The most irritating player in the Premier League has become calm head coach, he wants to take Wales to the World Cup next year

As a teenager, Craig Bellamy often annoyed his teammates and ended up being locked in the toilet of the team bus.

But if they wanted to shut him up, it was impossible.

Bellamy started his career at Norwich and later played for Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester City. No matter which team he was on, his performance always excited the fans.

There are goals, there are golf-club celebrations, and of course there are squabbles, controversies and conflicts on the training ground.

However, the "violent man" who often appeared in the headlines has now been described as "Mr calm", Bellamy took up the Wales team coach.

Bellamy is thoughtful, sharp, and eloquent. He performed well in his first year coaching the Wales team, far exceeding people's expectations.

His goal is to lead the Wales team to the 2026 World Cup. This Thursday, the Wales team will play a friendly match with England, and then face Belgium, the strongest opponent in the world preliminaries, at home next Monday.

Green years - super confident, aggressive, focused

Bellamy was born and raised in Cardiff, leaving his hometown to join Norwich City at the age of 15. Signed his first professional contract at the age of 17. His performances in the second tier quickly attracted the attention of Premier League clubs.

"Bellamy is very passionate, focused and knows what he wants to achieve even at that age," said his Norwich strike partner and Wales team-mate Ivan Roberts.

"He is very confident. Some young guys think he is arrogant and arrogant. They don't understand why he is like this at such a young age. But I don't think that is arrogance. I just think he is very confident in his own abilities, and this confidence is natural."

"We did have conflicts. , Who has he not had a conflict with? But in the football club, the Welsh people will stick together. If he conflicts with others, I will definitely support him."

This is indeed the case. In one game, Australian player Kevin Muscat tackled Bellamy, and then Roberts stepped on Muscat. Bellamy's bad temper caused not only his opponents to try to punish him, but sometimes his teammates would also look for opportunities to punish him.

"He had a falling out with Malky Mackay (former Norwich centre-back) in one training session and there was no comparison in terms of size but he was like a beagle," Roberts said. "There was another time when we went to Bradford and he had a fight with Brian Gunn and got fucked on the road."

"This may be his first time riding the team's long-distance bus. People who have been on it a few times will know that if you go to the toilet, you must extend your legs so that others cannot close the door."

"Bellamy entered the toilet and closed the door on his own initiative. The others immediately stood up from their seats and used The trash can blocked the toilet door. After using the bathroom, Bellamy wanted to open the door and come out but found that it was already too late. "

" He was in there for about 45 minutes to an hour. For the first five or ten minutes, he cursed, BSed, and joked, and then he quieted down. One of the lads drew up a bond saying 'I will never be rude to senior pros again' which he had to sign in order to be released. Bellamy signed, but as soon as it came out, he went his own way again! ”

Bellamy now admits that his bravado was partly an attempt to hide his fear of failure. He needed to succeed because he became a father at 17. In short, he couldn't afford to fail.

"He is super professional," Roberts said. "In my 20-year playing career, there have been only a handful of players like him."

Premier League years - speed, professionalism and powder keg temper

After joining Newcastle, Bellamy was truly understood by the Premier League, his speed, his potential-and his powder keg temper.

He played the best football of his career, encouraged by Sir Bobby Robson, who called Bellamy both "a great player" and "the most exaggerated footballer I have ever seen".

"He's outspoken and opinionated," said Daily Match commentator Shay Given, a former Newcastle goalkeeper and the person Bellamy has worked with most in his playing career.

Once, Bellamy and Newcastle coach John Carver had an argument in the airport lounge, and Given was almost hit by a thrown chair.

"He did piss people off a lot and made a lot of headlines," Given added.

"We all make mistakes and he made a lot of them, but he was young and something special happened."

Robson understands this better than most, which is perhaps why Bellamy credits the former England manager's man-management skills as something he's eager to learn from and put into practice.

Robson may have seen through the persona that Bellamy now admits was created to hide his insecurities.

Bellamy said that now when he thinks back to his anger, he often cringes, and he will never allow his team members to be as violent as he used to be.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the strict training and competition requirements, which is his "non-negotiable" principle. This is the fundamental reason for the positive changes in the team after he became the head coach of the Welsh team.

"I guess you could say it's Bellamy's professionalism that a lot of people don't see," Given said.

"I know he's had some bad press off the field, but when it comes to game preparation and his will to win, he's been very professional."

"The players go home after lunch and he'll be in the gym for a couple hours, doing what he needs to do to protect his knee or other things after he gets over some injury issues.

"He's not always easy to work with. As time went on, we may have argued a few times. Others might have distanced themselves from him, but I could give him something in return.

When Bellamy wasn't sure the team was benefiting, or things weren't going well, he started to complain.

"As you can imagine, he always had a good eye in the dressing room," said Mark Hughes, who coached Bellamy at Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City.

"When you take in what he's saying, you realize he reads the game and knows what might be going wrong in the game." "

"You knew then that he could control himself - a lot of players can't do that. If you can do this, it will serve you well when you become a coach. "

Become a coach - he is changing himself

Bellamy always wants to get better, and thus gains an advantage, but at the same time he often puts pressure on his teammates.

"The last thing you want to do in training is to lose the ball. ' admits Joe Ledley, who was selected for the Wales squad at the age of 17, when Bellamy was already a household name. 'His professionalism and work ethic are the best I've ever seen. I got a lot out of it that people don’t see. "

"But he has high demands on everyone in the team. No matter who you are, if you do something wrong, he will be the first to tell you. "

While Ledley and many others say Bellamy's influence is invaluable, there were still concerns about Bellamy's temper when he was first appointed as Wales manager in 2018. "Because he is so demanding, he raises the standards of everyone around him. "Some people sometimes can't understand what he's trying to do, or maybe are a bit scared, but I think he's a bit misunderstood." There's a not-so-good side to him, but it's often well-intentioned. "

"You must break through the layers of restraint with him and open your heart. He's aware of that, too, and now as a coach, he's probably even more aware of it. ”

Despite Bellamy’s past behavior of being reckless and angry, some former teammates say he is changing.

“He knew some people around him might feel like they were walking on eggshells, and in retrospect, he probably never wanted people to feel that way. "Daily Match" commentator Ashley Williams said, he served as the captain of the Wales team after Bellamy retired and led the team to compete in the 2016 European Cup.

"After retiring, I found that I have been in a very focused state during the game. He's the same way, he's been really focused. "

"He's out of that state now, and it gives him a chance to show another side of himself. I can see this because I often chat with him in the hotel during away games. "

Bellamy has now learned to control his emotions in front of the media.

Williams said: "I don't think that the restraint of his remarks after the game was a sign of dishonesty. He now controls his emotions better and expresses them better. "

"When he spoke, it was as if he was addressing the nation. "

Heading the Wales team - learning to control his enthusiasm

Bellamy has always been obsessed with watching and analyzing football. As a child, he paid attention to the World Cup. After becoming a coach, he endlessly watched the opponent's game videos.

During his player career, he That burning desire to be the best player often erupts into a raging fire, but as others have said, while his passion is still there, he has learned to control it

This change is a gradual process, and Bellamy himself said that this process is still ongoing. The first experience of coaching at Cardiff Academy was a lesson.

He served as the coach of the U18 echelon. As a result, he was accused of bullying players. After the club conducted an investigation, he resigned from his position.

Bellamy denied and refuted the accusations and was not subject to any disciplinary action, but he issued a statement saying he was "truly sorry" if he had offended anyone.

Gabbidon said: "That period was definitely a learning process for him, and since then he has learned a lot from the people he worked with, such as Vincent Kompany, who is a very calm person. ”

Bellamy was a member of Kompany’s coaching staff during his spells at Anderlecht and Burnley, and he believes that his former Manchester City teammate had a major influence on him because of his calm personality and football talent.

This improvement was evident when Bellamy was interviewed for the position of head coach of the Wales team.

At Burnley’s training ground, his comprehensive introduction to the Welsh team, from tactical analysis to the detailed assessment of individual player statistics, which impressed Football Association of Wales officials.

After his appointment, unlike some of his peers in international football, Bellamy regarded the job of Wales head coach as a full-time job.

The players love working with him - whether on the training pitch or in the meeting room. Harry Wilson even said: “He changed the way I looked at football. Even interviews with Bellamy can turn into tactical seminars, and his conversations with former team-mates often seem to do the same. "If you were on the phone with him, or talking to him, you could discuss the smallest details for hours," Williams said. "

"He could talk to you about goal kicks for hours on end and you wouldn't get bored because his love for football and his passion for all the different intricate details came through. "

"I'm not crazy," Bellamy said. "I'm sane. People thought I was going to run around on the pitch, push the referee and stuff like that, and get sent off. "

"I may feel that I was forced to become a manager just to prove that I am not that kind of person.. People used to mention my temper, but now you finally see this side of me. ”

Bellamy will show his most authentic and mature self this Thursday when he stands in the spotlight of Wembley Stadium as the head coach of the Wales.