It is officially 10 years to the day since Italian giants AC Milan travelled to England to face FA Cup winners Portsmouth at Fratton Park in the Uefa Cup.
Considered minnows compared to their experienced and well-decorated opposition, Tony Adams’ Portsmouth more than held their own and were mere moments away from claiming a shock win over Carlo Ancelotti’s outfit.
With all the goals coming in the second half of the match, it was Portsmouth who took the lead after 62 minutes from a Younès Kaboul header. Things got even better for the south coast side when former Arsenal centre-forward and FA Cup hero Nwankwo Kanu bundled the ball home in the 73rd minute to double Portsmouth’s lead.
Despite Portsmouth’s best efforts to preserve their lead with just 17 minutes to go, the quality of AC Milan eventually made it’s way onto the Fratton Park pitch. Goals from Brazilian wonder Ronaldinho and striking sensation Filippo Inzaghi – the latter scoring two minutes into injury time – broke Portsmouth hearts as the match finished as an entertaining score draw.
Here is what happened next to each player that played a part in that entertaining match, 10 years ago today.
Portsmouth
David James
Age: 48
Current club: Retired
Portsmouth appearances: 158
The former England number one spent four years down on the south coast but he was never a man to settle down with one club and moved on in 2010 to Championship side Bristol City.
Spells at AFC Bournemouth, Icelantic side ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar and Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters followed before he eventually retired in 2014. He was offered his first chance at management at the beginning of this year with Kerala Blasters where he remains today.
Glen Johnson
Age: 34
Current club: Free agent
Portsmouth appearances: 100
Portsmouth goals: 4
The West Ham United graduate moved to Portsmouth following his unsuccessful spell at Chelsea. After reaching the 100 mark at Fratton Park, Johnson moved to Liverpool where he was part of the side that narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in the 2013/14 season.
200 appearances and a Football League Cup trophy later, Johnson left Merseyside to join Stoke City where following their relegation at the end of last season, he was released.
Younès Kaboul
Age: 32
Current club: Watford
Portsmouth appearances: 50
Portsmouth goals: 5
The big centre-back was the man to put Portsmouth ahead on this fateful night. Despite signing a four-year contract with Portsmouth in 2008, by January 2010 he was back at Tottenham Hotspur with the two clubs agreeing on a £9.5 million deal.
Five years at Spurs followed before moving to Sunderland where Kaboul was part of Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland side who escaped relegation in 2016. He then moved to the Hornets for £4 million where he is mainly found outside of the starting eleven.
Sylvain Distin
Age: 40
Current club: Free agent
Portsmouth appearances: 96
Portsmouth goals: 0
The classy left-footed defender was a man mountain at the heart of the Portsmouth defence and was a big part of the club’s success throughout his tenure.
Distin played for some notable clubs before his move to Portsmouth including the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Newcastle United. Distin left Fratton Park to join Everton in 2009 before playing for Bournemouth in 2015. Despite his age, he is yet to officially announce his retirement.
Nadir Belhadj
Age: 36
Current club: Al-Sailiya
Portsmouth appearances: 65
Portsmouth goals: 6
The Algerian first moved to the club on a season-long loan before moving permanently following a successful spell.
With 55 caps for his country, Balhadj left the club in 2010 for Al-Sadd before trying his luck at both Sedan and Al-Sailiya where he remains today.
Glen Little
Age: 43
Current club: Grays Athletic
Portsmouth appearances: 8
Portsmouth goals: 0
The right winger has enjoyed a long career in football and is perhaps better known for his spells at Reading and Burnley rather than his time at Portsmouth.
Released after one season at the club, Little did the rounds in the lower leagues and is still involved in football for Grays Athletic as player/assistant manager.
Papa Bouba Diop
Age: 40
Current club: Retired
Portsmouth appearances: 72
Portsmouth goals: 0
One of the standout stars of the 2002 World Cup three years previous, Diop joined Portsmouth from fellow Premier League outfit Fulham and went on to only leave the club following their relegation in 2010.
Stints for AEK Athens, West Ham United and Birmingham City followed before Diop bowed out of the game.
Richard Hughes
Age: 39
Current club: Retired
Portsmouth appearances: 157
Portsmouth goals: 2
The midfield man was a solid player in the middle of the park for Portsmouth across nine years of service before moving on to pastures new.
Two years at fellow south coast side Bournemouth followed before Hughes decided to hang up his boots in 2014 with five Scotland caps to his name.
Armand Traoré
Age: 28
Current club: Çaykur Rizespor
Portsmouth appearances: 28
Portsmouth goals: 1
Traore could play anywhere on the left which he did so for a number of clubs across his well-travelled career.
One season on loan at Portsmouth from parent club Arsenal was followed by showings for Juventus (on-loan), Queens Park Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City (on-loan) and he can now be found playing for Turkish side Çaykur Rizespor.
Peter Crouch
Age: 37
Current club: Stoke City
Portsmouth appearances: 86
Portsmouth goals: 33
Everyone’s favourite robot machine, Crouch had already established himself as a talented Premier League striker for a number of clubs before his second spell at Fratton Park.
Two years at Tottenham Hotspur followed where he scored the goal away at Manchester City that got them into the Champions League in May 2010. He is now playing for Championship side Stoke City where he has been since 2011.
Nwankwo Kanu
Age: 42
Current club: Retired
Portsmouth appearances: 168
Portsmouth goals: 28
A goal on the night against AC Milan was thought to seal the win for the hosts but it just wasn’t meant to be. However, Kanu did score the only goal months earlier to seal Portsmouth’s FA Cup victory over Cardiff City at Wembley.
Important goals rather than lots of them, Kanu left the club in 2012 following a dispute over unpaid wages that the club reportedly owed him.
Substitutions
Arnold Mvuemba
Age: 33
Current club: Umm Salal
Portsmouth appearances: 32
Portsmouth goals: 2
Mvuemba spent a short time with Portsmouth between 2007 – 2009 with the one-cap DR Congo international failing to establish himself as a first-team regular for the club.
Successful spells with Lyon and Lorient once again led him to sign for Qatar side Umm Salal.
Sean Davis
Age: 39
Current club: Retired
Portsmouth appearances: 116
Portsmouth goals: 4
The midfielder enjoyed great spells with Fulham and Portsmouth, notching over 100 appearances for both sides.
An injury-laden few years followed his exit from Portsmouth meaning Davis couldn’t reignite his career at either Bolton Wanderers or Bristol City. He retired in 2012.
AC Milan
Dida
Age: 45
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 302
Dida was known as one of the best shot-stoppers in European football and enjoyed a highly decorative career both domestically and on the international stage.
After his 10 years of service in Milan, Dida moved back to his native country to play for Portuguesa, Grêmio and Internacional before retiring soon after.
Gianluca Zambrotta
Age: 41
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 107
AC Milan goals: 2
It was at Serie A rivals Juventus where Zambrotta truly made his name, helping him win a massive 98 caps for Italy across a space of 11 years.
Four years in Milan for one of Europe’s most recognised full-backs, Zambrotta saw out his footballing days with Chiasso before taking over as their manager in 2014. However, he was eventually sacked in April 2015.
Giuseppe Favalli
Age: 46
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 99
AC Milan goals: 2
The left-back spent his entire footballing career in Italy playing for just four clubs including Milan between 2006 – 2010.
Not long after the match against Portsmouth, Favalli was released by the club and as a result, he decided to retire from professional football altogether.
Philippe Senderos
Age: 36
Current club: Houston Dynamo
AC Milan appearances: 20
AC Milan goals: 1
Perhaps you forgot that Senderos was once part of one of Europe’s greatest defence after he left north London side Arsenal for Milan on a season-long loan in 2008.
The Swiss international didn’t play too many games for Ancelotti’s side before moving on and after playing for different clubs in England among others, he now plays for MLS side Houston.
Luca Antonini
Age: 36
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 111
AC Milan goals: 1
Antonini was your traditional tough Italian defender who made life difficult for the opposition throughout his five years playing for Milan.
Winning the Serie A title in 2010-11, Antonini moved on and played for Genoa, Ascoli, Livorno (on-loan) and Prato before he retired in 2016.
Gennaro Gattuso
Age: 40
Current club: AC Milan (Manager)
AC Milan appearances: 467
AC Milan goals: 11
Everyone remembers Gattuso as that tough-tackling, no-nonsense midfielder who would pick a fight with anyone, including Portsmouth assistant manager Joe Jordan!
13 years at the club turned Gattuso into a club legend which was why after his retirement it was fitting to see him take charge of the club in a managerial capacity.
Emerson
Age: 42
Current club: Al-Sailiya
AC Milan appearances: 40
AC Milan goals: 0
Fratton Park witnessed one of the best defensive midfielders around at that time when Emerson came into town.
The genius Brazilian left Milan in 2009 to join Santos before finishing his career at Miami Dade FC.
Mathieu Flamini
Age: 34
Current club: Free agent
AC Milan appearances: 122
AC Milan goals: 8
Another former Arsenal man in the Milan ranks, Flamini spent five years in Italy where he too was a part of the Serie A 2010/11 title-winning side.
Spells at Crystal Palace and Getafe followed. He is currently without a club but doing very well to establish himself in the business world. Look it up!
Kaka
Age: 36
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 307
AC Milan goals: 104
The classy Brazilian was awarded the Ballon d’Or award for his performances throughout 2007, meaning one of the best players in the world had graced the pitch at Fratton Park.
Admired throughout his career as one of the best attacking midfielders of his generation, the 2002 World Cup winner moved to Real Madrid, had a second spell at Milan before eventually retiring last year after some time in the MLS with Orlando City.
Filippo Inzaghi
Age: 45
Current club: Bologna (Manager)
AC Milan appearances: 300
AC Milan goals: 126
One of the greatest goalscorers of his generation. This Milan side was truly littered with some of the best strikers in world football at the time and Inzaghi was most definitely one of them.
The Italian never played for anyone else and retired from football in 2012. He is currently the manager at Italian side Bologna.
Andriy Shevchenko
Age: 42
Current club: Ukraine (Head coach)
AC Milan appearances: 322
AC Milan goals: 175
See what we mean about attacking talent and trust us, we’re not even finished yet!
Two extremely successful spells with Milan, an unsuccessful stint at Chelsea and two more fantastic periods spent with Dynamo Kyiv later, Shevchenko’s career will be remembered by many. He is now in charge of the Ukraine national side.
Substitutions
Clarence Seedorf
Age: 42
Current club: Cameroon (Manager)
AC Milan appearances: 432
AC Milan goals: 62
Another world class star among this Milan squad. Despite the late equaliser, it’s making Portsmouth 2-2 draw with them seem even more impressive isn’t it?
Seedorf is already considered a fairly experienced manager, with his natural intelligence leading the likes of Milan, Shenzhen, Deportivo La Coruña and now Cameroon in his short but busy managerial career to date.
Ronaldinho
Age: 38
Current club: Retired
AC Milan appearances: 95
AC Milan goals: 26
World class, well-loved, and really, really talented; Ronaldinho had it all.
After leaving Milan in 2011, Ronaldinho spent the rest of his career in Brazil playing for Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, Querétaro and Fluminense before retiring earlier this year.
Alexandre Pato
Age: 29
Current club: Tianjin Quanjian
AC Milan appearances: 150
AC Milan goals: 63
A youngster among experienced pros, Pato was once labelled as one of the most promising strikers in world football.
His career, although decent enough, has failed to live up to those high standards expected from him and he is one of a few players who has opted to move to China for the lifestyle and financial rewards after trying his luck in Europe with Milan, Chelsea and Villarreal.
The post What happened next? Both sides from AC Milan’s 2-2 draw at Portsmouth in 2008 appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2KF7dTi
No comments:
Post a Comment