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The signing of Welsh striker Craig Bellamy from Newcastle United on loan in January 2005, was a real statement of intent from the Hoops.
Bellamy was a high-profile Premiership player, and to bring a player of his standards to Celtic was a real coup for the club, even if it was only going to be a short-term deal.
Bellamy made his Hoops debut in a loss to Rangers, which isn’t worth talking about, but he made up for that disappointment by scoring some big goals.
There was the goal against Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Even better than that goal was a crackerjack strike which gave Celtic a 3-2 win after the Hoops had at one stage trailed by two goals to nil.
There are really two games where Bellamy excelled for the Hoops in his time for the club. One was a titanic clash against Dundee United at Tannadice. Bellamy scored a memorable hat-trick as the Bhoys won a classic 3-2 to go top of the league.
YouTube: Dundee Utd 2 Celtic 3 19th March 2005
Even better was his performance at Ibrox. He destroyed the Rangers defence and scored a classic goal which helped to secure a 2-1 win which all but clinched the league title…or so we all thought.
YouTube: Rangers 1 Celtic 2 24th April 2005
There is no need to go over the events at Fir Park in May 2005, but Bellamy’s injury he suffered in the win against Rangers probably played a part in the Hoops losing to Hibernian a week after the victory at Ibrox. If he hadn’t suffered that injury, the Bhoys might well have won the league title.
The Hoops had to pick themselves up after the disappointment at Fir Park, as there was a Scottish Cup Final to be won. Not only was there a cup to be won, but it was Martin O’Neill’s last game in charge of the club after five massively successful years.
The Bhoys won the game 1-0, thanks to an Alan Thompson goal, but the star of the show was Bellamy. He didn’t give the Dundee United defence a minute of peace, and he was unlucky not to find the back of the net himself. Sadly, not only was it Martin O’Neill’s last game in charge of Celtic, but it was also Bellamy’s last game for the Hoops.
Unfortunately, Celtic weren’t able to sign the striker on a permanent deal, and he ended up joining Blackburn Rovers. That wasn’t the end of Bellamy’s travels, as he spent time at West Ham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Cardiff. He has now retired, and can look back on an interesting career.
Compared to some of the time he spent at other clubs, Bellamy’s time at Celtic could be considered a bit of a footnote, after all, he only spent six months at the Hoops. But what an exciting six months they were.
It was just a pity that the Bhoys weren’t able to win the league title with Bellamy at the club. Still, he provided some great memories.
