IT STARTED with Chris Coleman fearing for his job and ended with an open top bus parade.

To say that Wales’ Euro 2016 campaign was a competition to savour for The Red Wall is an understatement.

Wales had qualified for a major competition for the first time since 1958, and Coleman’s men more than made their mark in France.

But rewind less than two years and Coleman was wondering where he’d left his golf clubs with Wales 1-0 down to Andorra inside six minutes of the first qualifier.

Ildefons Lima’s penalty gave Andorra, who had lost their previous 40 qualifiers, a first competitive goal since 2010.

In an interview with the Football Association of Wales, Coleman recalled: “After 10 minutes when we were 1-0 down in that, I thought I was going to be playing a lot more golf in the coming months, because I’d have a bit of time on my hands.”

That man Gareth Bale rescued Coleman’s Wales with a double, the winner a free-kick eight minutes from time, to get the campaign off to a positive start.

The 49-year-old added: “I thought we’d get the three points and I didn’t really care about the abuse or the stick that came after, because I’d been getting that for the two years previous - there was nothing new there for us.”

A home draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 2-1 success over Cyprus meant Wales headed to Belgium with seven points from nine.

Even the powerful Belgian’s couldn’t get the better of Wales, who ground out a goalless draw, before Israel were brushed aside 3-0.

It meant Belgium headed for Cardiff on June 12, 2015 with both teams vying for qualification - Coleman’s men picking up a momentous 1-0 win courtesy of that man Bale.

Coleman said: “When we beat Belgium that was the marker that said ‘we’re here, we’re going to do something no-one has ever done’.

“It was an amazing, amazing feeling.

“In my head I thought there was no way that anybody is going to stop us from getting to the destination we’ve all wanted for so long.”

Coleman and his players had even won over the Welsh supporters, who roared their team onto victory, a rousing rendition of the national anthem helping the players across the line.

The then-Wales boss said: “Neil Taylor, there was a big challenge, he won it - it was a fantastic tackle - and when he won the tackle it was like we’d scored a goal. That gave all our players a huge boost and the Belgian boys, you could see them getting lower and lower and thinking ‘this is not going to be our night’.”

Bale won Wales another crucial three points in Cyprus and a goalless draw with Israel moved Coleman’s men to within touching distance of France.

Even their first defeat of qualifying, the 2-0 loss in Bosnia, ended in celebration as Wales qualified after Cyprus beat Israel.

“You never spell Wales with a Q do you? Now I look at it and it’s got Q and Wales. I’m happy with that,” said Coleman after the Zenica defeat.

It wasn’t long before Wales had another Q next to their name after they topped Group B courtesy of victories over Slovakia and Russia, either side of a late defeat to England.

Northern Ireland were beaten 1-0 in the last 16, before it was time to tackle Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Coleman and his men weren’t fazed by the last eight clash, he said: “When we got to the tournament, everyone said ‘oh, Belgium’ and the Belgian supporters were really confident and I remember saying ‘the supporters might be confident, but I can tell you now that the Belgium players won’t be happy playing us again because the last three games, we drew twice in their backyard and we beat them at home’.”

That Hal Robson-Kanu goal in a ruthless 3-1 success is another pinch yourself moment in France for the Welsh fans, who were left with nothing but pride as eventual winners Portugal came out on top in the semi-finals.

And Coleman can’t quite believe how lucky he was to have had the opportunity to manage that group of players.

He said: “Every now and again you get a group of people where you rub your hands together and think ‘thank God. This is going to be good’.”

After a difficult opening to his time in charge as he tried to pick up where the late Gary Speed had left off, Coleman was able to reflect on a job well done.

“There’’s nothing worse than having the nation not happy with you, and I’ve experienced that,” he said, before poignantly adding: “There’s nothing better than when they are all happy and proud of you.”

Wales fans can re-live every kick of the greatest Welsh football journey yet.

With Euro 2020 on hold for another year, BBC Cymru Wales will show every game from Coleman’s side’s run to the semi-finals in France.

From Robson-Kanu’s stunner against Belgium to the anthemic ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ song that flooded the airwaves and Joe Ledley’s questionable dance moves, Welsh football fans can savour the campaign that put the country firmly on the world map.

The action kicks off on Sunday, June 7 as Wales meet Slovakia with the semi-final against Portugal ending the schedule on Saturday, June 27.

Before games on BBC One Wales, the film documenting the incredible story - Don’t Take Me Home - will be shown.

The schedule is: Wales v Slovakia (Sunday, June 7 – BBC One Wales); England v Wales (Sunday, June 14 – BBC One Wales; Wales v Russia (Tuesday, June 16 – BBC Two Wales); Wales v Northern Ireland (Saturday, June 20 – BBC Two Wales); Wales v Belgium (Sunday, June 21 – BBC One Wales; Wales v Portugal (Saturday , June 27 – BBC Two Wales).