Christophe Berra

Christophe Berra
Berra playing for Ipswich Town in 2015
Personal information
Full name Christophe Didier Berra[1]
Date of birth (1985-01-31) 31 January 1985 (age 39)[2]
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back[4]
Youth career
2002–2004 Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Heart of Midlothian 123 (4)
2009–2013 Wolverhampton Wanderers 141 (0)
2013–2017 Ipswich Town 174 (14)
2017–2021 Heart of Midlothian 90 (3)
2020 → Dundee (loan) 6 (0)
2021–2022 Raith Rovers 26 (0)
Total 560 (21)
International career
2005–2006 Scotland U21[5] 5 (0)
2007 Scotland B 1 (0)
2008–2017 Scotland 41 (4)
Managerial career
2022–2023 Raith Rovers (first team coach)
2023 Livingston (first team coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christophe Didier Berra (born 31 January 1985) is a Scottish professional football former player and coach.

Berra began his professional career with Heart of Midlothian, playing 146 times for them before he moved to England in 2009 in a £2.5 million transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was part of their promotion to the Premier League months later and played in the top flight with the team for three seasons before relegation. His contract was not renewed in 2013, after which he signed for Ipswich Town. Berra made 174 league appearances in four years with Ipswich before rejoining Hearts in 2017. In April 2021, he signed a two-year pre contract agreement with Raith Rovers. After just over a poor season of playing for Raith and becoming a coach, Berra announced his retirement in July 2022.

Club career

[edit]

Heart of Midlothian

[edit]

Berra was born and raised in Edinburgh.[6] He joined Heart of Midlothian on 26 April 2002 from their youth development system.[7] He is one in a long line of young defenders, particularly centre backs, to have progressed through the Hearts youth system,[8] including Paul Ritchie and Alan McLaren.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

He scored in a 2–0 victory against Kilmarnock[9] in season 2005–06 which aided 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.[10]

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[11] after the departure of the previous Hearts captain Craig Gordon to Sunderland in August 2007.[citation needed]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

[edit]

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,[12] 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.[13] However, he eventually signed for Wolves for an undisclosed fee – believed to be around £2.5m[14] – in a four-and-a-half-year deal on transfer deadline day.[14] He made his club debut on 7 February 2009 in a 2–1 defeat at Coventry.[15]

Berra helped Wolves complete the season at the top of the Championship and so enter Premier League. He went on to play regularly during their three seasons in the top division, being partnered at centre back by a collection of players including Jody Craddock, Richard Stearman and Roger Johnson.[16] After three seasons Berra was a mainstay of the Wolves team that finished bottom of the 2011–12 Premier League and so were relegated back to the Championship.[citation needed]

Following relegation, Berra had a transfer request accepted by Wolves.[16] but this did not lead to any move away from the club and he remained part of the first team during the season. Then-Wolves manager Ståle Solbakken stated that Berra's game had improved and stated that he hoped the club could agree a new contract with Berra.[17] However, Solbakken was soon fired and Berra dropped out of first team contention under Dean Saunders. At the end of the campaign, which again saw the team relegated, it was announced that Berra would leave the club.[18] In total he made 154 appearances for the club, without scoring.[citation needed]

Ipswich Town

[edit]

Berra signed for Ipswich Town, managed by his former Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, in July 2013.[19] He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 away loss to Stevenage in a League Cup first-round tie on 6 August 2013.[20] He made 46 appearances during his first season at Portman Road, as Ipswich finished 9th in the Championship.[21] Berra formed a defensive partnership with Tommy Smith. He scored five league goals in the 2013–14 season, which was the third highest total by an Ipswich player that season. Berra won the Ipswich Town Supporters Player of the Season award for the 2013–14 season.[22]

He continued as a first-team regular during the 2014–15 season, making his first appearance of the season in a 2–1 home win over Fulham on the opening day of the season. On 19 August, he scored a brace in a 2–2 draw with Birmingham City. He signed a new three-year contract with Ipswich in September 2014.[23] Berra made 50 appearances in all competitions over the course of the season, scoring 6 goals, as Ipswich finished 6th in the league and qualified for the Championship play-offs.[24]

Berra made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season on 11 August, starting in a 2–1 win over Stevenage in a League Cup first-round tie. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with Bolton Wanderers on 8 March 2016. He made a total of 44 appearances during the season, scoring once.[25]

Berra continued to play regularly for Ipswich during the 2016–17 season. He scored his first goal of the season on 14 January, netting in a 3–2 home win over Blackburn Rovers. He made 46 appearances during the season, scoring 2 goals.[26] Ipswich had an option to extend his contract for another year, but they decided not to exercise this after Berra expressed his desire to return to Scotland and he subsequently left the club at the end of the season.[27]

Return to Hearts

[edit]

On 23 May 2017 Berra signed a pre-contract to return to Hearts.[28] He made his second debut for the club on 18 July in the group stage of the Scottish League Cup, a 1–0 win at Elgin City.[29] Four days later in the next game in the tournament, he scored his first goal since his comeback, heading Malaury Martin's corner kick in a 3–0 home win over East Fife.[30] He won Heart's Player of the Year award during his first season back at the club,[31] while also earning a place in the 2017–18 PFA Scottish Premiership Team of the Year.[32]

In August 2018, Berra suffered a severe hamstring injury during a 1–0 win against Celtic.[33] Hearts initially estimated that it would prevent him from playing for six months.[33] He returned to action in December, and then extended his contract with Hearts in January.[34] After signing the contract, Berra said he intended to retire as a Hearts player.[34]

Berra played regularly for Hearts during the initial part of the 2019–20 season, but was dropped by new manager Daniel Stendel after an Edinburgh derby defeat on 26 December.[35] Stendel then told Berra in early January that he was being made available for transfer and would no longer be involved with the Hearts first team squad.[35] Berra was therefore stripped of the captaincy, which was then given to Steven Naismith.

On 31 January, Berra was loaned to Championship club Dundee.[36] Upon his arrival, he immediately became a key player for the Dark Blues. Berra very quickly struck up an effective partnership with Jordon Forster and Josh Meekings, with the defence keeping five consecutive clean sheets before the season was ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic.[37]

While Berra was on loan at Dundee, Hearts had been relegated to the Championship.[38] Robbie Neilson replaced Stendel as Hearts manager during the 2020 close season and he returned the captaincy to Berra.[38] In March 2021 Hearts announced that Berra's contract would not be extended and that he would leave the club at the end of the 2020–21 season.[38]

Raith Rovers

[edit]

In April 2021, Berra agreed a two-year contract with Raith Rovers.[39] After a season and a Scottish Challenge Cup win with the team, Berra was named as a player-coach, taking the First Team Coach role with Rovers in June 2022.[40] The following month, Berra announced his retirement from playing football, focusing fully on his coaching role.[41]

Coaching career

[edit]

In January 2023, Berra was appointed as first team coach at Livingston, working under David Martindale.[42] He left Livingston at the end of the 2022–23 season.[43]

Berra is currently the Interim Head Coach for Huntsville City FC of MLS Next Pro.[44]

International career

[edit]
Berra playing for Scotland in 2011

Berra was eligible to play for both Scotland (through his mother) and France (through his father), although having been born and grown up in Scotland, he has always committed to Scotland, and has been capped at different age levels right up to the senior side. He made his senior international debut as a substitute, on 30 May 2008 in a 3–1 defeat against the Czech Republic at the AXA Arena in Prague. Berra made his first start for the national team in the Amsterdam Arena on 28 March 2009 in the match against the Netherlands as part of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.[45]

Berra scored his first goal for Scotland on 25 May 2011 against Wales in the 2011 Nations Cup.[46] Scotland finished as runners-up in the tournament.[47]

He featured regularly during Scotland's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, featuring in games against Lithuania, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Spain. Scotland finished third in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group I, just missing out on a place in the group play-offs.[48]

On 29 February 2012 he scored his second goal for Scotland, netting the equalizing goal in a 1–1 friendly draw with Slovenia at the Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia.[49] Later that year, Berra was called up to the Scotland squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. He featured in four of the group stage matches, with Scotland finishing fourth in the UEFA Group A. He scored his next goal for his country on 25 March 2015 when he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Northern Ireland at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland.[50]

Berra was part of Scotland's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. He scored in a 2–0 win over Malta at Hampden Park in a qualifier on 4 September 2017.[51] Scotland finished third in their qualifying group.[48]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Heart of Midlothian 2003–04[52] Scottish Premier League 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2004–05[53] Scottish Premier League 12 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 14 0
2005–06[54] Scottish Premier League 12 1 2 0 2 0 — 16 1
2006–07[55] Scottish Premier League 35 1 1 0 2 0 6[a] 0 44 1
2007–08[56] Scottish Premier League 35 2 2 0 4 1 — 41 3
2008–09[57] Scottish Premier League 23 0 1 0 1 0 — 25 0
Total 123 4 7 0 10 1 6 0 146 5
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2008–09[57] Championship 15 0 — — — 15 0
2009–10[58] Premier League 32 0 2 0 2 0 — 36 0
2010–11[59] Premier League 32 0 2 0 2 0 — 36 0
2011–12[60] Premier League 32 0 2 0 1 0 — 35 0
2012–13[61] Championship 30 0 1 0 1 0 — 32 0
Total 141 0 7 0 6 0 — 154 0
Ipswich Town 2013–14[62] Championship 42 5 2 0 1 0 — 45 5
2014–15[24] Championship 45 6 2 0 1 0 2[b] 0 50 6
2015–16[25] Championship 43 1 0 0 1 0 — 44 1
2016–17[26] Championship 44 2 2 0 0 0 — 46 2
Total 174 14 6 0 3 0 2 0 185 14
Heart of Midlothian 2017–18 Scottish Premiership 37 2 3 0 4 1 — 44 3
2018–19 Scottish Premiership 25 0 6 2 4 0 — 35 2
2019–20 Scottish Premiership 19 1 1 0 6 0 — 26 1
2020–21 Scottish Championship 9 0 1 1 2 0 — 12 1
Total 90 3 11 3 16 1 0 0 117 7
Dundee (loan) 2019–20 Scottish Championship 6 0 — — 0 0 6 0
Raith Rovers 2021–22 Scottish Championship 26 0 2 0 6 0 4[c] 0 38 0
2022–23 Scottish Championship 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 26 0 2 0 10 0 4 0 42 0
Career total 560 21 34 3 45 2 12 0 650 26
  1. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[63]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2008 3 0
2009 3 0
2010 3 0
2011 9 1
2012 8 1
2013 2 0
2015 3 1
2016 3 0
2017 7 1
Total 41 4
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Berra goal.
List of international goals scored by Christophe Berra[63]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 25 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Wales 3–1 3–1 2011 Nations Cup [46]
2 29 February 2012 Bonifika Stadium, Koper, Slovenia  Slovenia 1–1 1–1 Friendly [49]
3 25 March 2015 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 Friendly [50]
4 4 September 2017 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Malta 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification [51]

Honours

[edit]

Heart of Midlothian

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Raith Rovers

Scotland

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "List of players given a free transfer: Ipswich Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 95. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Christophe Berra". ESPN. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Christophe Berra: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Chris Berra". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Christophe Berra". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  6. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (12 December 2018). "Christophe Berra: Hearts looking beyond double century of appearances". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Young guns take first steps at Tynecastle". The Scotsman. 18 June 2002.
  8. ^ "Hearts' vision can spur on other clubs". The Scotsman. UK. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Hearts 2–0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 15 April 2006.
  10. ^ Hearts 1-1 Gretna. BBC Sport website, 13 May 2006.
  11. ^ "Berra becomes new Hearts captain". BBC Sport. 10 August 2007.
  12. ^ "Wolves make bid to capture Berra". BBC Sport. 2 June 2008.
  13. ^ "Hearts reject Wolves' Berra bid". BBC Sport. 27 January 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Berra completes Wolves transfer". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009.
  15. ^ "Coventry 2–1 Wolves". BBC Sport. 7 February 2009.
  16. ^ a b "Wolves make Christophe Berra available for transfer". BBC Sport. 3 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Wolves in talks to extend Christophe Berra deal". Shropshire Star. 18 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Wolves make contract decisions on three". Express & Star. 5 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Christophe Berra: Ipswich Town sign Scotland defender". BBC Sport. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Stevenage 2-0 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Ipswich Town 2008–09 football league championship statistics". Statto. Statto. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Christophe Berra intent on scaling new heights". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Ipswich Town: Christophe Berra signs new three-year contract". BBC Sport. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  26. ^ a b "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Christophe Berra: Defender leaving Ipswich Town to move closer to Scotland". BBC Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  28. ^ "BERRA'S BACK". Heart of Midlothian F.C. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Elgin City 0–1 Heart of Midlothian". ESPN. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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  31. ^ a b "Defenders shine in Hearts' Player of the Year awards". Edinburgh News. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  32. ^ a b "PFA Scotland Teams of the Year 09-10 to 18-19". BBC Sport. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  33. ^ a b "Christophe Berra: Hearts lose captain for six months through injury". BBC Sport. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  34. ^ a b "Hearts: Christophe Berra signs one-year contract extension". BBC Sport. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  35. ^ a b Lewis, Jane (7 January 2020). "Christophe Berra: Captain 'hurt and angry' at having no future at Hearts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  36. ^ "Christophe Berra: Dundee sign former Hearts captain on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  37. ^ "SPFL Resolution Approved By Clubs in All Four Divisions". SPFL.co.uk. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  38. ^ a b c "Christophe Berra: Hearts captain to leave Tynecastle this summer". BBC Sport. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  39. ^ "Christophe Berra: Hearts captain agrees two-year with Raith Rovers". BBC Sport. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  40. ^ "Christophe Berra – Player Coach | Raith Rovers FC". www.raithrovers.net. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  41. ^ "Former Hearts skipper Berra retires". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  42. ^ "Christophe Berra: Former Hearts defender joins Livingston staff as David Martindale shuffles staff following Marvin Bartley's departure". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  43. ^ "Christophe Berra to depart". Livingston FC. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  44. ^ "HCFC preps for first game with interim head coach Christophe Berra". WHNT.com. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  45. ^ "McCormack & Berra start for Scots". BBC Sport. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  46. ^ a b "Wales 1–3 Scotland". BBC Sport. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  47. ^ a b "Robbie Keane earns Ireland deciding win over Scotland in Nations Cup". The Guardian. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  48. ^ a b "Christophe Berra profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  49. ^ a b Campbell, Andy (29 February 2012). "Slovenia 1–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  50. ^ a b Wilson, Richard (25 March 2015). "Scotland 1–0 Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  51. ^ a b English, Tom (4 September 2017). "Scotland 2–0 Malta". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  52. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  53. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  54. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  55. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  56. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  57. ^ a b "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  58. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  59. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  60. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  61. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  62. ^ "Games played by Christophe Berra in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  63. ^ a b "Berra, Christophe". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  64. ^ "Hearts 1–1 Gretna (4–2 on pens)". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  65. ^ "Heart of Midlothian 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  66. ^ "Hearts confirmed as Scottish Championship winners as Robbie Neilson secures promotion to Premiership". Herald Scotland. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  67. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2009). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2009–2010. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 44, 416–417. ISBN 978-0-7553-1948-0.
  68. ^ "Scottish Premier League / Scottish Professional Football League Manager and Player of the Month Award 2000-01 to 2018-19". My Football Facts. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  69. ^ "Berra Player of the Year". TWTD. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
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