Barnsley v Luton Town - Family man Michael Sollbauer looks for Reds to climb the SkyBet Championship mountain

Residing over a thousand miles away in his homeland of Austria, Sollbauer’s family have yet to see the Reds centre-half in action at his place of work and have had to follow his fortunes via the internet and television.

For Sollbauer’s biggest fan – his young son Mauritz – that first visit to Barnsley’s home to see daddy on the pitch will be a treasured moment.

It remains to be seen when. Transport minister Grant Shapps announced on August 20 that Austrians travelling to England would have to self-isolate for 14 days and with Covid-19 cases sadly showing signs of rising in Europe, travel is on hold again for many on the continent.

When things do get back to some semblance of normality, the Sollbauer family’s first trip to Oakwell is sure to be a memorable one.

Sollbauer was afforded a cherished memory when he saw his family again the day after the night before following Barnsley’s miraculous ‘Great Escape’ act at Brentford in July.

The hope is that more images for the family album will arrive at some stage this season.

Sollbauer said: “Now the situation is not easy as Austria is on the list for self-isolation. My family are home now and it is not that easy, but we have to find a way to handle it.

“I have a small boy, but we will deal with it and hope the situation will get better and I hope they can join my journey here and hope that will be at Oakwell.

“Staying up at Brentford was one of the most special moments in my career. I said before that if we stayed in the league, it would one of the best achievements I have ever had.

“In the end, it was and I had success.

“I came here to stay in the league and in the end, it was so close. Now we are part of the Championship again and I am looking forward to next season.

“The next morning after Brentford, we went home after enjoying this night. I wanted to then get home to my family and my small boy was waiting on the train for me.

“It was nice to see and my family all supported me and it was hard times for them.”

On whether Mauritz has been kitted out in a Barnsley strip, the defender added: “Of course. Now I have to change it to the new season’s style and go to the shop!”

There is plenty to like about Sollbauer. A defensive leader of authority and stature on the pitch, a point of reference for his team-mates in the dressing room and a thoroughly engaging and likeable character too. And clearly a family man.

His loved ones may be back home for the time being, but the 30-year-old – just as he has slotted pretty seamlessly into Barnsley’s backline – has admirably acclimatised to life in South Yorkshire in the best way he can and shown himself to be the ultimate professional.

He is someone who Gerhard Struber always knew he could rely upon when he brought him to Barnsley early in the New Year.

You do not worry about players like Sollbauer; you are just glad to have them.

It should also come as no surprise that when his playing career winds down, Sollbauer has thought about going into coaching. On first inspection, he seems a natural fit.

The former Wolfsberger player said: “Absolutely, it is in my mindset. I do not know what will happen, but I am hoping for a couple of years left yet. I am thirty years old, but age is just a number and I am feeling pretty good now and I am not old. I am feeling in the best situation in my career with my experience.

“I have also grown up as a player and a person in the last couple of months in England. I feel pretty good and do not have any thoughts about ending my career. But at the end of the day, yes it will come to the end. I can imagine I will work as a coach.”

Few January window signings across the land made as much impact as Sollbauer. Quite simply, he was a catalyst for Barnsley’s epic survival.

Back in the day, Reds fans will recall how another cool, calm and collected continental defender soon won friends and influenced people in his time at Oakwell in Arjan de Zeeuw.

Should Sollbauer continue where he left off last season, then people might start talking about him in the same breath as the Reds’ imperious Dutchman, another who embraced his surroundings quickly.

Sollbauer said: “I enjoy the life here and they are very open-minded (people). I like to be here and it is important to feel good besides football as you spend so much time in your mind thinking about football.

“I am a player who likes to think about other things when I have a day off, or after training. Football is a big part of my life, but not everything.

“No matter if you win or lose, I have to go away from football sometimes as I cannot watch it all the time.

“Here, there are some nice restaurants and places to go and some nice coffees.”

Given the fact that he is a native of the Alpine nation of Austria, Sollbauer’s usage of metaphors regarding base camps and mountains to describe Barnsley’s new mission should not come as a surprise.

It begins in earnest against Luton this afternoon. Just 67 days ago, these two sides met at Kenilworth Road on an ultra-tense occasion of huge importance where a defeat for either would have left them with one foot in League One.

In the event, a draw did not seem much use for both in their respective survival quests.

How times have changed since with the pair again meeting in the Championship and not the third tier after a glorious twist.

“This team has changed from January and February into this talented team,” Sollbauer added.

“Now we start from the base camp and go up the mountain. It will not be easy, but we are confident in our way of playing and want a good start on Saturday.”

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Thank you, James Mitchinson. Editor.