Birmingham City hero Lukas Jutkiewicz could make his first ever appearance at Wembley at the age of 36
Birmingham City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has never played at Wembley
Nineteen years into his professional career, Lukas Jutkiewicz finally has the chance to do what every Englishman dreams of.
A nine-year Birmingham City career which has brought more lows than highs is peaking in its twilight. After years of slogging away in relegation battles, desperately trying to keep Blues’ head above water in the Championship, Jutkiewicz has at long last enjoyed a season where winning has been the norm.
Promotion back to the Championship has been confirmed for Chris Davies’ all-conquering side and Jutkiewicz, who recently turned 36, could make his first appearance at Wembley.
“It’s such an iconic stadium, everyone dreams of playing at Wembley,” says Jutkiewicz. “I’m no different and I would love to be out there.
“For me, I think of the old Wembley initially. My first memories of football are from Euro 96 when we had the home tournament.
“The new stadium is incredibly impressive, whenever you think of it you think of finals and important matches. For us to be involved in that is really exciting and something that’s well deserved for the fans who’ve had to suffer a fair bit in recent years.”
That’s an understatement. Birmingham City was a football club wasting away under its previous owners, but Knighthead have ploughed cash and breathed new life into the club that bears the Second City’s name.
Jutkiewicz added: “It has been a struggle, there’s no hiding away from that. They deserve this occasion to celebrate being a Blues fan and hopefully a win on the day, and also the way the football club is heading.”
Knighthead have revamped St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, making it one of the most attractive and entertaining football stadiums outside the Premier League, and the players want for nothing at the training ground. Having seen the bad times, Jutkiewicz is relishing the present and future.
“It’s probably changed in every department. It really has been widespread. In previous years every department was working their socks off, but perhaps not having the support they’ve been given since the new owners came in.
“They’ve put care and finance into every part of the football club and it filters through to the players. If every part of an organisation is running successfully that filters through.
“We’ve been given everything that we could have hoped for at this training ground, the facilities, the food that Rob (chef) provides, everything we have makes it feel like a totally different club.”
Another change this year, compared to the previous eight in which Jutkiewicz has donned Blues’ colours, is that he has been a bit-part player. Blues extended his contract last year but Davies has used him sparingly and there are no guarantees that he will be awarded the Wembley appearance that has eluded him for so long.
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“I always want to play football,” he insists. “The minute that you aren’t so interested in playing football is perhaps the time to stop.
“I’m desperate to play all the time, but I understand there is more to the role than just what you do on a football pitch. If I can help younger players or be someone that contributes around the training ground, there’s certainly more to it than just playing, although I still have the fire to be out there.
“I’ve always tried to pride myself on doing the right things when no one is looking and having the right attitude. And trying to be a good teammate as well, not just being a selfish player that, at times, throughout football clubs you have those characters.
“It was so important with the recruitment that we brought players in who were willing to be good teammates and think about others. A lot of good players haven’t played as many games as they would like to, but everybody has bought into what the team is trying to achieve.”
Jutkiewicz has played his part in getting Blues to Wembley by appearing in five of their seven Vertu Trophy matches. Injuries have handed him a route back into squads for league matches, too.
The striker recently played his 350th match for Blues and entered the top-15 in the all-time appearance list. Jutkiewicz’s next league start will be his 200th for the club.
While the milestones give Jutkiewicz a great sense of pride, he says, “It’s something I’ll probably focus a bit more on when I’m finished.”
But when will Jutkiewicz, whose contract is up at the end of June, call it a day?
“It’s hard. The games are so thick and fast, one day you’re playing and the next you’re in recovering.
“It’s difficult to have a zoomed out look on everything because you’re so focussed on making sure we finish the season on a high.
“There’s nothing on that yet, other than I really enjoy playing, I really enjoy training and it’s been quite nice to have the pressure for the right reasons at the back-end of the season for a change.”
If this is to be Jutkiewicz’s last dance in Royal Blue, the finale has been a fitting one.
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