Birmingham City defender Christoph Klarer will make his first appearance at Wembley this weekend
Christoph Klarer of Birmingham City waits in the tunnel
Christoph Klarer’s phone is flooded with messages of congratulations but there is only one he is looking for.
Birmingham City have just beaten Bradford City, courtesy of a late Lyndon Dykes header, to seal their place in the Vertu Trophy final and a first trip to Wembley in 14 years.
We know Wembley is special for English players, but it holds a special memory for this 24-year-old Austrian too.
“The first time I went to Wembley was actually with my parents in 2012, we were on holiday,” says Klarer. “As soon as we beat Bradford they sent me a few videos of me lifting the FA Cup at Wembley!
“We went on a tour and it’s going to be special for us to be back there.”
Klarer, who will be joined at Wembley by his parents and his wife, has visited the national stadium in an official capacity too. When he was a youth team player at Southampton, Klarer watched their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in 2018.
The defender added: “I’ve been here a few years now so my brain sometimes thinks like an English person as well, so I understand the magnitude of Wembley and the sheer size of it. It’s going to be really special for the English players but all the foreign boys as well.”
Five years of Klarer’s career have now been spent in England. An added bonus of signing him last summer is that he counts towards the club’s homegrown player quota due to his schooling at Southampton.
There are also spells with German sides Fortuna Düsseldorf and Darmstadt 98 on his CV but Klarer has found a home in Birmingham.
“That’s why I signed here long-term but you never really know what it’s going to be like,” he said. “I’m getting used to the culture and the people, and I’m really enjoying my time on and off the pitch. I can definitely see myself here long-term.
“Obviously with the amount of games we’ve played it’s difficult to do that many city trips but I’ve learnt to like the city and the people here. To me, the most special place in the city is always going to be St Andrew’s because that’s where I spend most of my time.”
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Klarer is part of the furniture at Blues now. He has played more minutes than any other player, despite starting the season on the bench, and has captained the side since the turn of the year.
He is expected to lead the team out at Wembley with Krystian Bielik unlikely to start alongside him in central defence.
It begs the question as to who will lift the trophy if Blues are successful this weekend.
“For me, Krystian has always been the captain even when he wasn’t playing and he’s doing a really good job,” explained Klarer.
“I’m not worried at all if I’m going to be captain or not for the game on Sunday. Krystian as captain has done himself really proud in the way he behaved when he wasn’t on the pitch, he’s always led as much as possible every day.
“Who’s going to lift the trophy if we win it? I haven’t thought about that for one second yet.”
That sort of professionalism is one of the things Chris Davies loves about Klarer. Another is his bravery to put his head ‘where others wouldn’t put their feet’.
Klarer doesn’t mind people appreciating that he looks like an old-school central defender having broken his nose more times than he cares to remember.
“That has happened a few times in my career! I got it fixed once but then I broke it again a few weeks after so I will probably fix it again when my career is done. I haven’t been fighting anyone off the pitch!”
If Klarer has to break his nose again for Blues’ cause at Wembley this weekend, you just know he wouldn’t think twice.
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