Craig Bellamy: Inside the complex mind of the Wales head coach

Bellamy had a spiritual pull to return to Wales.

Born in Cardiff, he spent most of his playing career outside his homeland, representing the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle.

As a coach, Bellamy followed Vincent Kompany to Anderlecht and Burnley, describing his time with the current Bayern Munich boss as a “Education”.

The former Manchester City teammates remain good friends and speak often, but Bellamy felt it was time to become a head coach in his own right when his country called.

Despite only being an assistant to Company at Burnley, Bellamy took a substantial pay cut to take charge of Wales.

This, however, was a job like no other. As well as the obvious emotional bond, Bellamy had unfinished business.

He has never had the opportunity to play in a major international tournament but, as head coach, he aims to put that right by qualifying for this summer’s World Cup.

“You always have that buzz of chasing something, like I want to qualify, I want to be in the big tournaments,” Bellamy said.

“But how do we do it? I have a lot of mistakes, but the team has to play with intensity, play with the ball.

“As long as you have faith, that’s motivation. That’s why you work so hard, why you look at the opposition.

“As a Wales footballer, I didn’t really feel belief, I just felt hope. Italy (when Wales won 2-1 in the European Championship qualifiers in 2002) was different because we took the game to them. We were great but there weren’t many nights like that.”

Bellamy scored the winning goal the last time Wales faced Italy in Cardiff, a momentous occasion at a sold-out Millennium Stadium.

The teams will meet again if they win their respective World Cup play-off semi-finals on Thursday, with the final at Cardiff City Stadium next Tuesday.

Much like Bellamy, Welsh football has been unrecognizable since that memorable night 24 years ago.

Having been absent from a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, Wales not only qualified for Euro 2016 but reached the semi-finals in France three years after Bellamy retired.

They followed it up by reaching the knockout stages at Euro 2020 and then qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

Bellamy wants to build on that success – and take his country to new heights.

“Euro 2016, that moment was ‘we’re here’. It gave belief and I want to keep it going,” he said.

“We punch well above our weight but we want to be there. We have to keep doing it. I like anticipation.

“That’s what it takes to be a Wales player. To wear that shirt, those are the qualities you have to have. I believe we have the chance to be in big tournaments consistently.”

With that, Bellamy turned back to his laptop. The cursor hovers over files labeled ‘Italy’ and ‘Northern Ireland’ – Wales’ potential play-off final opponents – and then returns to ‘Bosnia’.

Whether or not Wales qualify for the World Cup this summer, there will be no shortage of preparation.