused him to suffer from homesickness for the first time since he was a young player. [ 100 ] He besides began suffering from arthritis that required surgery ; he made a brief render in October, playing two matches for Wales and one for West Ham. The injury, however, continued causing problems and after playing in a 1–0 frustration to Wigan in February, he was ruled out for the remainder of the temper. [ 101 ] Bellamy spent mid-2008 in the Algarve training with a physical therapist to regain seaworthiness. A hamstring injury sustained in a pre-season repair against Ipswich Town disrupted Bellamy ‘s begin to the modern season ; he returned to action for West Ham in the third gear game of the 2008–09 season, scoring the third finish in a 4–1 gain over Blackburn Rovers. Early in the season, coach Alan Curbishley was replaced by Gianfranco Zola but the club struggled for results. [ 100 ] Bellamy attracted the attention of several clubs ; in the January 2009 transfer window he was the subject of a bidding war between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Tottenham bid an initial £6 million and finally agreed a fee with West Ham but Bellamy refused to hand in a transmit request when West Ham asked him to, believing the golf club wanted to imply he had pushed for the remove. [ 102 ] Two offers from Manchester City were rejected but on 18 January 2009, West Ham accepted from a third undisclosed bid from City, said to be around £14 million. [ 103 ] Bellamy late said Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp informed him that, despite having no interest in the player, Manchester City had threatened to sign Redknapp ‘s remove target Wilson Palacios as retaliation for Tottenham signing Bellamy. Bellamy grew frustrated with the prolong transfer negotiations and told staff at West Ham he wanted to remain and sign a new deal with the club. West Ham, however, continued with the motion and accepted Manchester City ‘s invite. [ 102 ]

Manchester City [edit ]

On 19 January 2009, Bellamy completed his travel to Manchester City on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £14 million, reuniting with his erstwhile Blackburn director Mark Hughes. [ 104 ] Hughes stated, “ I ‘m sure Craig will be excellent for us, I think people will soon see why I wanted to bring him to the baseball club ”. [ 105 ] This took his career-total transfer fees to £47m. [ 106 ] Bellamy arrived as depart of Manchester City ‘s increase spending following the investment of the Abu Dhabi United Group ; Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong and Shay Given besides arrived within a week. [ 107 ] Bellamy marked his debut for Manchester City on 28 January by scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 acquire against Newcastle United at the City of Manchester Stadium. He scored again against Middlesbrough in the Premier League in a 1–0 win for City ; it was his one-third appearance before scoring doubly against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup two weeks late. [ 108 ] Despite investment, the side lacked consistency in the league, which Bellamy attributed to a “ clique ” of brazilian players who had arrived at the cabaret ; Robinho, Elano and Gláuber, with all of whom Bellamy clashed on several occasions. [ 107 ] [ 109 ] He argued with the group on more than one affair and accused them of lacking campaign following a 2–0 get the better of against Portsmouth on 14 February 2009. Bellamy made entirely four far appearances during the season after suffering a knee injury against West Ham on 1 March. [ 107 ] far player purchases ahead of the 2009–10 temper increased competition for Bellamy ; forwards Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez both joined the club. Bellamy ‘s first goal of the season came in City ‘s 4–2 win over Arsenal on 12 September 2009, before he set up Shaun Wright-Phillips for City ‘s fourth goal with a run from his own half. [ 110 ] A workweek late, he scored two goals against Manchester United in a 4–3 get the better of. His first goal was a 20-yard ( 18 thousand ) mint from the border of the 18-yard ( 16 meter ) box which was by and by named Goal of the Month for September 2009. [ 111 ] After the peer, a fan invaded the pitch but was escorted from the field ; Bellamy and the winnow exchanged words, prompting the player to shove him in the face. Bellamy received no contact from the FA over the incident and Manchester City stated they would not discipline Bellamy, [ 112 ] rather offering their confirm to him. [ 113 ] After a run of seven consecutive draws in the Premier League, during the last of which Bellamy was sent off for two bookable offences, Hughes was sacked as coach and replaced by Roberto Mancini. [ 112 ] The relationship between Bellamy and Mancini had a difficult start after a clash over train schedules. Mancini had introduced double sessions, which Bellamy struggled to undertake due to his retentive injury history. This escalated further when Bellamy missed two weeks after aggravating his knee during a brush with Manchester United supporters on a night out. After returning to train, the pair argued after Bellamy said he was unable to train for two consecutive days due to his personal fitness plan which angered Mancini. [ 114 ] [ 115 ] Despite this, Bellamy remained a regular in the first team for the rest of the season, finishing the campaign with 11 goals in 40 appearances. [ 116 ] In August 2010, Bellamy stated that he feared that he would be omitted from Manchester City ‘s 25-man team for the 2010–11 Premier League season and hinted at retirement. [ 117 ] On 11 August 2010, he was left out of his club ‘s 23-man Europa League squad to face Timișoara. [ 118 ] The next week, Bellamy was allowed to train with Cardiff City, fuelling speculation he might sign for his hometown golf club. When asked about such a be active, Bellamy said he would “ love to play for Cardiff ”. [ 119 ]

Cardiff City lend [edit ]

On 17 August 2010, Bellamy signed for Cardiff City on a season-long loan from Manchester City. [ 120 ] Cardiff director Dave Jones confirmed Bellamy would become team captain for the season with early captain Mark Hudson named club captain. [ 121 ] Manchester City had been wary of selling Bellamy to a potential divisional equal and had suggested the estimate of a move to Cardiff, paying a big percentage of his wages to make the move. [ 122 ] He made his introduction for Cardiff on 21 August in a 4–0 acquire over Doncaster Rovers, in which he scored from a 35-yard ( 32 thousand ) free kick. [ 123 ] After playing the subsequent game against Portsmouth, Bellamy missed the next five games due to a buildup of fluid on his stifle that required rest. He returned and scored in a 2–1 succeed against Barnsley on 2 October. [ 124 ] Bellamy hoped to avoid further injury problems and hired Raymond Verheijen, his erstwhile seaworthiness bus at Manchester City, to work with him during the temper and paid Verheijen ‘s wages himself. [ 122 ] Bellamy scored in four consecutive home-league matches against Coventry, Leeds, Watford and Reading but rarely trained angstrom much as the first team to rest his stifle, which was swelling abundantly after games. He scored the winning goal in the South Wales derby against Swansea City on 6 February 2011 with a long-range shoot in the final examination minutes of the match ; it was the first gear time Cardiff had won at their rival ‘s land since 1997. [ 122 ]
Bellamy play for Cardiff in 2011 Bellamy ‘s influence on the Cardiff team proved pivotal in the energy for forwarding, which included a 2–2 draw with league leaders Queens Park Rangers in April in which he scored the second gear goal. Cardiff had led the game doubly ahead Adel Taarabt ‘s couple held them to a draw. [ 125 ] Cardiff were challenging Norwich City for the second automatic pistol promotion place in the final examination stages of the temper when Norwich were due to meet Derby County. Before the pit, Bellamy telephoned his early Norwich and international teammate Robbie Savage who played for Derby, and offered the players £30,000 if they won the equal. Norwich, however, won 3–2 following a late-injury-time goal. [ 126 ] A get the better of to Middlesbrough the play along week confirmed a playoff plaza for Cardiff and Bellamy scored his last goal of the season with a volley in the 90th minute to draw away at Turf Moor against Burnley. [ 126 ] [ 127 ] In the play-offs, he suffered a hamstring injury in the afford 20 minutes of the first leg away to Reading, forcing him out of the game. [ 128 ] Cardiff drew the match but were defeated 3–0 in the second leg with Bellamy lacking. [ 129 ] Bellamy stated that he would like to stay with Cardiff beyond his loan go to achieve his dream of them one day act in the Premier League. After Cardiff coach Dave Jones ‘ sacking, Bellamy became a surprise favorite to succeed him. [ 130 ] alternatively, his erstwhile Norwich teammate Malky Mackay was appointed and did not confirm whether he would attempt to sign Bellamy. [ 131 ] Bellamy asked Manchester City to release him on a free transfer after they priced him at £4,000,000. [ 132 ]

return to Liverpool [edit ]

Bellamy warming up before facing Fulham while playing for Liverpool Bellamy returned to Manchester City for pre-season education but was placed in the baseball club ‘s reserves and was excluded from the first team. He finally reached a village with the baseball club to cancel the final class of his contract, allowing him to leave. He received offers from Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City but rejected both when Liverpool and Tottenham showed an concern in him. Bellamy chose to return to Liverpool, swayed by Kenny Dalglish ‘s presence as director. [ 133 ] [ 134 ] The follow day, Cardiff City said they had failed in a last-minute invite for Bellamy. [ 135 ] Bellamy said, “ I ‘ve grown up with Kenny Dalglish, now to be signed by him is a massive honor. It ‘s been a retentive couple of months, I had to be patient and believe something like this could happen. ” [ 136 ]

recurrence to Cardiff City [edit ]

Bellamy holding the trophy after Cardiff won the 2012–13 Championship The end of Speed and the separation of Bellamy ‘s marriage prompted him to return to Cardiff to be closer to his children, despite new Liverpool director Brendan Rodgers offering him the opportunity to stay. [ 147 ] Talks over a possible transmit began and on 10 August 2012, Bellamy completed his complimentary transmit to Cardiff City on a biennial hand. [ 148 ] [ 149 ] He made the beginning appearance of his second spell a workweek late in a 1–0 winnings against Huddersfield Town. [ 150 ] After one far appearance, he requested time off to deal with personal and injury issues and did not return to the first team until mid September. On his refund, Bellamy scored with a 20-yard ( 18 megabyte ) free kick back against Leeds United ; Cardiff won the game 2–1. [ 147 ] [ 151 ] Bellamy was injured during a league match against Watford in October ; damage to his ankle ligaments ruled him out for about a calendar month. [ 147 ] He returned to the side in November, featuring in back-to-back victories over Middlesbrough and Barnsley that put Cardiff top of the table. The side maintained its position for the rest of the season, [ 147 ] and a scoreless draw with Charlton on 16 April 2013 secured Cardiff ‘s promotion to the top tier of English football for the first time in 52 years. [ 152 ] Bellamy broke down in enchant on the pitch at the goal of the game, having achieved what he called “ an impossible pipe dream ”. [ 147 ] [ 153 ] Bellamy ‘s first goal of the 2013–14 Premier League season on 1 February 2014 was his side ‘s opener in a 2–1 victory over Norwich City. The finish meant Bellamy became the first player to score for seven different clubs in the Premier League. [ 19 ] [ 154 ] He played 22 league games during the season but did not score another goal. [ 155 ] Bellamy retired from football on 22 May 2014, saying ; “ I guess over the years I ‘ve become accustomed to the pain from versatile injuries, but for the last three to four years I ‘ve been on anti-inflammatories every day. I ‘m not certain my body will think that ‘s a wise thing in due naturally, but it kept me playing for that menstruation. however, the time has come to stand aside and say enough. My body ca n’t take anymore. ” [ 155 ]

International career [edit ]

Wales [edit ]

young person and aged arrival [edit ]

Bellamy first represented Wales at schoolboy grade in 1994 but came under pressure in an under-performing side. The director fielded telephone calls from the parents of other players who said Bellamy was besides small to play in the side. [ 156 ] He progressed through the under-17 and under-18 levels before coach Tom Walley called him up to the under-21 side for the first prison term at the senesce of 16. He made his introduction as a substitute in a match against San Marino, becoming the youngest actor to represent the side. [ 157 ] [ 158 ] Bellamy, however, began to regard the under-21 side as setting him back in his career as he was frequently relegated to the terrace at Norwich after spending up to ten days at a time away on international duty. This led to him asking officials at Norwich to claim he was injured, sparing him from being named in the side. [ 157 ] Bellamy was called into the senior Wales police squad in 1998 by coach Bobby Gould, who was renowned for his strange methods. During Bellamy ‘s first education session with the beginning team, Gould was involved in a wrestle match with John Hartson that left Gould with a bloodied nose. [ 159 ] [ 160 ] Bellamy made his external debut on 25 March 1998 at the long time of 18 as a ersatz in place of Gareth Taylor in a friendly bet on against Jamaica at Ninian Park. [ 159 ] [ 161 ] At the goal of the 1997–98 temper, Bellamy was included in a squad for friendlies against Malta and Tunisia, scoring his foremost international goal during a 3–0 victory against the former on 3 June 1998. A get the better of to Tunisia resulted in a confrontation between Gould and the squad over the standard of the team. After a brief render to the under-21 side, [ 159 ] Bellamy began to become a even regular in the elder team during UEFA Euro 2000 qualify and scored a late-winning goal in a pit against Denmark. [ 162 ] Gould was sacked after a 4–0 frustration to Italy in June 1999. [ 163 ] When Mark Hughes was appointed as Wales ‘ director, Bellamy was suffering from injury and missed the first match to be played at the Millennium Stadium, although he was included in the education team. He returned at the end of the 1999–2000 temper, playing in friendlies against Brazil and Portugal. [ 164 ] Under Hughes, Wales ‘ kind improved importantly and the side enjoyed a strong modify campaign for UEFA Euro 2004. In their open match, Wales defeated Finland before facing Italy on 16 October 2002. Wales took an early head through Simon Davies before Alessandro Del Piero levelled after 30 minutes with a debar free-kick. [ 165 ] In the seventieth moment, Hartson received the ball and played-in Bellamy, who rounded Gianluigi Buffon to score Wales ‘ victorious goal. [ 165 ] [ 166 ] Consecutive victories over Azerbaijan put Wales into a potent stead in the group but they failed to win any of last four matches, losing to Serbia and Montenegro ( twice ) and Italy, and drawing with Finland. Bellamy became involved in a row with his club side Newcastle over his participation after he postponed a knee operation to play in the qualifiers. [ 167 ] Wales finished second base in the group, four points behind winners Italy, reaching a two-legged playoff match against Russia for a seat at the finals. Bellamy missed both legs due to his stifle wound that had plagued him prior to the matches and Wales lost 1–0 on aggregate. [ 167 ]

captainship and retirement [edit ]

Bellamy play for Wales in 2011 Hughes stepped down as Wales ‘ director in 2004 and was replaced by John Toshack. Bellamy missed most of the new coach ‘s beginning class due to injury. [ 168 ] In October 2006, Toshack awarded Bellamy the captain ‘s armband when Ryan Giggs was unavailable for a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Slovakia on 7 October 2006. The catch ended in a 5–1 kill at home to the Slovaks. [ 169 ] Four days late, in a equal against Cyprus —Bellamy ‘s second as captain—he scored the third gear goal for Wales in a 3–1 winnings after setting up Robert Earnshaw for his side ‘s second base. [ 170 ] Toshack praised Bellamy following the victory, express, “ Craig has been excellent. He has grown into the occupation since he has been with us, he has understood the excess responsibilities and it showed on the lurch. ” [ 171 ] When Giggs returned to the Wales police squad in November 2006, Bellamy was relieved of the captainship but was named vice-captain. [ 172 ] In June 2007, Giggs announced his retirement from international football and Toshack named Bellamy as permanent wave captain. [ 173 ] Further injury problems restricted Bellamy ‘s appearances for Wales ; he missed closely eight months between October 2007 and May 2008. He returned to win his fiftieth external cap in a friendly against Iceland on 29 May. [ 174 ] In October 2010, a ‘club five country ‘ quarrel emerged as Bellamy played a full match for Cardiff City despite his coach Dave Jones claiming Bellamy was besides injured to play for Wales. [ 175 ] Toshack resigned in September 2010 and Bellamy late criticised his former coach, stating ; “ The acme of Toshack ‘s ambitions appeared to be making certain we did n’t get besides heavily beaten preferably than actually trying to win games. We did n’t even try and compete and I found that hard. ” [ 176 ] In December 2010, Gary Speed, Bellamy ‘s former team-mate at both Newcastle and Wales, was appointed director of Wales. Bellamy was planning to retire from international football due to continuing knee problems and to stand away for a younger generation of players. He met with Speed in Cardiff to discuss his future. rush persuaded Bellamy to prolong his external career but Bellamy decided to step down deoxyadenosine monophosphate master because his fitness levels meant he was improbable to play every match. Speed sought Bellamy ‘s opinion on his replacement as master ; the pair agreed on Aaron Ramsey, who was appointed soon after. [ 176 ] [ 177 ] Raymond Verheijen and Damian Roden, fitness coaches with whom Bellamy had previously worked, were besides hired on his recommendation. Although Wales endured a disappoint beginning to the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, Bellamy was encouraged by the progress being made under Speed ‘s management, including victories over Switzerland and Norway. [ 176 ] Speed committed suicide two weeks after the Norway match ; Bellamy ‘s next appearance for Wales was as captain in a memorial equal against Costa Rica with Ramsey absent. [ 178 ] Bellamy continued with Wales for a further 18 months under raw director Chris Coleman before announcing his retirement from international football after Wales ‘ final 2014 World Cup qualifiers in October 2013. [ 179 ] His final peer for Wales on 15 October 2013 against Belgium ended as a 1–1 guide. [ 180 ] Bellamy ended his external career with 78 caps and 19 goals. [ 181 ]

Great Britain [edit ]

In June 2012, Bellamy was confirmed as one of the three over-aged players selected by director Stuart Pearce for Great Britain to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Micah Richards and Giggs. [ 182 ] After a warm-up catch against Brazil, on 26 July Bellamy scored Great Britain ‘s first goal at an Olympic Games since 1960 in a 1–1 absorb with Senegal. [ 183 ] Bellamy and his other Welsh teammates were criticised for not singing the british national anthem God Save the Queen during the pre-match ceremonies. He late stated ; “ I was n’t going to sing the national hymn and nor was any other Welsh player. It ‘s not our hymn. I sing one hymn and that ‘s that. That ‘s my nation ‘s anthem. I ‘m not being anti-English or anti-British … you have to remember that we took some stick in Wales precisely for playing for Team GB. ” [ 184 ] Bellamy assisted Giggs to score the open finish of a 3–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates in the team ‘s following repair. He was named Great Britain ‘s captain for the concluding group game, from which Giggs was absent. [ 184 ] The side won a 1–0 victory over Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. [ 185 ] The result allowed Great Britain to progress to a quarter-final with the Republic of Korea. Bellamy was substituted minutes before the end of normal clock. The game went to extra time and penalties ; Great Britain were eliminated after losing the gunfight 5–4. [ 184 ]

expressive style of dally [edit ]

Bellamy has been described as having a moral force stylus of play with agile, bursting technique and calmness under blackmail. [ 186 ] He began his career as a central midfielder, but was moved far forward during his time with Norwich and featured in respective attacking roles, playing as both a winger and a centre-forward for the remainder of his career. [ 187 ] [ 188 ] He preferred playing a counter-attacking expressive style of football as his pace frequently allowed him to exploit space behind the defenders as the opposition team pressed forward. As Premier League managers shifted toward favouring strikers with a more forcible presence, Bellamy adapted to a wide role, studying leading wingers such as Franck Ribéry to improve his game. [ 189 ] His former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City coach Mark Hughes said he loved having Bellamy on his teams because of “ the intensity he brings ” and “ his desire to affect the game every individual meter he plays ”. [ 190 ] Hughes acknowledged that Bellamy developed a reputation as being sometimes difficult to work with but stated, “ If you understand him and support him, he will play his heart out for you ”. [ 190 ] Louise Taylor of The Guardian highlighted the considerable attack menace that Bellamy possessed and that his pace was “ complemented by high-calibre end ability ”. [ 191 ] His best match in a unmarried season in the Premier League was 17 goals during his spell with Blackburn in 2005–06 although his goalscoring record was questioned by his early Newcastle coach Graeme Souness during his clock time with the cabaret. [ 70 ] [ 72 ] Although sometimes perceived as a disruptive influence on teams, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard praised Bellamy following his arrival, comment, “ I was expecting a bit of a fire-eater … It surprised me how professional he was. … how much he loved the bet on. ” [ 190 ] Bellamy ‘s temperament and overture has seen him involved in respective high-profile confrontations and led to him falling out with managers Souness and Roberto Mancini. Bobby Robson, who managed Bellamy for several years at Newcastle, described him as “ the gobbiest football player I ‘ve ever met ” but besides “ one of the most invest ”. [ 191 ] [ 192 ] In his autobiography, former Wales director John Toshack described a cranky relationship with Bellamy, saying, “ he could cause problems where they were n’t necessity and you always felt there was a hypothesis that he could upset the applecart ”. [ 193 ] He besides blamed Bellamy ‘s relative miss of trophy wins during his career as partially to blame ; “ a lot of managers signed him but a lot of managers got rid of him adenine well ; … all were trophy winners, but none of them won anything with Bellamy in the team ”. [ 193 ] Toshack did concede that Bellamy was an authoritative attack menace for the Welsh team and that there was never a doubt over his inclusion. [ 193 ] Bellamy ‘s career was hard hampered by persistent injuries that restricted both the sum of time he could train and the number of matches he could play in close proximity. Gianfranco Zola, who managed Bellamy at West Ham, stated, “ Injuries have been the downside of his career … The fragility he has got in the muscles has stopped him from being a higher musician ”. [ 194 ] In the latter stages of his career, as his pace diminished, he received praise from Paul Abbandonato of WalesOnline for possessing “ leadership, drive, department of energy, work-rate and standards of excellence ” during his final play season. [ 195 ]

Coaching career [edit ]

Bellamy returned to Cardiff as an academy coach on a voluntary footing. [ 196 ] In 2016, he was appointed Cardiff ‘s actor exploitation coach, overseeing all long time groups at the club ‘s youth academy and coaching the older age-group teams. [ 197 ] Having earlier been interviewed for the post of Wales coach, he was given permission to apply for the vacant managerial position at EFL League One club Oxford United in February 2018. [ 198 ] Bellamy agreed terms with Oxford but former withdrew his application after the club was taken over during the negotiations. [ 199 ] He stepped down from his coaching function at Cardiff in January 2019 to defend himself against a claim of bullying a youth-team player. [ 200 ] An inner probe by the club late resulted in Bellamy issuing an apology over an “ unacceptable coach environment ”, although he was national to no dinner dress corrective action. [ 201 ] In June 2019, Bellamy signed a three-year shrink to become the under-21 team bus for belgian slope Anderlecht following the date of his former Manchester City teammate Vincent Kompany as director. [ 202 ] He late worked as an assistant to Kompany before stepping down from the function in September 2021 citing mental health issues. [ 203 ]

personal life [edit ]

Bellamy has described himself as a “ lament ” athletic supporter of both Liverpool and Cardiff City. [ 204 ] Bellamy met Claire Jansen in Cardiff while they were teenagers. They remained together despite Bellamy spending most of his clock time away from the city during his apprenticeship with Norwich City ; Claire remained in Cardiff working in a local newsagent. [ 21 ] Bellamy and Claire had their first child together—a son named Ellis—at the ages of 17 and 16 respectively. Claire and Ellis remained in Cardiff while Bellamy commuted to Norwich. [ 3 ] The couple finally moved into their own accommodation in 1996 after Bellamy signed his first professional play abridge. [ 205 ] Their moment child, Cameron, was born in January 2001 and their third gear, Lexi, in 2007. [ 206 ] [ 207 ] [ 208 ] Bellamy proposed to Jansen on 13 July 2005 at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester, [ 82 ] and they married in June 2006 at St Bride ‘s church service in St. Brides-super-Ely, a village near Cardiff. [ 209 ] With Bellamy moving clubs on a regular footing, the class bought a permanent wave home in Peterston-super-Ely ; Bellamy lived near his club and travelled home when possible. [ 82 ] The copulate divorced in December 2012 ; his wife cited “ excessive behavior ”. [ 210 ] In his autobiography, Bellamy stated the couple split after “ she decided she ‘d had adequate. Enough of the move and the following me round. Enough of the absentee conserve. Enough of the selfishness and the blacken moods and the times when I would n’t talk to her because I was worried about a knee injury. ” [ 211 ] In 2013, Bellamy released his autobiography entitled GoodFella which was ghostwritten by journalist Oliver Holt. [ 212 ] In the script, Bellamy said he suffered severe bouts of natural depression, particularly when he was unable to play football for farseeing periods due to injury. He wrote, “ There would be weeks, sometimes months, when I could n’t get myself out of it ”. [ 213 ] These periods much coincided with periods of bust drink ; after Cardiff ‘s frustration to Reading in the playoff semi-final, Bellamy went on a “ two-day drink orgy ”. [ 214 ] In 2013, he failed to declare himself as the driver of a car that was caught by a focal ratio television camera and received a drive prohibition. In March 2019, he was banned from driving again for 18 months after being found to be over the permit alcohol limit while driving in Cardiff early that calendar month. [ 215 ] Bellamy is an preach of desegregate martial arts and has sponsored some of the fighters who train at Tillery Combat, a gymnasium in Abertillery, Wales, providing them with supplements, kit and management advice through his company Shin2Chin. He besides owns Cardiff Combat MMA gymnasium. [ 216 ]

philanthropy [edit ]

In 2007, Bellamy was invited to visit Sierra Leone by a friend. The state was still suffering from the effects of a long civil war that ended five years previously. Bellamy was mobbed by fans and was unable to freely walk the streets without an armed police see as crowd blocked roads trying to see him. He visited the area ‘s diamond mine diligence and was shocked at the poor exist conditions of the workers, often children. [ 217 ] He decided to set up a charity in the nation and, on 6 May 2008, plans for The Craig Bellamy Foundation were announced in Sierra Leone. [ 218 ] Bellamy spent £1.4m of his own money to build a nonprofit organization football academy in the western Area Rural District village Tombo, where 32 boys received an international standard education and elite-level football coaching at no cost to themselves. [ 219 ] [ 220 ] [ 221 ] The first base 15 children were enrolled at the academy in August 2010. [ 217 ] The Craig Bellamy Foundation besides operated a nationally youth league that was founded in junction with UNICEF. [ 217 ] engage in the Freetown, Bo, Kenema and Makeni regions, The Craig Bellamy Foundation League provided a national young football model for children ; arsenic well as on-pitch performance, points were awarded for school attendance, fairly act and contributions to community projects. [ 222 ] The league besides funded the school fees of participating children and employed 175 Sierra Leonian team coaches, regional managers and league coordinators. [ 223 ] In 2009, 1,600 boys aged between 11 and 14 played or trained in the league on a day by day basis. [ 191 ] All activities were stopped in April 2017 due to fiscal irregularities. [ 224 ] [ 225 ] Bellamy is besides a supporter of Noah ‘s Ark Children ‘s Hospital for Wales, part of the University of Wales Hospital, where both he and his three children were born. In 2010, he became a charity champion for Noah ‘s Ark, a charity that was aiming to raise £7 million to complete a construction project at the site. [ 7 ]

career statistics [edit ]

club [edit ]

International [edit ]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[235]

National team
Year

Goals

Great Britain Olympic team

2012
5
1

Total
5
1

Scores and results list Great Britain’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bellamy goal.

List of international goals scored by Craig Bellamy

No.

Date

Venue

Opponent

Score

Result

Competition

1[183]
26 July 2012
Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Senegal
1–0
1–1
2012 Summer Olympics

Honours [edit ]

Celtic [ 236 ]
Liverpool [ 236 ]
Cardiff City [ 236 ]
Individual

References [edit ]

Bibliography

Bellamy, Craig (2013). GoodFella: My Autobiography. Sport Media. ISBN 978-1-908695-30-7.