Birmingham City will never forget brief affair with World Cup winner: View | OneFootball

There have been many quality players at Birmingham City over the years, and the aim for Tom Wagner is to take the club back to the highest level where more talented individuals will pull on the royal blue shirt.

Each fan will have their own opinion when it comes to picking the best ever player they’ve seen at St. Andrew’s, and plenty of factors come into play.

However, if you’re judging purely on natural ability, then Christophe Dugarry is a player that will get a lot of mentions.

Christophe Dugarry’s illustrious career took him to Birmingham City

The Frenchman doesn’t really need an introduction to European football fans of the 1990's, as Dugarry had emerged as a classy figure for a good Bordeaux side, with his form earning moves to Milan, Barcelona and Marseille before he returned to the club in 2000.

Two years prior, Dugarry had made his mark on the global stage, as he was part of the French squad that made history by lifting the World Cup on home soil, which included coming on in the final as they hammered Brazil.

He was also part of the group that won Euro 2000, meaning France were holding the two major international trophies at one time.

So, when Dugarry moved to Birmingham in January 2003 on an initial loan, it’s fair to say that they weren’t signing just anyone.

Yet, as we know, reputations count for little in football, and Blues, then struggling towards the bottom of the Premier League, having scored just 19 goals in 22 games, needed Dugarry to hit the ground running.

And, that’s exactly what he did.

Christophe Dugarry inspired Birmingham City survival in 2003

Arriving as a 30-year-old with no previous experience in English football, there was no guarantee that he would make the impact that Steve Bruce had hoped.

Plus, Dugarry was no longer playing for Bordeaux, Milan or Barcelona who would dominate possession. He was linking up with a side that had lacked quality in key areas, and they certainly wouldn’t be controlling games in the way he was used to.

As well as that, it’s fair to say that Dugarry lacked the work-rate and desire of his new teammates, who were all fighting for their lives to keep Blues up.

Yet, the unlikely relationship worked, as the Blues squad accepted this was a player who oozes class, so they accepted what he wouldn’t do off the ball because of what he could do with it.

The presence of the World Cup winner also seemed to help raise the game of others, and Dugarry really made the difference in April, when Blues won four consecutive games, and he scored in each of them.

Blues had gone into those games sitting 17th, so it was a nervy period, but he showed his class, and he produced moments that fans loved, with his technique, composure and football intelligence a level above what they had seen.

Unsurprisingly, Birmingham pushed to make the move a permanent one, and Dugarry would spend another year at St. Andrew’s, but he couldn’t rediscover the same form, as he managed just one goal in 15 games before leaving by mutual consent.

However, that won’t diminish Dugarry’s reputation at Birmingham, as fans will continue to remember the magical few months they had with a top-class player producing some fantastic moments.