OFFICIAL: ' Craig Bellamy retires from football and Why '

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' All confirmed. Looking to become Wales manager within a few years! '

Cardiff City and Wales idol Craig Bellamy has announced his retirement as a player, admitting: “My body couldn’t take it any more.”


He plans to spend the next two years preparing for a move into management and admits taking charge of Wales one day is a major ambition moving forward.

Bellamy, 34, has called it a day after a glittering career which started at Norwich City in 1997 and finished with Cardiff City’s Premier League clash against Chelsea two weeks ago.

He also played for Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester City and won 78 caps for Wales.

Reflecting upon his playing days, Bellamy said bowing out in front of his own people at a capacity Cardiff City Stadium was the perfect way to say farewell to the game.

Cardiff City and Wales star Craig Bellamy announces retirement from football in exclusive interview with WalesOnline



May 22, 2014

By Paul Abbandonato


Bellamy, 34, has hung up his boots after a career with spells at Norwich City, Newcastle United, Celtic, Liverpool, Manchester City and Cardiff City


Cardiff City and Wales idol Craig Bellamy has announced his retirement as a player, admitting: “My body couldn’t take it any more.”



He plans to spend the next two years preparing for a move into management and admits taking charge of Wales one day is a major ambition moving forward.

Bellamy, 34, has called it a day after a glittering career which started at Norwich City in 1997 and finished with Cardiff City’s Premier League clash against Chelsea two weeks ago.

He also played for Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester City and won 78 caps for Wales.

Reflecting upon his playing days, Bellamy said bowing out in front of his own people at a capacity Cardiff City Stadium was the perfect way to say farewell to the game.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/foot ... ty-7158145

Thank fuk

Fantastic for us. Bellamy was more hassle for us than he was a pleasure. Frees up wages for at least one top Champ player or 2 average Champ players, delighted with this

He gave us some good times but really dropped last season. He frees up wages now and allows us to move onwards.

Thanks for everything Bellers

According to bellers Wales online interview, it was malky who convinced him to play one more season. Why I don't know as his wages could of been used on someone who would of actually contributed to the season.

According to bellers Wales online interview, it was malky who convinced him to play one more season. Why I don't know as his wages could of been used on someone who would of actually contributed to the season.

Maybe he persuaded him to be part of the Milkman Association

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

I wish Craig all the best and thanks for his goal against the Scum

Normally I'd be upset when a play of this quality is leaving us, but after this season in general and many of the shite performances witnessed , I really don't care who comes and goes any more...

Bellers and Dutch Ray to take over Wales job I would welcome!

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

He just didn't offer enough for me, but you can't blame him for wanting to play 1 last season in the prem with cardiff. Malky is at fault for keeping him on IMO, he should have been released.

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

He just didn't offer enough for me, but you can't blame him for wanting to play 1 last season in the prem with cardiff. Malky is at fault for keeping him on IMO, he should have been released.

Bobby, I have to agree with everything youve just said.

interesting explanation as to why he didn't come back out at the end of the Chelsea game?? Not sure I believe that and it's a shame because it did make me feel annoyed towards him....He should have come out whatever the circumstances

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

He just didn't offer enough for me, but you can't blame him for wanting to play 1 last season in the prem with cardiff. Malky is at fault for keeping him on IMO, he should have been released.

Bobby, I have to agree with everything youve just said.

He was under contract anyway so it wouldn't have been more cost effective to release him. He did score 2 goals and get a few assists so it's not too bad a return considering he didn't play a lot.

Very good read


Thursday 22nd May 2014.

" THE REST OF CRAIG BELLAMY'S INTERVIEW "

CRAIG BELLAMY

“When Cardiff got promoted, it was the sense of achievement with my hometown club that meant most to me, rather than being able to play another season in the Premier League. I had performed at that level for 12 years anyway, the goal of getting Cardiff up there meant more to me than actually playing there again myself.

Craig Bellamy after Cardiff secured promotion in 2013

“But I spoke to Malky Mackay and he talked me around for one last challenge. I wasn’t sure I could offer too much, to be honest.

“Look back at pictures and you’ll see I finished that Championship-winning campaign with strapping on my knee, strapping elsewhere, strapping pretty much everywhere just to get me through.

“But Malky said ‘I don’t expect you to play as many games, but we need your experience and know-how around the place for the Premier League.’

“He convinced me ... so I ended up giving it one more season. But the idea was always to retire then and, two weeks after the end of the campaign, this is the correct time to make the announcement.

“I didn’t want to say anything earlier because the priority was Cardiff City and us trying to avoid relegation, not Craig Bellamy and his personal future. I didn’t want to cause distraction until the season was over, but whether we kept our place in the League or went down, it wasn’t going to change my mind.

“I informed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he understands.

“Of course I want to keep playing, that’s the best thing for any footballer. But I’m looking forward to not having to put my body through the pain, I have to say.

“I could go to the Major Soccer League across the Atlantic, I’ve had offers from clubs in England. But it’s not just the playing and training, it’s the maintenance work I have to do on my body in order to be able to play. The extra hour of strengthening work I have to do after training, that type of thing.

“If I’m honest, I’ve had a few sleepless nights over the last three to four months. How am I going to handle it, I’ve not completely prepared myself for not playing?


“Not waking up in pain at the moment is nice, I can enjoy it. When the season starts, it could be a different matter.

“But I do have lots of business activities to keep me busy and I’m taking my full coaching badges. I’ve got A, B and C, I just need to do the Pro-Licence which will prepare me properly for management.

“I plan to visit lots of football club, home and abroad, look at training in different sports, to broaden my knowledge. Then, when the management opportunity comes, I will be as fully prepared as possible.”

Bellamy’s farewell appearance was a goalscoring one, the Bluebirds man seeing his shot deflect off Cesar Azpilicueta and fly into the Chelsea goal in Cardiff’s Premier League swansong.

“If there was a fitting way to bow out, this was it,” he says. “The Premier League, a packed Cardiff City Stadium, my home city, Chelsea, walking off to a round of applause when I was substituted, looking around and seeing the fans wearing blue. Then, as I was walked off the pitch, Jose Mourinho came up to me and said a few kind words.

“I walked straight down the tunnel. I wanted that to be my last memory of playing because it was so wonderful.

“It’s the reason Cardiff fans didn’t see me out doing the traditional end of season parade around the ground afterwards. I didn’t want to do that in front of a half empty ground, I wanted to leave with my memory.



“If I offended anyone by not being out there for that lap of honour, I certainly didn’t mean it to be that way. This is my chance to explain, as such, why that was the case and I’m sure Cardiff fans will understand.

“I just recall walking off, Mourinho speaking to me, looking to my right, seeing the blue... and that was it, I was down the tunnel with a memory of something I will never forget.”

The 2-1 Chelsea loss, of course, condemned Cardiff to the bottom of the Premier League, but Bellamy is adamant his hometown club will be better for the experience of the last nine months.

“Were we ready for it? I think every club will say they are in those circumstances, but we will certainly know a lot more about how to handle this type of experience next time it happens,” says Bellamy.

“People say Swansea keep their place in the Premier League, but we’re not Swansea City. The way the club is run is different, the culture is different.

“It was a difficult, difficult season for everyone concerned. Extra tough because of the influence from outside. Look, that’s not an excuse, we came down because we weren’t good enough, but we made headlines we shouldn’t have made off the field.

“For each of us, staff, players, most importantly the fans, it was disappointing, But we can come back and learn from it. The experience of being in the Premier League will be seen as a bit of a bonus next time the club are promoted.”

So how does Bellamy see his football legacy?

“I’m not sure, is the answer to that. But I do have to pinch myself at times when I look back at some of the things I have achieved, I really do,” he answers.

“I’ve been an angry young man at time. So much of my career was affected by injuries. Not just the well documented surgery, but the hamstring pulls and other things. Injuries hit me hard and they always seemed to come at key times. Back then I didn’t understand my body as well as I began to do towards the end of my career.



Bellamy had to battle injury throughout his career

“But I think that anger I’ve displayed has been channelled into making me a better player. It gave me determination to get through those many injury problems.

“I was always far more at ease with myself as a player during the last couple of years with Cardiff.

“Even if I did manage something special when I was younger, I would dismiss that success within seconds and set myself the next goal. That was what drove me on.

“If truth be know, I got little enjoyment for large parts of my career. In hindsight, I needed to reflect more, be proud of what I did. Instead, I set myself unrealistic targets at times.

“But in the last couple of years I’ve been more proud, able to step back, enjoy my accomplishments. Why? Because my mind was in a good place.

“Previously, defeats would drive me mad. As a professional, you’re taught from a young age to despise losing.

“But I began to accept that in football you will win some games and you will lose some games, with draws here and there too. That’s just the nature of the game. Sometimes days don’t go for you and your opponents play better.

“Once I began to accept that, I could come to terms with the defeats. In turn, that meant I could enjoy the wins a lot more.

“I think the last couple of years with Cardiff have been more enjoyable than perhaps the rest of my career in that respect.

“When we went up into the Premier League, Malky told us ‘Individuals win games, team-work wins titles’. It was a grind, but I knew we had to get the job done. And I took so much satisfaction from it.

“I recall us beating Millwall 1-0 at home. In truth, we should have been looking to win that one by three or four, but we realised the most important thing was the three points. The bigger picture of promotion mattered more than those 90 minutes. One more game chalked off. Keep doing that game by game until the opposition fixtures ran out and they couldn’t catch us.”

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

He just didn't offer enough for me, but you can't blame him for wanting to play 1 last season in the prem with cardiff. Malky is at fault for keeping him on IMO, he should have been released.

Bobby, I have to agree with everything youve just said.

Ditto!

He wasn't as bad as everyone makes out last season. Not his best season but he still showed some fight other than most.
Thanks Bellers and good luck

He just didn't offer enough for me, but you can't blame him for wanting to play 1 last season in the prem with cardiff. Malky is at fault for keeping him on IMO, he should have been released.

Bobby, I have to agree with everything youve just said.

He was under contract anyway so it wouldn't have been more cost effective to release him. He did score 2 goals and get a few assists so it's not too bad a return considering he didn't play a lot.

he got 1 goal and 1 assist his goal against chelsea was changed and put as a own goal

Bellers and Dutch Ray to take over Wales job I would welcome!

Laughable that people want Coleman out and then throw suggestions up like this.

Bellamy - Never managed at all in his life.

Ray - Fitness coach whose mouth is bigger than his brain and has been unemployed since leaving Wales 2 years ago.

But anyway, on topic. I am glad Bellamy has gone. His initial run a few years back was good but by the time he came back it was painfully obvious he was well past his best. He relied on his pace and when that inevitably declined we would see a poorer player.

He did what? Scored once and set one up. Not good enough, especially when you consider his ridiculous wages that have been eating up our wage bill for 2 years.

I respect his work in Africa, I respect his passion and honesty, in the end he was a player who was well past his best when he came back and has been stealing a living for 2 years. Good riddance.


Also, Cardiff icon? Really?

Could be a real pain in the arse and most of the time he was, but what a player. Sadly time catches up with everyone and surely this comes as no surprise as Craig was clearly in decline and fitness had become a big issue for him.

Having said that I cannot think of another player of his quality who was prepared to drop down to the Championship and help our club, Craig did that and I will always be grateful to him for being prepared to do that. Let's face it he still managed to give us some cracking memories and I sincerely wish him all the best for the future.

Picking up on one thing when he signed post rebrand he said that he was prepared to wear a "Pink" shirt if it meant he could play for Cardiff City but now he wanted his last memory to be seeing the stadium full of fans wearing "Blue".

How about telling VT why that was important to you Craig.

Seems he just wanted to cherish his last memory of city and that's why he didn't come out for the lap of honour. I for one thank him for his commitment to the cause. If the players have his commitment next season we'll be ok

Bellers and Dutch Ray to take over Wales job I would welcome!

Laughable that people want Coleman out and then throw suggestions up like this.

Bellamy - Never managed at all in his life.

Ray - Fitness coach whose mouth is bigger than his brain and has been unemployed since leaving Wales 2 years ago.

But anyway, on topic. I am glad Bellamy has gone. His initial run a few years back was good but by the time he came back it was painfully obvious he was well past his best. He relied on his pace and when that inevitably declined we would see a poorer player.

He did what? Scored once and set one up. Not good enough, especially when you consider his ridiculous wages that have been eating up our wage bill for 2 years.

I respect his work in Africa, I respect his passion and honesty, in the end he was a player who was well past his best when he came back and has been stealing a living for 2 years. Good riddance.


Also, Cardiff icon? Really?

Coleman hasn't got a clue and we play some shocking football.

We played the best football I've ever seen Wales play was under Speed and Dutch Ray. Obviously Ray had an influence as a lot of players publicly said they want him to say. Him partnered with a respected footballer I'm willing to give a go other than keeping Coleman.

If it was me I would have done the lap of honour in a blue shirt especially seeing as he knew he was going to retire

Could be a real pain in the arse and most of the time he was, but what a player. Sadly time catches up with everyone and surely this comes as no surprise as Craig was clearly in decline and fitness had become a big issue for him.

Having said that I cannot think of another player of his quality who was prepared to drop down to the Championship and help our club, Craig did that and I will always be grateful to him for being prepared to do that. Let's face it he still managed to give us some cracking memories and I sincerely wish him all the best for the future.

Picking up on one thing when he signed post rebrand he said that he was prepared to wear a "Pink" shirt if it meant he could play for Cardiff City but now he wanted his last memory to be seeing the stadium full of fans wearing "Blue".

How about telling VT why that was important to you Craig.

Cometh the hour, Cometh the man.

Craig Bellamy played his part,,,a very big part.
Time waits for no man. Thanks CB & the very best of luck,,,,you weren't every body's cup of tea, but you certainly raised all our expectations when you played for us.

Good Luck Bellars Overall he has been good for the club. He should never have been talked into playing this last year in the Premiership as he was obviously not up to it, us fans could see that, so the manager should never have done that, Malkys inexperience, I guess.

Good Luck Bellars Overall he has been good for the club. He should never have been talked into playing this last year in the Premiership as he was obviously not up to it, us fans could see that, so the manager should never have done that, Malkys inexperience, I guess.

Personally, i think it was a case of loyal sentiment on Malky's part more than anything else,,,which also goes a long way in highlighting one of MM's managerial weaknesses,,, after all, CB wasn't the only one.

How much was he on a week?

Bellers and Dutch Ray to take over Wales job I would welcome!

Laughable that people want Coleman out and then throw suggestions up like this.

Bellamy - Never managed at all in his life.

Ray - Fitness coach whose mouth is bigger than his brain and has been unemployed since leaving Wales 2 years ago.

But anyway, on topic. I am glad Bellamy has gone. His initial run a few years back was good but by the time he came back it was painfully obvious he was well past his best. He relied on his pace and when that inevitably declined we would see a poorer player.

He did what? Scored once and set one up. Not good enough, especially when you consider his ridiculous wages that have been eating up our wage bill for 2 years.

I respect his work in Africa, I respect his passion and honesty, in the end he was a player who was well past his best when he came back and has been stealing a living for 2 years. Good riddance.


Also, Cardiff icon? Really?

Coleman hasn't got a clue and we play some shocking football.

We played the best football I've ever seen Wales play was under Speed and Dutch Ray. Obviously Ray had an influence as a lot of players publicly said they want him to say. Him partnered with a respected footballer I'm willing to give a go other than keeping Coleman.

At first, yes. But it has improved lately.

Why would Bellamy all of a sudden get us playing well? Our squad is pretty average outside of Bale & Ramsey.

They aren't going to say they want him gone aren't they? Ray has been unemployed for 2 years and has to run his mouth to stay relevant, that is indicative of how great he is at coaching.

Brilliant read that article was. I'm sure amany will choose to ignore the part about not coming out at the end

Bellers and Dutch Ray to take over Wales job I would welcome!

Laughable that people want Coleman out and then throw suggestions up like this.

Bellamy - Never managed at all in his life.

Ray - Fitness coach whose mouth is bigger than his brain and has been unemployed since leaving Wales 2 years ago.

But anyway, on topic. I am glad Bellamy has gone. His initial run a few years back was good but by the time he came back it was painfully obvious he was well past his best. He relied on his pace and when that inevitably declined we would see a poorer player.

He did what? Scored once and set one up. Not good enough, especially when you consider his ridiculous wages that have been eating up our wage bill for 2 years.

I respect his work in Africa, I respect his passion and honesty, in the end he was a player who was well past his best when he came back and has been stealing a living for 2 years. Good riddance.


Also, Cardiff icon? Really?

Coleman hasn't got a clue and we play some shocking football.

We played the best football I've ever seen Wales play was under Speed and Dutch Ray. Obviously Ray had an influence as a lot of players publicly said they want him to say. Him partnered with a respected footballer I'm willing to give a go other than keeping Coleman.

Dutch Ray's coaching qualifications doesn't even equate to managing a kids U12's team, he's a con man

Brilliant read that article was. I'm sure amany will choose to ignore the part about not coming out at the end

Yeah seems to miss out the fact he went over to Mourinho and blanked the current manager of the side he played for. What a scrawny little gobshite he is

I am glad that Bellamy has put his reason out for not doing the lap of honour, personally I would have liked to have seen him out there with the rest of the squad but the reason he has stated should be accepted by our fans.