The unstoppable rise of a Birmingham youngster who became a Ballon d'Or contender in just five years - and could now lead England to the European Championship
The unstoppable rise of a Birmingham youngster who became a Ballon d'Or contender in just five years - and could now lead England to the European ChampionshipSam is i's Chief Football Correspondent. He was highly commended at the 2017 British Journalism Awards for a string of exclusives on the Eni Aluko/Mark Sampson scandal, revealing how the FA tried to cover up allegations of bullying, harassment and racism by the England women’s manager.
With nine minutes remaining, the midfielder was replaced by Caolan Boyd-Munce and as he left the field he was hugged by the manager, Pep Clotet, who whispered in his ear to show appreciation to the 1,500 travelling fans who had made the 300-mile round trip not realising they were witnessing a moment in history. Bellingham applauded them.
Before that, Mark, seeing his son’s interest in the game he loved flourish, first set up a youth team for Jude and his friends to play in, which lasted one season before Bellingham was invited to play for Birmingham. But he was so fast and skilful, possessed exceptional close control, feet that would blur when he dribbled, a sharp finish. He had this innate ability to receive the ball in tight spots then burst forward, slipping between two, three, four players, spotting and fitting between gaps that should not have existed.
“When Jude came into the Under 21s you could see he was way past this level already,” Beale says. “You don’t see a 15-year-old doing things he was doing in first team training sessions: sitting people down with his skills and ability, scoring goals, getting forward, getting back. The debut against Portsmouth soon followed and he quickly became a regular starter, something that concerned some of the older players who felt he was too young to be thrust into first-team football.
“Before Covid I had told the school children that Jude was supporting us but they hadn’t really heard of him,” Fowler says. The business side of elite football is not an easy world to step into — navigating sharks and backstabbers, negotiating million-pound contracts, dealing with egos and tempers. But Mark has proved as formidable an opponent to chief executives in boardrooms as his son is to rival players on a football pitch.
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