II
Foreword
When I first heard that Craig Bellamy was joining Liverpool in the summer of 2006, I thought that, as captain of the club, I might have a challenge on my hands.
I had played against him, had a few spats and arguments and words. I was expecting a bit of a hothead. I was expecting someone who was more interested in being a footballer rather than actually living like one.
I was totally wrong. It was my fault. I was guilty of judging someone before I had met him. And when he arrived, he was the opposite of what I thought he would be.
Nothing surprised me on the pitch because I had seen him with my own eyes. I knew he was a good player and I knew he would offer us a lot.
But his character surprised me. It surprised me how professional he was. It surprised me how much he loved the game.
He is a bit similar to me in a way. He has got certain small insecurities. If he doesn’t train well or play well, it hurts him. And if he loses, it hurts him. But I think they’re great insecurities to have as a player because they help you to find consistency and they help drive you to the top. But you wouldn’t think that of Craig if you hadn’t met him. You’d think he’d be a person who doesn’t care. Well, he isn’t.
On the pitch, he is one of those players that you would rather have with you than against you. Everyone knows what he can do. On his day, he can destroy any defender out there because of his pace. When you are playing against a side he is in, every manager is wary of Craig Bellamy. It’s his character, too, the way he never gives up, the way he never stops harrying you and hassling you.
He played for Liverpool in two different spells, of course. The first time he came, when Rafa Benitez was the manager, I was disappointed he did not stay longer than a single season. I thought that, if he had stayed, he would have offered us more and more. I felt we would have been a better team with him in it and when he left, we didn’t really find anyone of his quality to replace him.
I wanted him to stay. He was a player with real quality and that is one of the reasons the club brought him back. After his second spell at Anfield in 2011-12, I understood why he wanted to go and play for Cardiff City and to be closer to his children. I know that he is a Liverpool fan but he loves his hometown club, too. I think he has got the same love for Cardiff that I have for this club.
I think what people will admire about this book is that there will be an honesty about it because there is an honesty about him. A lot of footballers say the politically correct thing. They want to be liked too much. Sometimes, you have to say what you really think and be honest and I respect Craig’s honesty.
When you are a footballer, people say you have to respect the media but he hasn’t done that really. Rather than saying the nice thing over and over again, he has said what he thinks and sometimes that upsets people.
At Liverpool, he worked incredibly hard in the gym and set a good example of how a senior pro should behave. If he saw anything around the place that suggested people weren’t pushing in the right direction, he would help you as a captain and back you up. He wanted the right thing for this club.
He ended up being a terrific ally for me at Liverpool, as well as becoming a good friend.
Steven Gerrard, 2013