Craig Bellamy earns coaching badges - and is ready to step into the world of football management

Not many make the transition from playing football to football management instantly but Craig Bellamy is keen to get back into the game as quickly as possible. The Welshman stepped down from his coaching position at hometown club Cardiff City earlier this week before making the announcement that he would be pursuing a career in football management.



"It was a privilege to work with the coaching team at Cardiff City and I learned a lot from my peers. The future is very bright for this club under Russell Slade and the players that I worked with from the youth side are all raring to go and get into the first team squad. With the completion of my coaching course, I felt it was time for me to leave Cardiff behind but I would like to thank everyone at the club for helping me to develop my managerial skills. I hope to find a managerial position soon to really show everyone what I've learnt.

I felt like I have seriously matured since my earlier playing career and I've learned from my mistakes made both on and off the field. I'm not going to be fussy about where I want to manage. I'd be delighted and honoured if any club would have me."

Bellamy will continue to train for his Continental Pro Licence, just one step up from the badge he holds at present and the highest obtainable badge possible. In addition to the coaching role he had at Cardiff, Bellamy also made several appearances as a television pundit and demonstrated his knowledge of the game.

Very well written as usual, Adam Good luck.

Very nice start Adam

Good luck bud, just make sure Bellamy doesn't go around hitting people with golf clubs again!

Bellamy will wait for the 'right' job, will not do anything 'silly'

After announcing that he would be pursuing a career in football management last week, Craig Bellamy has told the BBC that he wants his first venture to go well.

The Welshman, 35, recently completed training for his Continental A licence and is now actively looking for a managerial post.

Bellamy previously said that he wasn't going to be 'fussy' when it came to who wanted to employ him but he has now said that he wants everything to go right for him when he does find a job.

"It's imperative for me that I don't fail at the first attempt. I want to be successful as an individual but I also want the fans and board to back me and be proud of what I hope to achieve, wherever I end up. So for that to happen, I'm prepared to wait until I find the job that I believe is right for me. Going straight into a job where I don't feel comfortable would be silly and so I'm not prepared to do that. I am very excited about my future and I hope I can bring success wherever I go."

Things could have been different for Bellamy, as he revealed that a manager actually asked him to come out of retirement to play for their team. Perhaps professionally, Bellamy refused to name the manager involved. He stated that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is the only manager who could tempt him out of retirement but when asked about the chances of returning to the game now, he ruled out the possibility, claiming that it is 'off the cards'.

Struggling Brøndby IF appoint Bellamy as new manager

Danish Superliga outfit Brøndby IF have acted quickly to deal with their vacant managerial position, with chairman Jan Bech Andersen opting to give Craig Bellamy his first managerial position.

The Welsh born manager has been training hard over the last five months and has been rewarded for his hard work and determination, firstly by obtaining his Continental A licence and now being offered the job at Brøndby.

Taking the reins from Thomas Frank, Bellamy will have a lot of work on to turn the 10-time champions' season around, with the club currently sitting rock bottom of the table after nine games following a host of poor results and performances.

Bellamy told Sky Sports that one of the main reasons that he took the job was so that he could have another chance to work with the "inspirational" Brøndby captain Daniel Agger, with the two spending several years at Liverpool together.

"First off, I'm absolutely thrilled to be here. It's a job which I feel I can be successful in but there will have to be a lot of hard work put in by both myself and the players for us to reach our expectations. I hope to get the team challenging for the title, if not this season then next season at the latest. Any later and I will feel like I've let the fans down. I won't lie, I don't speak Danish, but there is one guy here who can help me so much.

Daniel [Agger] is such an inspiring player and I'm going to be counting on him to help me out here, both in adapting to the Danish style of football and in keeping the team spirits up and turning this season on its head. He is a born leader and I had the privilege to work alongside him at Anfield, so I'm delighted that our paths have crossed again. We've got a good enough squad here, and one that I believe is capable of challenging for the title, but we'll have to get back in the right mood and buck up our ideas."

Bellamy's first test will come against Hobro IK on Sunday, but with no indication of his preferred line-up or formation, we'll have to wait and see how the team shape up under their new manager and how their new manager does in his first ever game in charge of a football club.

Good luck at Brondby, I bet Andreas will start reading now

Brøndby IF - September Results (under Craig Bellamy)

Having only joined Brøndby late in the month, Craig Bellamy only took charge of the Danish team in one game during September, a home clash against Hobro IK in the Superliga. The team entered their first game under their new manager in 12th place but where would they be by October?


Brøndby IF 2-0 Hobro IK
Teko Modise (5), Teemu Pukki (85)
Teko Modise, 8.3

Bellamy managed to lead Brøndby to a win at his first attempt with goals coming from Modise and on-loan Celtic player Pukki. Modise opened the scoring within five minutes when Andrew Hjulsager nodded the ball down to him inside the penalty area, the South African tucking it away easily. After the goal, Brøndby seemed to take their foot off the pedal and Hobro had chances to equalize but a late goal from Teemu Pukki sealed the win for Bellamy in his first ever game in football management. The goal came when Dario Dumić's long ball found the Finnish striker, who controlled the ball well before blasting it into the top corner with the ball clipping the post on its way in. The match was a hot-tempered one with a total of seven yellow cards being dished out.

Excellent start. And great updates as per! Good luck!

Captain Agger ruled out with groin injury

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Agger struggled with injury at former club Liverpool; he hopes to be back in action shortly.

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The club can confirm that the injury picked up by captain Daniel Agger in the victory over Hobro IK has ruled the 29-year-old out of action for at least three weeks. The earliest date that Agger will be able to come back into the first team squad will be the DBU Pokalen clash against Måløv in late October.

The Dane pulled up while chasing the ball and was forced off through the injury, which head physio Henrik Andersen diagnosed as a painful groin strain.

The likelihood is that Agger will only be sidelined for two Superliga matches (Randers FC and FC Vestsjælland) but he is a big presence out on the pitch and will be missed by his team-mates.

Manager Craig Bellamy wants to take caution on just how quickly his former Liverpool team-mate returns to training, not wanting to aggravate the injury further and be without his captain for longer than necessary.

"Dan is a big player for this club and we want him back as soon as possible but I don't want to rush him. He is a fantastic professional and knows his body and how quickly he will be able to come back into action. I've had some advice from the physio team here and things don't look too bad. We are confident of having Dan back in the first team in time for the matches against the top two."

Swedish striker Johan Elmander will captain the team in Agger's absence but the former Bolton Wanderers player is still yet to score for the club this season.

Thats not good, Agger is your main guy! Hopefully, the defence can still pull through!

Brøndby IF winger Alexander Szymanowski makes Poland debut

Argentina born winger Alexander Szymanowski has made his debut for the Polish national side, whom he is eligible for through his father.

The 25-year-old winger was born in Buenos Aires but never gained recognition from the national team coaches and opted to take the chance to play for Poland when called upon. He was thrown into action twice for Adam Nawalka's team this month [October], making his debut against Scotland before scoring his first goal for his country in a 4-0 win over Gibraltar.

Both of the games that Szymanowski featured in were in the European Championship Qualifiers as his team try to book their place in the 2016 competition in France, currently sitting in 2nd place just behind Germany after three games. While the winger was not featured much this season under previous manager Thomas Frank, new boss Craig Bellamy has given the player a few chances out on the left wing in the early days of his new career and the former Recreativo player has turned in a couple of decent performances for the Welshman.

The winger thanked Nawalka for handing him the opportunity and applauded the fans as he ran off the pitch to be benched on his debut. "I can't believe I've finally got a call up. I never really expected to play for a national side so I am delighted that Adam has taken a chance on me and I hope I can continue to make the Poland squad over the next few years. I feel like the move to Brøndby earlier this year has helped me to earn the recognition from Adam and I must thank Thomas, Craig and my team-mates for helping me to develop over the past year or so."

Shame hearing about AGGER being out injured, big loss! Hopefully whoever you pick over him will perform for you

Pepe joins Bellamy's Brøndby as Dumić sets off for pastures new

Danish Superliga side Brøndby IF have announced the signing of former Italy international Simone Pepe from Serie A champions Juventus on a free transfer.

The 31-year-old winger will not be eligible to play for Brøndby in the league until January when the registration window for the Superliga reopens, but Craig Bellamy will be able to field the 23-time Italy international in cup competitions.

The former Udinese player is expected to make his debut later this month against Måløv in the DBU Pokalen but the club have other options besides Pepe to use out wide in league matches. Tobias Mikkelsen has been first choice right winger since joining the club in the summer under Thomas Frank but it's expected he will be displaced by Pepe once he is registered.

Pepe played just three league matches over the past two seasons and is determined to break into the first team at the first chance available at his new club.

"Brøndby have been struggling in the league so far this season and I want to be able to come in and help as much as I can to turn that around. There are some great personalities here and some well-known names in the form of Agger, Elmander and Bellamy, so it will be good to work alongside them. Obviously I've made my name in Italy but with limited game time at Juve, I felt like it was time to start the new, and possibly last chapter in my career here at Brøndby."



Meanwhile Bosnian defender Dario Dumić will be departing the club in January after Bellamy accepted an £850,000 bid from Swiss side BSC Young Boys. The 22-year-old joined Brøndby on a free transfer from English side Norwich City in 2010 and has made 70 appearances for the club.

He has played a considerable amount under Bellamy in his first few games but clearly the Welsh manager thought the sum involved in the transfer was too good to turn down and Young Boys fought off competition from fellow Swiss sides Grasshoppers and Luzern in order to sign the strong centre back.

Hopefully Simone gives you that extra bit of determination in midfield you needed when he's able to play, really good mentals!