In appointing Craig Bellamy as the new men’s head coach, Wales have found their successor to Rob Page.

As a former Wales captain and Premier League player for over a decade, Bellamy’s story is not an unknown one.

Bellamy, who has a four-year deal with the FAW, said that the job was his ‘dream’.

“It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead my country and it’s the proudest moment of my career,” he said.

“It was always my ultimate dream to become the Cymru head coach and I am ready for the challenge.”

Sportin Wales have broken down Bellamy’s playing career into ten key matches which perfectly illustrate who he was and who he will be as coach of Cymru.

Wales 0-0 Jamaica, 25th March 1998

Bellamy was raised in Cardiff but football took him initially to Bristol Rovers and then Norwich City.

He made his debut for Norwich aged 17 in a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in March 1997. The following season, Bellamy broke into the starting eleven and became a regular for the Canaries, scoring 13 goals in 38 appearance from central midfield.

Before the end of the season, Bellamy’s good form caught the attention of Wales coach Bobby Gould, who called him up for the first time in March 1998.

During Bellamy’s first training session with the first team, Gould, who was renowned for his unusual methods, was involved in a wrestling match with John Hartson that left the manager with a bloodied nose.

Bellamy, though, made his international debut as a second half substitute in a 0-0 draw with Jamaica at Ninian Park, the first of 78 caps for his country.

Wales 1-1 Argentina, 13th February 2002

Bellamy had another excellent season for Norwich in 1998/99, before rupturing his cruciate ligaments in pre-season. He made his return in April 2000.

By this time, it was clear the forward had outgrown First Division level and, with a number of Premier League clubs interested, he signed for Coventry in 2001 for £6million.

After a solid, if unspectacular, season, Bellamy signed for Newcastle United, who had retained their interest in him from the previous year.

For Wales, Bellamy was becoming a key member of Mark Hughes’ revival of the national team. His goal against Argentina cemented his place as Wales’ most important attacker of the era, and arguably the most talented since his manager was playing.

Bellamy flourished in partnership with England legend Alan Shearer at Newcastle, with the pair scoring a combined 41 goals in the 2001/02 season.

Bellamy’s playing career was stacked with high-pressing, pace and aggression, attributes which proved crucial to their combinations, Shearer commenting that Bellamy was “brilliant” in extending the Premier League record goal scorer’s career due to his pace.

His contributions to the 2001/02 season won him the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Wales 2-1 Italy, 16th October 2002

Under Hughes, Wales had built a team worthy of qualifying for EURO 2004. Bellamy’s partnership with John Hartson was a feature of the qualifying campaign, and no goal encapsulated this more than the winning goal over Italy in October 2002.

Wales took an early lead through Simon Davies before Alessandro Del Piero levelled after 30 minutes with a deflected free-kick. In the 70th minute, Hartson received the ball and played in Bellamy, who rounded Gianluigi Buffon to score Wales’ winning goal.

While Wales ultimately failed to qualify for EURO 2004, the result is regarded as their best ever at the Millennium Stadium and represented the high point for Hughes’ team.

Wales 1-5 Slovakia, 7th October 2006

Certainly not the best result on this list, Wales’ 5-1 defeat to Slovakia takes it’s place owing to the fact it was Bellamy’s first game as Wales captain.

While his club career had stalled a little – he had fallen out with Graeme Souness at Newcastle, Bellamy had a successful loan spell at Celtic, and was now at Blackburn Rovers – Josh Toshack had replaced Hughes as Wales manager and made Bellamy his captain.

Not only was the match significant in Bellamy’s career, it was also the game where Gareth Bale scored his first Wales goal: a freekick into the top corner. Now, where have we seen that before?

Barcelona 1-2 Liverpool, 21st February 2007

After a successful season at Blackburn, Bellamy moved again, this time to Liverpool.

Here, he had perhaps the most headline grabbing week of his career. Liverpool were on a warm weather training camp in Portugal, preparing for their Champions League tie with Barcelona, when Bellamy was involved in a fight with teammate John Arne Riise. After exchanging words at the bar, Bellamy stormed into Riise’s room late at night and hit him with a golf club.

The Wales captain was fined by his club, but played the match against Barcelona, where he equalized, celebrating with a golf swing before assisting Riise for the winner in a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp.

Liverpool would go on to make the final of the Champions League, but Bellamy was an unused substitute as Rafa Benitez’s side lost 2-1 to AC Milan.

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Wales 0-2 Finland, 28th March 2009

Bellamy, now at Manchester City, was a senior member of a side that included future Welsh legends such as Gareth Bale, Joe Ledley, and Wayne Hennessey. When his side fell to a 0-2 home defeat to Finland in World Cup qualifying, Bellamy’s damning words represented his frustration and passion for his country.

“They’re not a good side,” he said, referring to the victors, Finland.

“You’ve probably seen two poor sides trying to contest this group where neither of us have got a glimmer of hope of qualifying. That’s a fact.

“Where do we go from here? God knows. It’s the same old story.”

Bellamy would never play at a major tournament for Wales, but was a part of the early Chris Coleman side, eventually retiring in 2013.

Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City, 20th September 2009

The 2009/10 represented one of Bellamy’s best club seasons, scoring ten league goals for Man City after initially being reunited with former Wales coach Mark Hughes.

He started the season is blistering form, starring in one of the best Manchester derbies of recent memory. His first goal – the goal of the month for September 2009 – was a 20-yard strike from the edge of the box that ripped past Ben Foster in goal and into the top corner.

His second, an instinctive finish from the tightest of angles, looked to have won a point for City, before Michael Owen’s extraordinary injury-time winner snatched the win for the red half of Manchester.

Cardiff City 2-2 Liverpool (p), 26th February 2012

After a season-long loans spell at Cardiff City, Bellamy moved on a free transfer back to Liverpool, where he was a bit-part player under Kenny Dalglish.

The forward came off the bench in the League Cup final victory over Cardiff, although he requested to not take a penalty in the shootout that Liverpool won 3-2.

Bellamy also played a pivotal role in the club’s run to the FA Cup final, providing the assist for Andy Carroll to score the winning goal as Liverpool beat local rivals Everton 2–1 at Wembley to reach their first FA Cup final in six years. He started in the final against Chelsea, which Liverpool lost 2–1.

The League Cup victory was Bellamy’s biggest trophy win of his career. He also lifted the Scottish Cup while at Celtic, the Community Shield during his first spell at Liverpool, and the Championship title with Cardiff in 2012/13.

Belgium 1-1 Wales, 15th October 2013

By this time in his career, Bellamy was struggling badly with injuries and had stepped down as Wales captain, with Aaron Ramsey taking over as his successor.

After Wales failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, he announced his retirement in October 2013, with his last game against Belgium ending in a 1-1 draw. Bellamy ended his international career with 78 caps and 19 goals.

Cardiff 2-1 Norwich City, 1st February 2014

Despite new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’ desire to keep Bellamy, the former Cardiff man wanted to finish his career at his hometown club.

He took on a senior player role at the club and helped guide them to the Premier League in his first season back.

Bellamy’s last professional goal came in a Premier League match against Norwich as his strike, and that of his goal-scoring partner Kenwyne Jones, won the match.

Following his retirement in 2014, the former Cardiff City and Liverpool attacker moved straight into coaching, initially in Cardiff’s academy before being appointed Cardiff’s player development manager, overseeing all age groups at the club’s youth academy in 2016.

After missing out on the role of Wales head coach to Gary Speed in 2018, Bellamy became the U21 manager for Belgian side Anderlecht, following Kompany’s appointment as manager. He followed his former Manchester City teammate to Burnley in 2022, this time in the role of first team coach.

In May 2024, after Kompany left to join Bayern Munich in the wake of Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League, Bellamy was appointed acting head coach but makes the switch to Wales as former England midfielder Scott Parker takes charge at Turf Moor.