Image source, Huw Evans Photo Agency
- Author, Ethan Latham
- Role, BBC Sports Wales
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Technical director Dr David Adams believes the Football Association of Wales (FAW) has found the “ideal fit” after appointing Craig Bellamy as head coach of the men’s national team.
Bellamy was named this week as the successor to his former teammate Robert Page, who was fired in June.
Adams, who is also the FAW’s director of football, led the search for Page’s replacement.
The key qualities required by the FAW, which were published on the association’s website, included strong leadership, the ability to make effective in-game decisions and a desire to adopt the “Welsh way”.
Adams is confident former Wales striker Bellamy will tick all the boxes as Wales manager.
“Over time we’ve developed a certain uniqueness in the way we think about head coaches in Wales, we wanted to respect that,” Adams said.
“I think it’s a full-time job, you need to observe the players regularly, connect with the clubs and you have to be interested all the time in tactics and innovation.
“Craig was the first person we called, the first person we met, and Craig was the first person that seemed like a natural fit for us on the shortlist. He was the perfect fit for the profile.”
Bellamy played for clubs such as Manchester City, Newcastle United, Celtic and Liverpool before finishing his career at his hometown club Cardiff City.
After retiring as a player, he coached at Cardiff’s academy before working for Belgian side Anderlecht and then Burnley as an assistant to Vincent Kompany.
Bellamy’s appointment marks his first opportunity as a permanent boss of a senior team, with Adams hailing the 44-year-old as a “natural leader”.
“When you spend time with Craig, he naturally comes across as a leader, he has the characteristics of a leader,” Adams said.
“Our search led us to someone who has spent time developing as a coach, someone we see as a leader and someone who has true passion and commitment to his role. We see that in Craig.”
Adams sees similarities between Bellamy, who is considered a student of football, and some of the biggest names in the game.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in this environment and I’ve seen players like Patrick Vieira and Mikel Arteta come through our[coach development]programme. You get an idea of what the characteristics of a leader are and what a good head coach looks like,” Adams explained.
“We interviewed 10 people for the position. It was a big effort on Craig’s part because he was competing against coaches with extensive international experience and coaches who know the role of a head coach, but he was still the standout candidate.”
Wales painfully missed out on Euro 2024 qualification, suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat in the play-off final against Poland in March.
That meant Wales failed to qualify for the European Championship for the first time since 2012.
The FAW has outlined what it expects from Bellamy’s side as Wales look to reach more major tournaments.
“The important thing for us is to get back to the Welsh way of doing things, we must stick to our principles on and off the pitch, it’s essential we get those things right from the start,” Adams said.
“It’s about making sure we have an identity and a style of play and if we do those things well, we’ll have a better chance of qualifying.
“We hope to go to the World Cup in 2026, that would be an expectation. But we also know that football is a sport of small margins and, as we discovered in March, it doesn’t always go in our favour.
“There are so many factors at play in international football that it can be difficult to determine success or failure. But we have the best indicators to ensure that the team is on the right path and we are confident that this will allow us to succeed.”
