Berra Not Thinking About What Might Have Been - Ipswich Town News
Town defender Christophe Berra is not thinking about what might have been as he prepares for the new season.
The 30-year-old Scottish international will be absent from the opening-day visit to Brentford as he serves a one-game ban after being dismissed in the second leg of the play-off semi-final against Norwich back in May.
It was Berra’s handball on the goal line and subsequent red card that proved the game’s pivotal moment with Wes Hoolahan converting from the spot and 10-man Town eventually going down 3-1 and 4-2 on aggregate following the 1-2 draw at Portman Road a week earlier.
Berra said: "I’m quite a laidback kind of person and there are always ups and downs in football. You have to put it behind you and move on.
"It wasn’t as if I had time to decide ‘I’m going to handball it’. It was just an instinctive thing — my leg was out, my arm was out and it was just one of those things.
"It’s part and parcel of football and if I wasn’t hard-skinned I wouldn’t be playing any professional sport.
"Some people don’t take disappointments very well and don’t bounce back but I’ve done it throughout my career. There’s another season on the way and it’s all to play for again.
"If I had done something really stupid, like punching or head-butting somebody, I’d have been really upset with myself. It was something I couldn’t stop — I’m a footballer and a defender — and it happened in a split second.
"That’s football for you. It’s about highs and lows, which is why we all want to play it and watch it.”
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