Ex-Liverpool star Craig Bellamy lands exciting job after leaving Burnley, confirming new role

Former Liverpool star Craig Bellamy has been announced as the new Wales manager.

Bellamy replaced Rob Page, who was sacked last month. Bellamy turned down the opportunity to stay at Burnley under new boss Scott Parker to become the new Wales manager.

Bellamy, a former Wales captain, won 78 caps for his country between 1998 and 2013. The Football Association of Wales was open to appointing its first non-Welsh manager since 1999, after completing the tenure of Page’s three and a half years since the failure. to qualify for Euro 2024.

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A statement released by the Football Association of Wales said: “The Football Association of Wales is delighted to announce the appointment of Craig Bellamy as Head Coach of the Cymru Men’s National Team until 2028.

“Holding a UEFA Pro license through the FAW Coach Education system, Bellamy has been coaching since retiring in 2014, most recently as head coach and assistant coach at Burnley in the English Premier League. Prior to joining Burnley, Bellamy was U21 Head Coach and Senior Assistant Coach for Anderlecht and also worked in the academy at his boyhood club Cardiff City.”

On his appointment, Bellamy said: “It is an incredible honor for me to be given the opportunity to lead my country and it is the proudest moment of my career. It has always been my ultimate dream to become head coach of Cymru and I am ready to give my full commitment to developing this team and I am passionate about bringing further success to Welsh football, I can’t wait to get started with the Nations League games.

FAW Chief Football Officer Dr David Adams said: “I am absolutely delighted to announce Craig as our new head coach. We undertook a thorough recruitment process for the new Head Coach of the Men’s National Team and Craig was identified as the outstanding candidate. They are all looking forward to the Nations League games and working with Craig to deliver success for Welsh Football.”

Former France striker Thierry Henry and Georgia boss Willy Sagnol were among those being considered for the role. However, Bellamy, who narrowly missed out on the job in 2017 when Ryan Giggs was appointed, is understood to have impressed the FAW hierarchy during an interview in the north of England last week.

His first game in charge will be a Nations League home game against Turkey on September 6, before traveling to Montenegro for another game just three days later.

Bellamy had two spells as a player at Liverpool, the first being in the 2006/07 season and the other in the 2011/12 season. He made a total of 79 appearances for the Reds, scoring 18 goals.