English FA Cup
Kanu, Utaka chase history at Wembley
By COSMAS OMEGOH
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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Kanu
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Nigerians stay glued to their television sets this afternoon
as Nwankwo Kanu and John Chukwudi Utaka fight for honours
at the Wembley Stadium in the final of this year’s English
FA Cup. Their club, Portsmouth, would be locked in a bitter
contest against English Championship side, Cardiff City, to
determine who go home with the trophy of the 2008 edition
of the England’s oldest club competition, which has
been on since 1871.
Kanu is not new to the English FA Cup. The Super Eagles’
skipper won it back-to-back with Arsenal in 2001/02 and 2002/03
seasons before crowning his effort with the English Community
Shield one year after. This time, he would be campaigning
to win the title with Pompey, as he approaches the twilight
of his glorious career.
His compatriot, Utaka, who joins him in the crusade, aspires
to win the English football diadem for the first time.
Kanu and his mates served notice of winning the trophy surrendered
by Chelsea when they knocked out the almighty Manchester United
in the quarterfinal. They followed up their performance by
edging out West Brom in the semi-final to set the stage for
today’s clash.
Portsmouth made their debut in the FA Cup in 1927/08 season,
but lost out to Bolton Wanderers. They, however, returned
to play in the final again in 1938/09 season, beating Wolves
to lift the trophy. Today, they are returning to the big stage
after 69 years.
Their opponents, Cardiff City, though a Championship side,
have demonstrated strength and tenacity of purpose in the
FA Cup even when they finished 12th on the table in the just
concluded season. The ‘Bluebirds’, as they are
called, have won the FA Cup just once in 1927 when they defeated
Arsenal 1–0 in the first-ever contest to be broadcast
live by BBC. On April 6, they pipped hard-fighting fellow
Championship side, Barnsley 1–0 to book a place in today’s
final.
On paper, Portsmouth could be said to have a better pedigree
to take the shield after finishing in a respectable eighth
position on the Premiership table. However, in the FA Cup,
anything can happen. No one can say for sure where the pendulum
will swing, so Pompey will not neglect Cardiff, who fought
real hard to the top in the competition where 731 football
clubs across the United Kingdom participated.
Today’s encounter promises to be a cracker, which is
expected to stretch the coaching skills of Pompey’s
Manager, Harry Redknapp and Cardiff’s boss, Dave Jones
to their limits. Both men would be pulling all the stops available
to claim the glory that is dangling before their faces.
Portsmouth will rely heavily on the experiences of the veterans
in their line up to upstage Cardiff. Kanu is expected to spearhead
the attack. His pace may have slowed down, but his luck looks
sure to earn Pompey the goal that will see them popping champagne
when the chips are down. He will draw all the support from
Utaka, who plays from the right flank.
From the midfield, Ghana’s Sulley Mutari, Senegal’s
Papa Bouba Diop and Turkey’s Niko Kranjcar will hold
sway, while Captain Sol Campbel, who will provide cover for
David James as the south coast side strive to keep their back
tight, will marshal the team’s defence line.
Cardiff will bank on their youthful players as they seek to
run rings around their opponents. Manager Dave looks up to
his wonder boy, Aron Ramsey, who has done so much to keep
the Bluebirds in the hunt for the trophy. He will also count
on the experiences of reliable players like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
and Robbie Fowler as they crusade for the coveted title.
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