BEING left out of Hearts’ 2006 Scottish Cup final team hit Christophe Berra like a punch to the solar plexus.
Faced with a decision between home-grown 20-year-old Berra and Senegal internationalist Ibrahim Tall, Valdas Ivanauskas erred on the side of caution, and predictability, by selecting the defender personally signed by owner Vladimir Romanov.
Any sense of self-pity was fleeting. Berra soon turned his attention to supporting his colleagues and ensuring he would be ready to play his part if called upon.
Berra’s services were not required that day as Hearts defeated Gretna courtesy of a penalty shootout following a breathless 1-1 draw.
The young defender lapped up the celebrations with friends and family and his winners’ medal still takes pride of place in the home of parents Josephine and Christian.
Rightly so, given he played a key part in Hearts’ journey to Hampden in victories over Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle. Nevertheless, it is only natural that the elation is tempered by the fact he did not get on the pitch.
“I was gutted,” he said. “You have ups and downs and there are periods where you are bitterly disappointed that you are not playing, but you don’t throw the toys out of the pram, you get on with it because you need to be professional.
“You’re representing yourself and representing your team-mates. There’s nothing worse than someone being selfish and thinking about themselves, it’s about what’s best for the team. It does have that strange feeling, if you haven’t played on the day then you might not feel like you have contributed in the same way. But often you will have been involved in other games during the run-up to a final and people will have made a big contribution along the way that might have been forgotten about. It’s not just about that one-off game, it’s about how you get there as well.
“I was young and I still have good memories. The party was at Murrayfield and we were able to celebrate with team-mates and family. My mum and dad have got my medal – they better still have, anyway!
“I’m one of the very few fortunate enough to have a cup winners’ medal and hopefully I’ve still got a few more years left in me to compete for more.”
Twelve years on, that remains Berra’s only cup triumph – albeit he was pivotal in Wolves’ Championship title win in 2008/09 – and he is allowing himself to tentatively dream of once again climbing those steps at the national stadium to lift the trophy with Hearts.
There would certainly be no doubt about his place on the team-sheet this time, with the towering defender establishing himself as one of the signings of the season after returning to the capital from Ipswich last summer.
“Motherwell is our main task in hand, but getting back to Hampden is definitely an incentive,” he added. “It’s every player’s dream to get to cup finals and play in them and we’re no different.
“If we were to manage to get there this season, given all the chopping and changing at the start of the season - players, managers, Murrayfield, Tynecastle - that would be a massive achievement.”
Hearts’ last Scottish Cup semi-final appearance came in 2012, on their way to winning the competition with a historic 5-1 demolition of Hibernian. For a club that has claimed the trophy three times since 1998, that represents a drought.
However, their path to the last four is a tough one, in every sense of the word. Motherwell have made physicality, intensity and organisation an art form, with no shortage of potency in the final third. They have been accused of going too far in their industrial approach by some, but Berra has no problem with their style of play.
“We’re not the prettiest team just now either, but it gets results and that’s what it’s all about,” he smiled. “As my old manager Mick McCarthy used to say: ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat!’
“In every league you get all kinds of teams and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Motherwell are good at what they do and that’s credit to them.
“They are a well organised team. Tactically they are very aware, they’re big and physical - they might be the biggest team in the league - and that’s not a criticism. They put a lot of balls in your box and they’re good at set-pieces, they may have the highest percentage of goals from set-pieces, so that’s something we’ll need to be aware of.
“It can’t be all pretty. You look at Scottish football at times and the pitches aren’t great, ours certainly isn’t! It’s not conducive to good football. We can’t all be Manchester City. We need to apply our style and try to take our chances. We know we need to be at the top of our game.”
There will be little time for Hearts to toast their triumph or lick their wounds, depending on the result against Motherwell, with their trip to Easter Road to face Hibernian on Friday night.
The previous encounter between the city rivals - a 1-0 win for Hearts in the last-16 of the Scottish Cup - prompted Craig Levein to declare the “natural order” had been restored. Neil Lennon, to quote directly, “didn’t find it funny”.
“Week-by-week, we are seeing the manager I remember,” added Berra, when Levein’s returning mischievous streak is mentioned. “And we know, coming into training, exactly what he expects of us.
“It’s a massive end to the season, a lot to play for, and I’m sure preparations are already in place for next season, with a list of players he wants, and hopefully next season we start the season well and turn the draws we have had this season into wins.”
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