Craig Bellamy said he had achieved his “ultimate dream” by being appointed Wales manager, after the former captain signed a four-year contract to succeed Rob Page. Bellamy has been coaching since retiring from playing in 2014 but this represents his first No 1 role. Bellamy, who worked as an assistant to Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley, was identified as the Football Association of Wales’s preferred candidate after Page was sacked on the back of dismal friendly results against Gibraltar and Slovakia last month. Bellamy made 78 appearances for his country, captaining the team between 2007 and 2010, and had made no secret of his desire to manage the team. He applied for the post in 2018 but was beaten to the job by his former international teammate Ryan Giggs, Page’s predecessor. “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,” Bellamy said. “It was always my ultimate dream to become the Cymru head coach and I am ready for the challenge.” David Adams, the FAW’s chief football officer, who led the search for Page’s replacement alongside the chief executive, Noel Mooney, said Bellamy emerged as “the standout candidate” in the recruitment process. Bellamy’s first match will be at home to Turkey in Wales’s Nations League opener in September, at the Cardiff City Stadium, where he finished his club career. Wales face Montenegro in Podgorica in the same competition three days later. The 44-year-old’s overarching aim will be to lead Wales to the 2026 World Cup. “I will give my full commitment to develop this team and I am passionate to bring continued success into Welsh football,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started with our Nations League games in September.” Bellamy turned down the opportunity to stay at Burnley under their new manager, Scott Parker, with whom he played at West Ham. “The chance to be the manager of Wales, my country, has always been a dream that has never left me and a chance I just couldn’t turn down,” he said. “I wish Scotty all the very best, he’s a good person and a close friend and the club is in great hands.” Bellamy was close to taking the Oxford United job in 2018 while an academy coach at Cardiff but pulled out of talks at the 11th hour after a change in ownership at the then League One club. He became acting head coach at Burnley this summer after Kompany’s departure for Bayern Munich.