{"id":15311,"date":"2025-04-13T02:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T02:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/15311\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T02:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T02:10:14","slug":"christoph-klarer-reveals-wembleys-emotional-pull-bielik-respect-and-postponed-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/15311\/","title":{"rendered":"Christoph Klarer reveals Wembley\u2019s emotional pull, Bielik respect and postponed operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birmingham City defender Christoph Klarer will make his first appearance at Wembley this weekend\"ChristophChristoph Klarer of Birmingham City waits in the tunnel<\/p>\n

Christoph Klarer\u2019s phone is flooded with messages of congratulations but there is only one he is looking for.<\/p>\n

Birmingham City<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

We know Wembley is special for English players, but it holds a special memory for this 24-year-old Austrian too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I went to Wembley was actually with my parents in 2012, we were on holiday,\u201d says Klarer. \u201cAs soon as we beat Bradford they sent me a few videos of me lifting the FA Cup<\/a> at Wembley!<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went on a tour and it\u2019s going to be special for us to be back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klarer,<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The defender added: \u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019s going to be really special for the English players but all the foreign boys as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five years of Klarer\u2019s career have now been spent in England. An added bonus of signing him last summer is that he counts towards the club\u2019s homegrown player quota due to his schooling at Southampton.<\/p>\n

There are also spells with German sides Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf and Darmstadt 98 on his CV but Klarer has found a home in Birmingham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I signed here long-term but you never really know what it\u2019s going to be like,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m getting used to the culture and the people, and I\u2019m really enjoying my time on and off the pitch. I can definitely see myself here long-term.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously with the amount of games we\u2019ve played it\u2019s difficult to do that many city trips but I\u2019ve 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\u2019s because that\u2019s where I spend most of my time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Don’t miss your Birmingham Mail Blues at Wembley special souvenir edition<\/p>\n

Chris Davies’s runaway League One leaders face Peterborough United on Sunday, April 13 in the final of the Vertu Trophy, looking to clinch the first past of a double after a season of incredible success.<\/p>\n

40-page special<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy now<\/a> and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents in Birmingham<\/a> from April 2, 2025.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He is expected to lead the team out at Wembley with Krystian Bielik<\/a> unlikely to start alongside him in central defence.<\/p>\n

It begs the question as to who will lift the trophy if Blues are successful this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, Krystian has always been the captain even when he wasn\u2019t playing and he\u2019s doing a really good job,\u201d explained Klarer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not worried at all if I\u2019m 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\u2019t on the pitch, he\u2019s always led as much as possible every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s going to lift the trophy if we win it? I haven\u2019t thought about that for one second yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sort of professionalism is one of the things Chris Davies loves about Klarer. Another is his bravery to put his head \u2018where others wouldn\u2019t put their feet\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

Klarer doesn\u2019t mind people appreciating that he looks like an old-school central defender having broken his nose more times than he cares to remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 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\u2019t been fighting anyone off the pitch!\u201d<\/p>\n

If Klarer has to break his nose again for Blues\u2019 cause at Wembley this weekend, you just know he wouldn\u2019t think twice.<\/p>\n

Is Klarer your Player of the Year? Have your say HERE<\/a>Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n

BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City<\/a> WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link<\/a> to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birmingham City defender Christoph Klarer will make his first appearance at Wembley this weekendChristoph Klarer of Birmingham City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,1205,748,10461,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-15311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-christoph-klarer","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114328228611838939","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}