Piet Cremers: Wales coach changed ‘everything’ for Craig Bellamy
Alongside Cremers, Bellamy’s other backroom staff additions were his former Wales team-mate and current Brighton first-team coach Andrew Crofts, ex-Newport boss James Rowberry, England goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson and Wales’ former head of performance, Ryland Morgans.
Despite only turning 30 last month, Cremers has a decade of experience as a coach and analyst.
As well as working in his homeland with NEC Nijmegen, Excelsior Rotterdam and NAC Breda, the Dutchman had a year at Brentford before his longer spells with Manchester City and Burnley.
At City, Cremers graduated from under-23s performance analyst to the first team’s head of performance analysis and insights. It was in that role he worked alongside Guardiola, the legendary former Barcelona boss who has won six Premier League titles, the Champions League and 11 other trophies during his eight years in Manchester.
“He was Pep’s analyst for four or five years, day to day, so the insight of one of the real incredible minds,” says Bellamy.
“To be able to tap into that – and I’m not a little Pep, if you know what I mean, I have different ways and no-one is him – but to get an insight and to see his view, it gets you looking at something.
“Because we (Cremers and Bellamy) are so aligned in what we see, it allows me to find comfort as well. Do you understand? Am I mad here? If I told you some of the shapes and I showed you some, you’d be like ‘that’s insane’. But he puts it into practice – ‘no, this is actually the right thing to do, this is how we do this’.
“That is why I say what I say about formations. If I showed you a shape of how we’d go up against someone else, you’d say ‘you can’t do that’. But I’ve seen him work it and I was like ‘wow, this works, this is serious’.”
Bellamy is in his element when he is talking about football and its tactical intricacies.
Some of his answers can morph into four or five-minute monologues on playing patterns or counter-pressing; the former Wales captain only coming up for air when he apologises, while grinning, for going off on another tangent.
But his enthusiasm is infectious, and it is clear how much inspiration he draws from his fellow coaches.
“I probably wouldn’t but I’d love to sit here and take credit, but it’s him (Cremers), [Andrew] Crofts, Rowbs (James Rowberry),” Bellamy says.
“These people I’ve been able to bring in, it’s them. Honest truth. I’m just for you guys, I’m the one who gets to do the media.
“I don’t believe it’s just one shining guy, it’s the people you have around you. When you work as a group, you find the solutions a lot easier. In this way, I find it’s the best solution.”
