Christophe Berra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Christophe Berra
Christophe Berra.jpg
Personal information
Full name Christophe Berra[1]
Date of birth 31 January 1985 (1985-01-31) (age 27)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current club Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 16
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2009 Heart of Midlothian 123 (4)
2009– Wolverhampton Wanderers 104 (0)
National team‡
2007 Scotland B 1 (0)
2008– Scotland 19 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 February 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 February 2012

Christophe Berra (born 31 January 1985) is a Scottish international footballer who currently plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Hearts

Berra joined Hearts on 26 April 2002 from their youth development system.[3] He is one in a long line of young defenders, particularly central defenders, to have progressed through the Hearts youth system,[4] including Paul Ritchie and Alan McLaren.

After impressive performances in the youth and Under-21 teams, Berra made his first team debut on 30 November 2003 as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Dundee United. He made only a handful of further appearances during the remainder of the 2003–04 season, but continued his development over the following campaigns, becoming an important member of the first team squad.

He scored the important second goal in a 2–0 victory against Kilmarnock[5] in season 2005–06 which was pivotal in the Tynecastle club's push towards UEFA Champions League qualification. That season also saw him gain a Scottish Cup winner's medal after being a non-playing substitute in the 2006 Scottish Cup Final win against Gretna.

In July 2006, Berra signed a five-year deal with Hearts, before going on to play in the club's European ties in Champions League qualifiers and the UEFA Cup during a season that saw the club finish fourth. The following season, he became the youngest captain in the SPL[6] after the departure of the previous Hearts captain Craig Gordon to Sunderland in August 2007.

[edit] Wolves

Berra won international recognition at the end of the 2007–08 season and, during the close season, his growing reputation attracted the attention of Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They made a reported £1.5 million bid to sign him,[7] but it was not considered as Hearts were without a manager at the time. Wolves returned with an improved offer – reportedly £2million – on 27 January 2009, but it was again rejected.[8] However, he eventually signed for Wolves for an undisclosed fee – believed to be around £2.5m[9] – in a four-and-a-half-year deal on transfer-deadline day, 2 February 2009, going on to help them win promotion to the Premier League.[10]

[edit] International career

Berra has been capped by Scotland at different age levels and also for the senior squad. He made his international debut as a substitute, on 30 May 2008 in Scotland's 3–1 friendly match defeat to the Czech Republic at the AXA Arena in Prague. He was also eligible to play for France, through his father's French lineage.

Berra made his first start for the national team in the Amsterdam ArenA on 28 March 2009 in the match against the Netherlands.[11]

Berra scored his first goal for Scotland on 25 May 2011 against Wales in the 2011 Nations Cup.[12]

He Scored his second goal against Slovenia in a 1-1 friendly draw on 29th February 2012.

[edit] International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 25 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Wales 3–1 3–1 2011 Nations Cup|}

[edit] Honours

Hearts
Wolves

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7b/53/0,,12306~152443,00.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2010. 
  2. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~29393,00.html. Retrieved 18 March 2011. 
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "Hearts' vision can spur on other clubs". The Scotsman. UK. http://sport.scotsman.com/top-stories/Hearts-vision-can-spur-on.2373514.jp. Retrieved 30 January 2009. 
  5. ^ Hearts 2–0 Kilmarnock, BBC Sport, 15 April 2006.
  6. ^ "Berra becomes new Hearts captain". bbc.co.uk. 10 August 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/6940106.stm. Retrieved 30 January 2009. 
  7. ^ "Wolves make bid to capture Berra". BBC Sport. 2 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/7431856.stm. Retrieved 2 June 2007. 
  8. ^ "Hearts reject Wolves' Berra bid". BBC Sport. 27 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/7853964.stm. Retrieved 27 January 2009. 
  9. ^ "Berra completes Wolves transfer". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7856537.stm. Retrieved 2 February 2009. 
  10. ^ "Berra Deal Complete". wolves.co.uk. http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~1542290,00.html. Retrieved 2 February 2009. 
  11. ^ "McCormack & Berra start for Scots". BBC Sport. 28 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7963110.stm. Retrieved 28 March 2009. 
  12. ^ "Scotland beat Wales in Carling Nations Cup". BBC Sport. 25 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13350599.stm. Retrieved 25 May 2011. 

[edit] External links

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. – current squad
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christophe_Berra&oldid=480830887"
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages