Bellingham’s father is key in his signing

He was the figure who inspired him to play football and who now oversees the development of Jude Bellingham’s career. We talk about Mark Bellingham, his father and an amateur soccer legend from his country. “I used to watch him play all the time. That’s where I started to have that love for soccer. That style of amateur football of toughness and being rude is reflected in my game and I think it comes from having seen my father play. And that never made entries!”, said the Dortmund midfielder in an interview with The Guardian.

Mark, who is now 46 years old, made a name for himself as a voracious goalscorer in the lower categories. His career began in 1994, nine years before he was born Jude. His work – he is a police sergeant by profession – stopped his progression and he did not reach higher ranks, but he became a a legend of amateur football, with more than 700 goals that make him one of the top scorers in the non-professional categories of the English league system. He came to score 61 goals in a single season, in 2005-06 in the ninth division.

Bellingham’s father played for a dozen and a half teams, mainly from the West Midlands region. He reached the milestone of 700 goals at the beginning of 2016-17, when he was a member of Paget Rangers of the Midland League Division Two, 11th category of the English football pyramid. Mark had set himself the goal of reaching 700 the previous season, but he was two goals short of that round number and decided, already turning 40, to extend his career for another year. With that passion that he professed for football, it is not surprising that his other son, Jobe, 17, has already made his debut with Birmingham. As the representative of the Dortmund midfielder, Mark Bellingham’s role in the transfer of his son Jude will be crucial.