" CRAIG BELLAMY "
Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:39 am
MY VIEW: GREAT READ / HONEST / STRAIGHT TALKING 
Well worth ordering now
HOW TO BUY BELLAMY'S BRILLIANT BOOK
Craig Bellamy's book is still available and makes a great read.
Online
Craig Bellamy Goodfella in ebook edition, published by Reach Sport, is only £1.99 on Kindle. https://amzn.to/39hDdax
There is also plenty of fascinating dressing room insight from his days as a Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and West Ham player, plus of course lots, lots more on Wales and Cardiff City.
Craig Bellamy ebook: His compelling story of Wales rows, refusing to sing the English anthem and why Cardiff City provided his greatest moment
If you want a great read to pass the hours in these troubled times, Bellamy's brilliant autobiography on ebook is one option. Here is a small sample of some of the meaty content
By Paul Abbandonato
Wednesday 1st April 2020
Craig Bellamy has always been a straight talker. With him you get what you see.
Thus it should come as no surprise that his autobiography GoodFella was a warts and everything account of a glittering playing career.
Bellamy produced his magic for some of the biggest clubs in the land - Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United - as well, of course, as Wales, for whom he won 78 caps as his Welsh passion burned deep.
His memoirs, first published by Reach Sport seven years ago, are available today on Kindle and may make a compelling read if you wish to pass the time in the current climate.
Here we bring you a flavour of just some of the dressing room stories from a Wales and Bluebirds football idol...
GOULDEN TALES
Bellamy was given his international debut by Bobby Gould, a man he felt a warmth towards, in a Ninian Park friendly against Jamaica. But the build-up was dominated by Gould's infamous 'wrestle' with star striker John Hartson. This is Bellamy's take of that amazing incident...
"When I first started playing for Wales, it often felt as if I had stumbled into a black comedy. I was incredibly proud to be involved but when I joined up for the first time I spent most of the days leading up to the game in a state of wide-eyed bemusement.
It was well-known that there was friction between Bobby Gould, and John Hartson, who I had got to know quite well from playing with the Wales Under-21s.
At my first training camp, Gould got everyone to form a big circle and then told us all that he and Harts were going to go in the centre and wrestle each other. He told Harts that he wanted him to use it to vent all his frustration, to rid himself of the resentment he was feeling by expressing himself in the wrestling.
I suppose it was the equivalent of getting a youngster to hit a punchbag, except in this case the punchbag was the manager of the national team.
Harts was reluctant. He felt awkward about it. For obvious reasons. But the rest of the players were urging him on and telling him he had to do it and that he couldn’t back down.
So in the end, Harts went to the middle of the circle. He’s a big bloke and after a few seconds of grappling, he gripped Bobby in a headlock and then flung him across the circle on to the floor.
Everyone was roaring and shouting. I almost had to pinch myself that this was happening. It was a bizarre sight. When Gould got to his feet, he was holding his nose and looking aggrieved. Red was streaming out of it.
He muttered to everyone that they should go for a jog so we set off around the pitch.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I came to understand that it wasn’t actually that unusual."
Well worth ordering now
HOW TO BUY BELLAMY'S BRILLIANT BOOK
Craig Bellamy's book is still available and makes a great read.
Online
Craig Bellamy Goodfella in ebook edition, published by Reach Sport, is only £1.99 on Kindle. https://amzn.to/39hDdax
There is also plenty of fascinating dressing room insight from his days as a Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and West Ham player, plus of course lots, lots more on Wales and Cardiff City.
Craig Bellamy ebook: His compelling story of Wales rows, refusing to sing the English anthem and why Cardiff City provided his greatest moment
If you want a great read to pass the hours in these troubled times, Bellamy's brilliant autobiography on ebook is one option. Here is a small sample of some of the meaty content
By Paul Abbandonato
Wednesday 1st April 2020
Craig Bellamy has always been a straight talker. With him you get what you see.
Thus it should come as no surprise that his autobiography GoodFella was a warts and everything account of a glittering playing career.
Bellamy produced his magic for some of the biggest clubs in the land - Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United - as well, of course, as Wales, for whom he won 78 caps as his Welsh passion burned deep.
His memoirs, first published by Reach Sport seven years ago, are available today on Kindle and may make a compelling read if you wish to pass the time in the current climate.
Here we bring you a flavour of just some of the dressing room stories from a Wales and Bluebirds football idol...
GOULDEN TALES
Bellamy was given his international debut by Bobby Gould, a man he felt a warmth towards, in a Ninian Park friendly against Jamaica. But the build-up was dominated by Gould's infamous 'wrestle' with star striker John Hartson. This is Bellamy's take of that amazing incident...
"When I first started playing for Wales, it often felt as if I had stumbled into a black comedy. I was incredibly proud to be involved but when I joined up for the first time I spent most of the days leading up to the game in a state of wide-eyed bemusement.
It was well-known that there was friction between Bobby Gould, and John Hartson, who I had got to know quite well from playing with the Wales Under-21s.
At my first training camp, Gould got everyone to form a big circle and then told us all that he and Harts were going to go in the centre and wrestle each other. He told Harts that he wanted him to use it to vent all his frustration, to rid himself of the resentment he was feeling by expressing himself in the wrestling.
I suppose it was the equivalent of getting a youngster to hit a punchbag, except in this case the punchbag was the manager of the national team.
Harts was reluctant. He felt awkward about it. For obvious reasons. But the rest of the players were urging him on and telling him he had to do it and that he couldn’t back down.
So in the end, Harts went to the middle of the circle. He’s a big bloke and after a few seconds of grappling, he gripped Bobby in a headlock and then flung him across the circle on to the floor.
Everyone was roaring and shouting. I almost had to pinch myself that this was happening. It was a bizarre sight. When Gould got to his feet, he was holding his nose and looking aggrieved. Red was streaming out of it.
He muttered to everyone that they should go for a jog so we set off around the pitch.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I came to understand that it wasn’t actually that unusual."
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Re: " CRAIG BELLAMY "
Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:40 am
SPEED'S BRUTAL PUT-DOWNS
There is no-one in football Bellamy had more time for than his old Wales skipper and manager Gary Speed. As he discovered after a 4-0 thumping in Tunisia, the Welsh captain was always ready to speak his mind for the good of his country.
"Tunisia gave us a hiding. We played one up front with Harts, who was out of shape and was affected so much in the heat he could barely move. To make matters worse, we played in this garish green Lotto kit that has never been seen since.
I don’t even know where it came from. It was a little bit too small for Harts. None of us looked good in it but he looked worse.
Harts and Dean Saunders were substituted midway through the second half and then I got subbed in the last ten minutes.
On the bench, Saunders started moaning about Gould. “What’s he doing, bringing us off ? We were the best players,” he said.
Gary Speed was the opposite. He would always do it in the open. I loved Speedo for moments like that. He wouldn’t bitch. He said his bit – and he was correct – and then he went quiet.
After the game, Speedo went ballistic. He said we were a pub team, a disorganised rabble who hadn’t got a clue what we were doing. He turned on Gould, too, told him he had set us back years, that we had been a decent team and now we couldn’t even give sides like Tunisia a game.
Gould was reeling. He said Tunisia were a decent team but Speedo went into one.
Then the black comedy started again. Gould looked at Chris Coleman.
“There are too many players in this dressing room who think they are better than they are,” he said.
“What are you looking at me for, Bob?” Chris said.
“I don’t mean you,” Gould said. “I just mean in general.”
The balloon went up again then. All the players were annoyed now and everyone started having a go.
Manager and captain in happier times - Bobby Gould and Gary Speed presenting staff from HMP Prescoed with a signed Wales shirt. The team used to train at the prison
Harts sensed an opportunity to salvage something from a pretty dire afternoon and had a go, too.
“Why did you take me off, by the way?” he said.
“Because you looked overweight, the sun was way too much for you and I thought I was doing you a big favour,” Gould said.
Harts just looked at him. There wasn’t much of an answer to that and he knew it."
Shortly afterwards Wales lost 4-0 again, this time to Italy in Bologna, and Gould, having appeared to lose the dressing room in the build-up to the game resigned - with Speed saying his piece once again.
"That was when the fun and games started again.
It began to look as though the front line would be Giggs on the left, Hughes in the centre and me on the right. That meant Mark Pembridge, Saunders and Harts would miss out. All three of them had probably been expecting to play. They weren’t impressed and they weren’t shy about showing it.
There was one full-scale training match where one or two disaffected players got the ball and then just booted it into touch. They spat their dummies, basically. I’m not judging them. It was just a way of showing their frustration. I wasn’t going to say anything because I was a 19-year-old but I knew things were going to get interesting.
Gould caved in. He moved things around to accommodate the established players and now it looked as if I was out. It didn’t bother me too much but it upset a few other people. So now the ones who felt they were being discriminated against started not to try in training.
Gould had had enough of it. So he called everyone in.
“I tell you what, you lot can pick the team,” he said, “and when you’ve done it, come and let me know what it is.”
“You’re paid to pick the team, not us,” Speedo said.
“I’ve just picked it,” Gould said, “and nobody listened to me.”
People started laughing. Maybe Gould was trying to play a mind game but it felt like we were in chaos."
In the end Bellamy did play, but in midfield and he could do nothing to stop Wales falling in a crucial European Championship qualifier.
“Lads,” Bobby Gould said in the dressing room after the match, “I think I have taken you as far as I can.”
“What,” Speedo said, “you mean as far down the world rankings as you can? We were 27th before you took over.”
There is no-one in football Bellamy had more time for than his old Wales skipper and manager Gary Speed. As he discovered after a 4-0 thumping in Tunisia, the Welsh captain was always ready to speak his mind for the good of his country.
"Tunisia gave us a hiding. We played one up front with Harts, who was out of shape and was affected so much in the heat he could barely move. To make matters worse, we played in this garish green Lotto kit that has never been seen since.
I don’t even know where it came from. It was a little bit too small for Harts. None of us looked good in it but he looked worse.
Harts and Dean Saunders were substituted midway through the second half and then I got subbed in the last ten minutes.
On the bench, Saunders started moaning about Gould. “What’s he doing, bringing us off ? We were the best players,” he said.
Gary Speed was the opposite. He would always do it in the open. I loved Speedo for moments like that. He wouldn’t bitch. He said his bit – and he was correct – and then he went quiet.
After the game, Speedo went ballistic. He said we were a pub team, a disorganised rabble who hadn’t got a clue what we were doing. He turned on Gould, too, told him he had set us back years, that we had been a decent team and now we couldn’t even give sides like Tunisia a game.
Gould was reeling. He said Tunisia were a decent team but Speedo went into one.
Then the black comedy started again. Gould looked at Chris Coleman.
“There are too many players in this dressing room who think they are better than they are,” he said.
“What are you looking at me for, Bob?” Chris said.
“I don’t mean you,” Gould said. “I just mean in general.”
The balloon went up again then. All the players were annoyed now and everyone started having a go.
Manager and captain in happier times - Bobby Gould and Gary Speed presenting staff from HMP Prescoed with a signed Wales shirt. The team used to train at the prison
Harts sensed an opportunity to salvage something from a pretty dire afternoon and had a go, too.
“Why did you take me off, by the way?” he said.
“Because you looked overweight, the sun was way too much for you and I thought I was doing you a big favour,” Gould said.
Harts just looked at him. There wasn’t much of an answer to that and he knew it."
Shortly afterwards Wales lost 4-0 again, this time to Italy in Bologna, and Gould, having appeared to lose the dressing room in the build-up to the game resigned - with Speed saying his piece once again.
"That was when the fun and games started again.
It began to look as though the front line would be Giggs on the left, Hughes in the centre and me on the right. That meant Mark Pembridge, Saunders and Harts would miss out. All three of them had probably been expecting to play. They weren’t impressed and they weren’t shy about showing it.
There was one full-scale training match where one or two disaffected players got the ball and then just booted it into touch. They spat their dummies, basically. I’m not judging them. It was just a way of showing their frustration. I wasn’t going to say anything because I was a 19-year-old but I knew things were going to get interesting.
Gould caved in. He moved things around to accommodate the established players and now it looked as if I was out. It didn’t bother me too much but it upset a few other people. So now the ones who felt they were being discriminated against started not to try in training.
Gould had had enough of it. So he called everyone in.
“I tell you what, you lot can pick the team,” he said, “and when you’ve done it, come and let me know what it is.”
“You’re paid to pick the team, not us,” Speedo said.
“I’ve just picked it,” Gould said, “and nobody listened to me.”
People started laughing. Maybe Gould was trying to play a mind game but it felt like we were in chaos."
In the end Bellamy did play, but in midfield and he could do nothing to stop Wales falling in a crucial European Championship qualifier.
“Lads,” Bobby Gould said in the dressing room after the match, “I think I have taken you as far as I can.”
“What,” Speedo said, “you mean as far down the world rankings as you can? We were 27th before you took over.”
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Re: " CRAIG BELLAMY "
Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 am
CLUB v COUNTRY CONFLICT
Bellamy's Wales passion has always burned deep and, desperate to help his country reach Euro 2004, he missed key Newcastle United matches to rest two troublesome knees and ensure he could play in big qualifiers against Italy and Finland. But it caused friction up on Tyneside, with Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd particularly vocal.
"I was so close to playing in the European Championships and I didn’t know if I’d get as good a chance to get Wales to a major tournament again.
It meant I would be putting Newcastle second, which ate away at me.
The crunch game against Italy was set for the San Siro in Milan. I knew that if I had any chance of being even close to my best for the Italy game, I couldn’t play again in the build-up to it."
Without Bellamy Newcastle lost to Partizan Belgrade, Manchester United and Birmingham, were out of the Champions League and bottom of the Premier League.
Freddy Shepherd, understandably, was not particularly happy. He moaned at me about my involvement with Wales. He said it was obvious that I needed surgery and that I could not join up with the national team again until I had played for Newcastle.
But I was solely focused on my country. I knew what I was doing was essentially unfair to Newcastle, but I was desperate to play in the Euros.
So I tried to appease Newcastle by starting to train again. But the club insisted I couldn’t play for Wales unless I played for Newcastle first and I knew that if I played in the game against Birmingham, I would be in too much pain to play against Italy.
My knees had got so bad, I needed more than a week’s recovery time after every match.
Newcastle banned me from playing and got a solicitor to write to the Welsh FA. They warned Wales that if I joined up with them, they would sue the Welsh FA.
I joined up anyway and Wales sent me to see an independent surgeon. The surgeon barely looked at me and gave me the okay.
Wales said I was fine. Freddy Shepherd was furious. He said I’d never play for Newcastle again. It was a fraught situation."
Wales lost 4-0 to Italy once more, but victory at the Millennium Stadium over Finland three days after would put them back on track to qualify. Trouble is that Bellamy, Robbie Savage and Mark Delaney - three key players - were booked at the San Siro, each suspended for the Finnish clash and a weakened Wales could only draw 1-1. It meant they were consigned to the play-offs.
"I felt crushed. I had been building everything towards that night (Italy). I didn’t have much impact, either. Not really. I felt like I’d let everybody down in the end.
Italy could only manage a draw against Serbia in Belgrade four days after, which meant that victory for us over Finland the same night would have put us back in control of the group.
We drew Russia in the play-offs but they were a month away and I knew I couldn’t make it. I couldn’t go on playing any more. Every time I played, it was like torture.
In my absence, Wales drew 0-0 with Russia in Moscow and then fell to a 1-0 defeat in the second leg in Cardiff. I didn’t go to the game. I probably should have done but I was so down and depressed that I didn’t want to risk visiting my mood on any of the other lads. I watched it at home in Newcastle. When the final whistle went, it was gut-wrenching.
So that was it. My best chance of playing in a major tournament was gone. I tried to put it behind me and concentrate on rescuing my career.
I had been in so much pain, I had been trying to satisfy so many people, that it had worn me down. I was trying to do my duty for my country and respect the people who paid my wages, but in the end I wasn’t doing anybody any favours.
Not Wales and certainly not Newcastle. All I’d done, actually, was make myself look like an idiot."
ROW OVER REFUSING TO SING ANTHEM AT THE OLYMPICS
Bellamy was part of a five-strong Wales group who played for Team GB at the London Olympics, with Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Neil Taylor also involved. Gareth Bale would also have played, were it not for injury. Bellamy helped the side get off to a decent start by scoring against Senegal, but it was the Welsh refusal to sing the traditional English anthem pre-match that captured the headlines.
"To be involved in the Olympics was amazing. It was my major tournament at last, I suppose. Ryan Giggs was captain and it was an honour to be in the same set-up as him.
I had to come off near the end after I took a bang on the knee and Old Trafford rose to give me a standing ovation. That was a novel experience for me. It was a decent start and most of the reaction was positive.
The only thing that seemed to concern people was that the Welsh players had not sung the anthem when it was played before the match.
I’d made a point of grabbing the Welsh players – Neil Taylor and Joe Allen (Aaron Ramsey was on the bench) – before we lined up and making sure we all stood together. I didn’t include Ryan in it because he was captain and he had different responsibilities.
But I wasn’t going to sing the national anthem and nor was any other Welsh player. It’s not our anthem.
I sing one anthem and that’s that. That’s my country’s anthem.
I’m not being anti-English or anti-British. It was just the way it was.
Craig Bellamy, here leading out Team GB against Luis Suarez' Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium, refused to sing the English/British anthem
A lot of people were offended that we didn’t sing. I can understand that. It was a difficult situation.
But you have to remember that we took some stick in Wales just for playing for Team GB. It was important to strike a balance. If we had sung the anthem, that would have been a step too far.
You have to be respectful to the people of your country.
The problem is that the British anthem is the English anthem. It was impossible to get around that."
Bellamy's Wales passion has always burned deep and, desperate to help his country reach Euro 2004, he missed key Newcastle United matches to rest two troublesome knees and ensure he could play in big qualifiers against Italy and Finland. But it caused friction up on Tyneside, with Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd particularly vocal.
"I was so close to playing in the European Championships and I didn’t know if I’d get as good a chance to get Wales to a major tournament again.
It meant I would be putting Newcastle second, which ate away at me.
The crunch game against Italy was set for the San Siro in Milan. I knew that if I had any chance of being even close to my best for the Italy game, I couldn’t play again in the build-up to it."
Without Bellamy Newcastle lost to Partizan Belgrade, Manchester United and Birmingham, were out of the Champions League and bottom of the Premier League.
Freddy Shepherd, understandably, was not particularly happy. He moaned at me about my involvement with Wales. He said it was obvious that I needed surgery and that I could not join up with the national team again until I had played for Newcastle.
But I was solely focused on my country. I knew what I was doing was essentially unfair to Newcastle, but I was desperate to play in the Euros.
So I tried to appease Newcastle by starting to train again. But the club insisted I couldn’t play for Wales unless I played for Newcastle first and I knew that if I played in the game against Birmingham, I would be in too much pain to play against Italy.
My knees had got so bad, I needed more than a week’s recovery time after every match.
Newcastle banned me from playing and got a solicitor to write to the Welsh FA. They warned Wales that if I joined up with them, they would sue the Welsh FA.
I joined up anyway and Wales sent me to see an independent surgeon. The surgeon barely looked at me and gave me the okay.
Wales said I was fine. Freddy Shepherd was furious. He said I’d never play for Newcastle again. It was a fraught situation."
Wales lost 4-0 to Italy once more, but victory at the Millennium Stadium over Finland three days after would put them back on track to qualify. Trouble is that Bellamy, Robbie Savage and Mark Delaney - three key players - were booked at the San Siro, each suspended for the Finnish clash and a weakened Wales could only draw 1-1. It meant they were consigned to the play-offs.
"I felt crushed. I had been building everything towards that night (Italy). I didn’t have much impact, either. Not really. I felt like I’d let everybody down in the end.
Italy could only manage a draw against Serbia in Belgrade four days after, which meant that victory for us over Finland the same night would have put us back in control of the group.
We drew Russia in the play-offs but they were a month away and I knew I couldn’t make it. I couldn’t go on playing any more. Every time I played, it was like torture.
In my absence, Wales drew 0-0 with Russia in Moscow and then fell to a 1-0 defeat in the second leg in Cardiff. I didn’t go to the game. I probably should have done but I was so down and depressed that I didn’t want to risk visiting my mood on any of the other lads. I watched it at home in Newcastle. When the final whistle went, it was gut-wrenching.
So that was it. My best chance of playing in a major tournament was gone. I tried to put it behind me and concentrate on rescuing my career.
I had been in so much pain, I had been trying to satisfy so many people, that it had worn me down. I was trying to do my duty for my country and respect the people who paid my wages, but in the end I wasn’t doing anybody any favours.
Not Wales and certainly not Newcastle. All I’d done, actually, was make myself look like an idiot."
ROW OVER REFUSING TO SING ANTHEM AT THE OLYMPICS
Bellamy was part of a five-strong Wales group who played for Team GB at the London Olympics, with Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Neil Taylor also involved. Gareth Bale would also have played, were it not for injury. Bellamy helped the side get off to a decent start by scoring against Senegal, but it was the Welsh refusal to sing the traditional English anthem pre-match that captured the headlines.
"To be involved in the Olympics was amazing. It was my major tournament at last, I suppose. Ryan Giggs was captain and it was an honour to be in the same set-up as him.
I had to come off near the end after I took a bang on the knee and Old Trafford rose to give me a standing ovation. That was a novel experience for me. It was a decent start and most of the reaction was positive.
The only thing that seemed to concern people was that the Welsh players had not sung the anthem when it was played before the match.
I’d made a point of grabbing the Welsh players – Neil Taylor and Joe Allen (Aaron Ramsey was on the bench) – before we lined up and making sure we all stood together. I didn’t include Ryan in it because he was captain and he had different responsibilities.
But I wasn’t going to sing the national anthem and nor was any other Welsh player. It’s not our anthem.
I sing one anthem and that’s that. That’s my country’s anthem.
I’m not being anti-English or anti-British. It was just the way it was.
Craig Bellamy, here leading out Team GB against Luis Suarez' Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium, refused to sing the English/British anthem
A lot of people were offended that we didn’t sing. I can understand that. It was a difficult situation.
But you have to remember that we took some stick in Wales just for playing for Team GB. It was important to strike a balance. If we had sung the anthem, that would have been a step too far.
You have to be respectful to the people of your country.
The problem is that the British anthem is the English anthem. It was impossible to get around that."
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Re: " CRAIG BELLAMY "
Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:48 am
CARDIFF GAVE ME PROUDEST MOMENT OF CAREER
Shortly before GoodFella was first published, Bellamy was part of a Cardiff team who drew 0-0 with Charlton to clinch an historic promotion to the Premier League. It was the number one moment in even his stellar career and he still feels Wales' capital city club can reach for the stars.
"I wanted it to happen here in Cardiff, in front of our own fans, in front of friends, in the city where I grew up.
To be a part of it, to be a player that brought so much joy to the people of my city, well, I was just incredibly grateful that I was involved in that occasion on that night.
I felt a deep sense of professional satisfaction, too. It gave me a kind of fulfillment I hadn’t had before.
That’s part of the reason why I feel being promoted with Cardiff is my proudest moment in the game. I’ve never had a feeling like it. To be able to share that promotion with everyone was different because it tapped into my background and my history."
Cardiff, of course, were relegated, but Bellamy clearly feels the Bluebirds' unique standing in the game can drive them on to great things.
"I hope we can capitalise on the fact that our Welshness can give us an advantage. We are a city of 350,000 people, but it isn’t just the city. It’s the valleys as well. You add that up and we are a club of a million people round this region who are all connected with the club and adore Cardiff.
We can build on our regional identity in the same way Athletic Bilbao have placed themselves at the centre of Basque culture and Barcelona have become a focus for Catalunya.
This is our identity. It’s strong. It’s separate. This is who we are. Playing for this club is first and foremost. So many who have come from this region have never played for Cardiff.
Gareth Bale, Ryan Giggs. We have had players like Aaron Ramsey who have left too young. I only played for the club towards the end of my career.
We have to change that. We have to make the most of our area and our identity. We can produce the players but we have to be ‘more than a club’, as Barcelona say.
We have to be about a region and an idea. You have to have the idea that playing for Cardiff is everything.
We have got the fan-base, too. When you go and play for Wales, most of the fans are Cardiff fans. Swansea have done brilliantly and I have always been vocal about how much respect I have for them, but we are a bigger club by miles.
I want to see Cardiff become a power in the game."
HOW TO BUY BELLAMY'S BRILLIANT BOOK
Craig Bellamy's book is still available and makes a great read.
Online
Craig Bellamy Goodfella in ebook edition, published by Reach Sport, is only £1.99 on Kindle. https://amzn.to/39hDdax
There is also plenty of fascinating dressing room insight from his days as a Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and West Ham player, plus of course lots, lots more on Wales and Cardiff City.
Shortly before GoodFella was first published, Bellamy was part of a Cardiff team who drew 0-0 with Charlton to clinch an historic promotion to the Premier League. It was the number one moment in even his stellar career and he still feels Wales' capital city club can reach for the stars.
"I wanted it to happen here in Cardiff, in front of our own fans, in front of friends, in the city where I grew up.
To be a part of it, to be a player that brought so much joy to the people of my city, well, I was just incredibly grateful that I was involved in that occasion on that night.
I felt a deep sense of professional satisfaction, too. It gave me a kind of fulfillment I hadn’t had before.
That’s part of the reason why I feel being promoted with Cardiff is my proudest moment in the game. I’ve never had a feeling like it. To be able to share that promotion with everyone was different because it tapped into my background and my history."
Cardiff, of course, were relegated, but Bellamy clearly feels the Bluebirds' unique standing in the game can drive them on to great things.
"I hope we can capitalise on the fact that our Welshness can give us an advantage. We are a city of 350,000 people, but it isn’t just the city. It’s the valleys as well. You add that up and we are a club of a million people round this region who are all connected with the club and adore Cardiff.
We can build on our regional identity in the same way Athletic Bilbao have placed themselves at the centre of Basque culture and Barcelona have become a focus for Catalunya.
This is our identity. It’s strong. It’s separate. This is who we are. Playing for this club is first and foremost. So many who have come from this region have never played for Cardiff.
Gareth Bale, Ryan Giggs. We have had players like Aaron Ramsey who have left too young. I only played for the club towards the end of my career.
We have to change that. We have to make the most of our area and our identity. We can produce the players but we have to be ‘more than a club’, as Barcelona say.
We have to be about a region and an idea. You have to have the idea that playing for Cardiff is everything.
We have got the fan-base, too. When you go and play for Wales, most of the fans are Cardiff fans. Swansea have done brilliantly and I have always been vocal about how much respect I have for them, but we are a bigger club by miles.
I want to see Cardiff become a power in the game."
HOW TO BUY BELLAMY'S BRILLIANT BOOK
Craig Bellamy's book is still available and makes a great read.
Online
Craig Bellamy Goodfella in ebook edition, published by Reach Sport, is only £1.99 on Kindle. https://amzn.to/39hDdax
There is also plenty of fascinating dressing room insight from his days as a Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and West Ham player, plus of course lots, lots more on Wales and Cardiff City.
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