Craig Bellamy appointed as new Wales boss after turning down opportunity to stay at Burnley
Craig Bellamy was part of Vincent Kompany's staff at Burnley
PA
Craig Bellamy has been appointed as the new head coach of Wales, the country's Football Association has announced.
The former Liverpool and Manchester City star was Burnley's U21 Head Coach, but decided against staying at Turf Moor following their relegation to the Championship.
As a player, Bellamy was capped by Wales on 78 occasions and captained the side between 2007 and 2010.
On his appointment, Bellamy, 44, said: “It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead my country and it’s the proudest moment of my career.
Craig Bellamy was part of Vincent Kompany's staff at BurnleyPA"It was always my ultimate dream to become the Cymru Head Coach and I am ready for the challenge.
“I will give my full commitment to develop this team and I am passionate to bring continued success into Welsh football. I can’t wait to get started with our Nations League games in September.”
The Football Association of Wales' Chief Football Officer, Dr. David Adams, said: “I am absolutely delighted to announce Craig as our new Head Coach.
"We undertook a thorough recruitment process for the new Men’s National Team Head Coach and Craig was identified as the standout candidate.
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As a player, Bellamy was capped by Wales on 78 occasions and captained the side between 2007 and 2010
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“We are all looking forward to the Nations League games and working with Craig to deliver success for Welsh Football.”
Bellamy's first game in charge of the national team will be against Turkey on September 6 at the Cardiff City Stadium, as the Dragons look to kick start their Nations League campaign.
Bellamy - who missed out on the job in 2017 - will succeed Rob Page who was sacked last month after Wales failed to qualify for Euro 2024.
Cymru suffered heartbreak in the Nations League playoffs final against Poland in March when they lost on penalties and missed out on the Euros for the first time since 2012.
Bellamy had previously missed out on the job in 2017
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The match, which was played at the Cardiff City stadium, ended 0-0, with both sides scoring their first four penalties.
Krzysztof Piatek scored Poland's fifth, which left Leeds forward James with the responsibility of scoring to take the shoot-out to sudden death.
But former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny guessed correctly and dived to keep out James' effort, leaving the hordes of Welsh fans inside the stadium shellshocked.