David Dunn's Birmingham City legacy: The rabona that everyone talks about | OneFootball

David Dunn's 'rabona' moment overshadowed his impact at St. Andrew's.

Birmingham City's regular stints in the Premier League at the turn of the millennium saw many high-profile names make transfer switches to St. Andrew's.

Under the management of Steve Bruce, the likes of former World Cup winner Christoph Dugarry, Mikael Forssell and Emile Heskey are among the first names who spring to mind in that regard.

However, the capture of David Dunn from Blackburn Rovers for a then-club-record fee of £5.5m in the summer of 2003 - ahead of Blues' second-ever season in the Premier League following promotion - was another signal of the club's upwardly mobile trajectory at that particular moment.

Unfortunately for the Great Harwood-born central midfielder, he wasn't able to showcase his full ability to supporters in the West Midlands, with one bizarre moment in a Second City Derby against Aston Villa still shown regularly to this day as a result.

David Dunn's move to Birmingham City would underwhelm sections of Blues supporters

After showcasing plenty of potential during his first spell with Blackburn, there was, unsurprisingly, a great deal of hype surrounding Dunn's potentially immediate and long-term impact under Bruce after the parting of the club-record sum of cash.

The midfielder started his Blues career like a house on fire, scoring the winner on his debut in B9 against Tottenham Hotspur in August 2003, following it up with another strike in his third game for the club against Newcastle United, which was also the winner at St James' Park.

Unfortunately, the latter months of the season would be a sign of what was to come with Dunn during his Birmingham career, suffering long-term fitness issues that would continue to blight him throughout his three-and-a-half-year stint with the club.

Further injuries and fitness setbacks came and went between then and his return to Ewood Park in January 2007 during an eventual promotion-winning season for Birmingham.

However, despite just making 69 appearances for the club, Dunn's legacy at St. Andrew's centre around two derby matches against Aston Villa, and it would be fair to say, one of them was far more enjoyable than the other.

David Dunn endured two contrasting Birmingham City experiences vs Aston Villa

During his spell with Blues, Dunn featured in five grudge matches against the side from B6, with one of those providing perhaps his best moment in Royal Blue.

Bruce's side had a strong run against their bitter rivals following promotion in 2002, and that theme would continue into the following seasons, with the now-45-year-old still the last man at the club to score the all-important winner at Villa Park in a 2-1 success back in December 2004.

After Clinton Morrison capitalised on a fumble from Thomas Sorensen to give Birmingham the lead, Dunn calmly slotted home a low cross from Damien Johnson after just 18 minutes to make it 2-0.

This was ultimately the last season of Blues' dominance against Villa, with their last victory coming months later with a 2-0 win in the return fixture in B9.

This was a stark contrast to his notorious failed 'rabona' attempt during his maiden experience of the rivalry back in October 2003 in a 0-0 draw at St. Andrew's - a moment which is still broadcast on shows which document some of the 'beautiful game's' biggest gaffes in recent times.

When reliving the famous moment on Sky Sports' 'Goals on Sunday' alongside the likes of Chris Kamara and Neil Warnock many years later, Dunn's reaction was rather tongue in cheek, stating: "Even Brucey's laughing! I'm more disappointed with the mullet!"

The one-time international still went on to have a respectable career despite his mixed spell in the West Midlands, becoming an influential figure and captain throughout his second spell at Blackburn, which included dramatic strikes in Rovers' own local derbies against Burnley, and over 190 appearances and 21 goals.

However, wherever David Dunn goes to this day, or whenever his name is brought up in football conversation, the first thing that springs into everyone's minds is that infamous rabona attempt.