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There was always a sense that Craig Bellamy was somewhat of a stopgap
signing for Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2006. Lacking the funds to
compete for the signature of one of the world's top bracket forwards,
Benitez turned to the Welsh captain, available for just £6m due to a
clause in his Blackburn Rovers contract. It appeared to be a win-win
situation. Bellamy, a player with a chequered history but of undoubted
talent, joined up with his boyhood club determined to make his mark in
what was widely regarded as his last chance to succeed at a top club. It
all started so well for the speedy forward when he scored at the Kop
end on his debut, a 2-1 win over Israeli side Maccabi Haifa in a
Champions League qualifier, before setting up the winning goal for Peter
Crouch in the Community Shield against Chelsea in Cardiff, his home
city. With Crouch, Robbie Fowler and fellow new signing Dirk Kuyt all
competing for striking berths, Bellamy knew he had to adapt to Benitez's
famed rotation policy, but he started eight of the first nine league
games, scoring his first league goal against former club Blackburn in
mid- October. Dropped points away from home left Liverpool playing
catch-up in the league, and the Reds didn't record their first three
points on the road until Craig hit two in a 4-0 romp at Wigan in the
first week of December.
He followed that up with strikes in a 3-0 win at
Charlton and a 2-0 success at home to Watford, before scoring against
the same opponents in the return match at Vicarage Road in January and
in a defeat at former employers Newcastle in February. Home defeats to
Arsenal in both domestic cup competitions and patchy league form meant
that Liverpool's only chance of silverware now lay in the Champions
League, but to stay alive the Reds needed a good result in Barcelona's
intimidating Nou Camp stadium. The build-up to the match was dominated
by stories of a drunken row between Bellamy and team-mate John Arne
Riise at a training camp in Portugal. In the event, Liverpool recorded a
famous 2-1 win with, ironically and almost inevitably, Bellamy and
Riise on the scoresheet! Craig called that night 'his greatest in
football', but due to injuries and a loss of form, he would not score
another goal for Liverpool. Bellamy did start the first leg of the
semi-final, Joe Cole scoring the only goal to give Chelsea an edge, but a
week later Anfield was rocking for the return. Daniel Agger's strike
took the tie to extra time, where Bellamy replaced Crouch, before
Liverpool progressed to the Final, their second in three years, when
Kuyt beat Petr Cech with the vital kick in a penalty shootout.
Just as
in 2005, it was AC Milan again, this time in Athens. No doubt to his
great disappointment, Craig started the game on the bench and then had
to sit and watch as the manager chose to replace Crouch with Harry
Kewell, who had just returned from yet another injury, as the Reds
chased the game in the second half in Greece. Filippo Inzaghi's double
gave Milan the trophy, despite a late header from Kuyt, and Craig's fate
appeared to be sealed. Liverpool now had new investment in place, and
after securing Ukrainian forward Andriy Voronin on a free transfer, they
paid big money to land Spanish star Fernando Torres from Atletico
Madrid. Bellamy was no longer required, and was sold to West Ham for
£7.5m in July, citing a need to play regularly for the move. (Mark
Jones)
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