‘My kids still bring up the rabona fail… I did it loads in my career, and I'd try it again today!’ David Dunn opens up on his most infamous footballing moment

Former Birmingham City star David Dunn
Former Birmingham City star David Dunn (Image credit: PA Images)

Some moments fade quietly into football history, while others take on a life of their own.

For David Dunn, a split-second decision that he made in the heat of a Birmingham derby has gone down as perhaps the signature moment of a career that saw him make more than 450 senior appearances.

David Dunn on his infamous failed rabona

Birmingham City's St Andrews Stadium

The infamous moment came at Birmingham City's St Andrews Stadium (Image credit: PA Images)

The incident came during a typically heated Birmingham derby between City and Aston Villa, the kind of match where every touch and misstep goes under the microscope.

Dunn - a free-thinking player, who loved to express himself - had signed for Birmingham City in a £5.5 million move from Blackburn three months earlier, was getting his first taste of the Second City derby when he drifted in from the right-hand side and attempted a rabona pass, something he no doubt pulled off countless times on the training pitch.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce

Dunn's then-boss Steve Bruce saw the funny side (Image credit: PA Images)

But rather than playing an incisive pass through to a team-mate, his standing foot gave way under the turf and the one-time England international awkwardly fell to the ground and the ball rolled into the path of Villa midfielder Peter Whittingham, who launched an immediate counter-attack.

As the away fans chortled, Dunn had to raise his hand in acknowledgement, before smiles broke out on the faces of both him and his manager Steve Bruce. Since then, the clip has been viewed millions of times and has gone down as one of the Premier League’s funniest moments.

“It’s funny because my kids sometimes mention it to me,” Dunn admits to FourFourTwo.

“It was a thing I did so many times during my career, but it didn’t come off that time and right in the middle of a derby game as well, so it has been highlighted much more.

"He thought he was Zinedine Zidane!" - David Dunn attempts a rabona - YouTube
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“But I would still try it again!”

And so he should, as this willingness to take risks is what made him the footballer he was.

Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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