Is This The End Of The Road For Craig Bellamy? A Look Back At The Cardiff Striker's Career

At 34 years old Craig Bellamy still possesses a turn of speed that would frighten any defender across the world, but yesterday the former Welsh captain has hinted at international retirement.

It is something that every Welshman is expecting, but are praying that it will not come. You see it is not just the speed that Welsh fans love about him, it’s his passion. Every time he puts the red shirt on (sometimes green) you can see he’s giving 100%, and what more could a fan possibly ask for?

His somewhat colourful career has seen him travel England far and wide and even had a brief stop in the highlands of Scotland. No fewer than nine different set of fans have cheered him on (most of the time) but his early career was littered with discipline issues.

Hot-head would have been a light word to describe the winger who has admittedly made mistakes on the past. After leaving Coventry in 2001, he said “I never once enjoyed playing for Coventry” so it is safe to say he doesn’t hold many fond memories of his time there, and I’m sure he hasn’t received many Christmas cards for Coventry fans either.

Whist that would be his first outburst it wouldn’t be his last. His move to Newcastle started off well but injuries that would later blight his whole career and a very public fall out with manager Graeme Souness left him disillusioned with time with the toon.

A successful period with Blackburn led him to Anfield. His time with Liverpool would be best remembered for his attack on team John Arne Riise and even further remembered for his golf (the weapon which he attacked Riise) swing celebration the next match.

West Ham would be his next stop, where even further impressive performances left him wanted by Tottenham and Manchester City. A move to Tottenham was apparently stopped by Zola, and Bellamy stormed out of training in protest before eventually moving to Manchester City.

After being left out of the 2010-2011 premier league squad, Bellamy hinted at retirement, not for the first time it would seem, but an improbable move left him joining boyhood club Cardiff City. The prodigal son had returned home. One more spell at Liverpool would follow but for now his heart is with the blue birds (or is it red now?)

Anyhow, the point of this blog is to highlight that whilst Bellamy was often seen as a loose cannon, a wind up merchant, perhaps even someone who couldn’t be trusted, the maturity he has now shines through. Yes, he’s still the mouthy player as before but the training ground bust ups are a thing of the past.

Some would say that, since his good friend Gary Speed took his life, his heart hasn’t been in playing for Wales. All I know, as a proud Welshman, I’d much prefer see a welsh side with Bellamy than one without him.

If he is to retire then all I can say is…thank you and goodbye, Craig Bellamy.

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