Rafa praise for former Reds ace

1st December 2008

Craig Bellamy returns to Anfield on Monday night with a ringing endorsement from his former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez.

The West Ham striker left Anfield 17 months ago after just a year at the club, controversy having again dogged his career.

Many believed that his involvement in the infamous golf club incident with John Arne Riise when the club were away at a training camp ahead of a Champions League game at Barcelona sealed his fate at the club he supported as a boy. Bellamy scored seven times in 40 appearances for the Reds, and was considered very much unfulfilled potential at the club, before a £7.5million move took him to West Ham in July 2007.

Bellamy will be up front for the Hammers as they try to end a winless run at Anfield stretching back to 1963. And Benitez, who is on the brink of signing a new two-year extension to his contract, says of Bellamy's return: "West Ham have pace with Craig up front, he is a good player.

"I had a lot of confidence in him, he was a very good professional and worked hard, he is a winner. You could see that in every training session. But maybe if you want to play every game in a top side it is difficult. He needed to change. For me he was a good professional, he tried from the beginning to the end and was a very good player for us.

"Some players want to play every week. In a top side it is not easy, you have two games a week and play only one. It is hard to change players, they prefer to play every week and you need to understand that. Bellamy was a good player for us and will be a threat."