What Birmingham City’s Carling Cup heroes are doing 13 years after Arsenal triumph
Birmingham City's Carling Cup winners are doing an array of different jobs 13 years on from one of the club's greatest days
February 27, 2011 will forever be an iconic day in the history of Birmingham City. Today marks the 13th anniversary since Blues won the Carling Cup at Wembley.
Obafemi Martins scored the deciding goal against Arsenal in the 89th minute, six minutes after the Nigerian striker - who only played six games for Blues during a loan spell from Russian side Rubin Kazan - had come on as a substitute. Nikola Zigic had earlier given Blues the lead before Robin van Persie hit back for Arsenal.
The Carling Cup triumph ended Blues’ 48-year wait for a major trophy. It remains the most recent major trophy success by any team in the West Midlands.
But what happened to the team that reigned supreme over Arsenal in the capital? We have taken a look at what each member of the squad is up to now...
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Ben Foster
Foster only had one season in Blues’ goal but he remains universally popular with supporters. Every time Blues have needed a goalkeeper in the past decade, Foster’s name has been thrown into the mix. Foster retired for the second time last year after a brief spell in goal for Hollywood-backed Wrexham. He now spends his days cycling and podcasting.
1 of 18Stephen Carr
Carr, who captained Blues to victory at Wembley, had no interest in coaching and took the unusual step of moving into the hospitality industry after finishing his playing career. "For me, I don't have any desire for that - you either love it or you don't. If you don't love it enough, you should never get into it. So, coaching never entered my mind. Instead, I moved to Spain straight away because I'm involved in restaurants and a beach club over there.”
La Sala has welcomed a number of A-listers down the years and boasts sporting clientele Erling Haaland, Jurgen Klopp, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua on its website. In addition to La Sala, Carr has ventured into the world of HR, clothing and worked as a football agent since retirement in 2013.
2 of 18Roger Johnson
Johnson still lives locally and works as a pundit for Blues TV from time to time. He has dabbled in coaching and managed Brackley Town before being sacked last year.
3 of 18Martin Jiranek
![Blues' Martin Jiranek battles with Arsenal's Robin van Persie during the Carling Cup final in 2011]()
Jiranek is one of those rare footballers who has vanished from the public gaze since retiring. The Czech’s Blues career was brief and he had further spells with teams in Russia and his homeland before hanging up his boots in 2018.
4 of 18Liam Ridgewell
![Liam Ridgewell celebrates Birmingham City's 2011 Carling Cup win at Wembley]()
Ridgewell stayed at St Andrew’s after Blues’ relegation at the end of the 2010/11 campaign before leaving for West Brom the following year. He spent two years with the Baggies before moving to MLS with Portland Timbers. It is with the Timbers that Ridgewell has began his coaching career working underneath Phil Neville.
5 of 18Seb Larsson
![Sebastian Larsson celebrates Birmingham City's Carling Cup win]()
Swedish sensation Larsson only retired from playing at the end of 2022. After leaving Blues in the summer of 2011, Larsson played for Sunderland and Hull City before moving to AIK in his homeland.
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