da wazamba： Craig Bellamy may not be the most liked footballer to have plied his trade in the Premier League in recent years, but there’s no doubting that the former Norwich, Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester City and Cardiff striker has plenty to say.
da betsson： Too often, as footballers head to the end of their playing careers, they release an autobiography that says pretty much nothing that you didn’t already know, but as was the case throughout his career, Bellamy is not afraid to put his head above the parapet and say it like he sees it.
Titled ‘GoodFella’, as the foreword by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard says, ‘there is an honesty about this book because there is an honesty about him’, and some of the things that the Welshman reveals will be of interest to any football fan.
One of the most interesting times of Bellamy’s career was when he was the north-east with Newcastle United and his relationship, or lack of it, with Geordie legend Alan Shearer. They may have formed a bond on the pitch, but this definitely wasn’t the case off it.
When Bellamy spent time on loan at Celtic then was the infamous text exchange between the two. With Shearer saying: ‘If I ever see you in Newcastle again I’ll knock you out’ and Bellamy’s response being typical of him: ‘I’m back in Newcastle next week, pop round and say hello’.
Another character that Bellamy didn’t get on with was former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, as the Spaniard said the striker had no future at Anfield on a plane journey back from Barcelona. Something that Bellamy described as ‘classy timing’ from a man who has no sentiment.
The Welshman also describes his injury heart-ache over the years in great detail, as well as giving detail to his projects in Sierra Leone, the breakup of his marriage and the huge effect that the death of idol Gary Speed has had on his life.
There are few football biographies that are as revealing and honest as this, but then Craig Bellamy was never a person to pull any punches.
Craig Bellamy Trinity Mirror Sport Media. Craig is donating all his proceeds to the Craig Bellamy Foundation. Buy the book here.