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.
That career saw Dunn twice win promotion to the Premier League, plus a League Cup victory in 2002, but the former Blackburn Rovers man can now smile about his contribution to any footballing bloopers reel.
David Dunn on his infamous failed rabona
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.
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.
“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.
