May 17, 2008: It is a "Cinderella" Final in England's FA Cup. No matter which side wins it, it will be a historic achievement. As it turns out, though, the side that wins it will end up paying a terrible price.
Harry Redknapp grew up in East London, and was a mediocre midfielder for his local side, West Ham United. He who later played in the North American Soccer League for the Seattle Sounders and the Phoenix Fire. He ended up as the 4th-best player in his own family: His son, Jamie Redknapp, became a better player; while his sister married his West Ham teammate, Frank Lampard Sr., and their son, Frank Lampard Jr., became one of the best English players of his generation.
Harry went into management. In 1983, he was hired to manage AFC Bournemouth, in Dorset on the English Channel. He maintained a home there, despite going from job to job like Lou Saban in American football and Larry Brown in basketball. He got them promoted from the 3rd to the 2nd division in 1987, but relegated back to the 3rd in 1990, and promoted again in 1992.
While in Italy to watch the 1990 World Cup, he was in a minibus crash. He suffered a fractured skull and nerve damage to his face, which left him with no sense of smell and a facial tic, mocked by rival fans as a "twitch."
He went back to West Ham as manager, running them from 1994 to 2001. In 2000, they won the Intertoto Cup, then Europe's 3rd-most important club tournament behind the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League).
In 2002, he went back to the South Coast, managing Portsmouth FC in Hampshire. He got them promoted to the Premier League in 2003. But after his 2nd seasons, 2003-04, he jumped ship (an appropriate analogy, given 2 naval cities), for Southampton FC, Portsmouth's Hampshire arch-rivals. He suddenly became the most popular man in Southampton, and the most hated man in Portsmouth. But in his 1 season in charge of Southampton, he got them relegated. And Portsmouth hired him back. Suddenly, to "Pompey" fans, he was the hero who had gotten them promoted and their rivals relegated.
In the 2007-08 season, his big spending got Portsmouth to an 8th-place finish in the Premier League, their best finish in 53 years. This was managed by signing former Liverpool goalkeeper David James, former Chelsea FC stars Glen Johnson and Lassana Diarra, former Tottenham Hotspur (or "Spurs") star Pedro Mendes, on-loan Tottenham star Jermain Dafoe, and Arsenal FC legends Sol Campbell at the back and Nwankwo Kanu up front.
But it was in the national tournament, the FA Cup, that this side became legends. As a Premier League team, Portsmouth received a bye into the 3rd round. They beat Ipswich Town away, 1-0; Plymouth Argyle at home, 2-1; and Preston North End away, 1-0.
One of the most stunning weekends in FA Cup history began with 2 of the 4 Quarterfinals, on March 8. Portsmouth hadn't won the Cup since 1939, or any major trophy since the 1950 Football League Division One title. Manchester United were the defending Premier League Champions, and would soon be again. But Portsmouth went to Old Trafford, and beat them, 1-0. United's usual tricks didn't work, and they even (rightly) get a penalty called against them at home.
Just as stunning was Yorkshire club Barnsley hosting the Cup holders, West London team Chelsea, winners of the 2005 and ’06 League titles, at Oakwell and beating them 1-0.
On March 9, the Quarterfinals continued, with another surprising result, as Cardiff City of Wales, in English soccer's 2nd division, defeated North-East club Middlesbrough, 2-0 at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. Cardiff are the only team outside England ever to win the Cup (1927), and were now 2 rounds from doing it again.
The other Quarterfinal was the only 1 of the 4 that was not a tremendous upset, although West Country team Bristol Rovers even getting that far was a surprise. Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion went to Bristol, and won 5-1. For the "Baggies," it was, and remains, their best Cup run since 1982.
The Semifinals were held on neutral ground, at the new Wembley Stadium in West London. On April 5, Portsmouth beat West Brom, 1-0. On April 6, Cardiff beat Barnsley, 1-0. In what remains perhaps the most unlikely Final in the tournament's 146-year history, it would be Pompey vs. the Bluebirds.
The most improbable FA Cup tournament ever played came to a conclusion at Wembley on May 17. Defoe was "cup-tied," having previously played in that same tournament for Spurs, and was unavailable for Portsmouth. Since both teams traditionally wore a bright blue at home, a coin was tossed. Portsmouth won, and chose their traditional blue kit. Cardiff wore their usual black away kit.
Before the game, English soprano Lesley Garrett sang the British National Anthem, "God Save the Queen"; Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins sang the unofficial Welsh National Anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (Translation: "The Old Land of My Fathers"); and they duetted on "Abide With Me," the traditional pre-Final anthem, "Abide With Me" -- coincidentally, introduced before Cardiff's 1927 Final win.
Cardiff attacked repeatedly through the 1st 15 minutes, to no avail, before Kanu got through, and hit the post with a shot. A few minutes later, Kanu had another shot that went just over the crossbar. In the 37th minute, John Utaka crossed the ball close to the goal line from the right. Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman knocked the ball away, but it landed at the feet of Kanu, who knocked the ball into the net, to give Pompey the lead.
Cardiff rallied quickly in an attempt to equalize, and Glenn Loovens was also able to put the ball in, but his effort was ruled out, due to a Cardiff handball. In the 61st minute, Cardiff brought on a hometown hero, their youngest-ever first-team player, 17-year-old midfielder Aaron Ramsey. It was, obviously, his 1st FA Cup Final. It would not be his last.
A diving header by Loovens bounced in front of, then over, the goal in the 71st. That would be the last chance of the game, as James and Pompey's back 4 held, and it was a final score of 1-0. As Captain, Campbell received the Cup, not from a member of the royal family as is usual, but from Sir Bobby Robson, the former manager of the England national team, who had managed Ipswich Town to the Cup in 1978, 30 years earlier, in a major upset over Arsenal.
This Cup is the only major trophy won in 30 seasons in management by Harry Redknapp. Early the next season, 2008-09, he not only left Pompey, taking the Tottenham job, he "left them holding the bag," leaving them and . He avoided going to prison for income tax evasion, basically because his defense was that his reading comprehension was so bad, he didn't understand his own documents. Any Arsenal fan, Portsmouth fan, or Southampton fan could have told you he was dumb.
The financial shenanigans and general stupidity he left behind would soon get Portsmouth not only relegated for the 2nd time, but send it into a death spiral: By Christmas 2009, they were already in administration, meaning an automatic points deduction, leading to relegation to English soccer's 2nd division. They would eventually crash to the 4th, and, twice, they literally came within hours of going out of business. (They have since been sold and straightened out, and are back up to the 3rd division.)
On April 11, 2010, an FA Cup Semifinal was held at Wembley: Tottenham, managed by Redknapp, against Portsmouth, now managed by Avram Grant, who had gotten Chelsea to penalties of the 2008 Champions League Final before losing. Through what English football fans call "the magic of the Cup," they managed to get this far, and to hold Spurs to a 0-0 draw in regulation. Then came extra time, and the bankrupt team beat the rich team 2-0, and advanced to play Chelsea in the Final. They fought bravely, but lost, 1-0.
Since winning the Cup in 1991, Spurs have reached 8 Semifinals, and lost them all -- 3 of them to neighboring rivals Arsenal. Redknapp would later manage and relegate West London team Queens Park Rangers; and West Midlands side Birmingham City (although that last one was probably going to happen even before he got there). Even Tottenham, whom he got to 4th place in 2010 and the Champions League Quarterfinal in 2011, were forced to sell off their best players because of his spending.
Overall, over 31 seasons, Redknapp managed 7 different clubs and 1 national side. Results: He won 1 major domestic trophy and 1 minor continental trophy; and was responsible for 2 promotions, 5 relegations, and 1 near-demise of a club.
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May 17, 2008 was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York Red Bulls and the Kansas City Wizards played to a 1-1 draw at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
American football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were underway, but no games were played. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Dallas Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena.
And these Major League Baseball games were played, most of them Interleague, many of those close geographic rivalries:
* The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees, 7-4 at Yankee Stadium. Johan Santana outpitched Andy Pettitte. It was only 3-2 Mets when new manager Joe Girardi replaced Pettitte with Kyle Farnsworth, who never figured out that it doesn't matter how hard you throw if you can't hit the strike zone, or if the other team hits it. José Reyes and David Wright, the key figures in the Mets' current run since 2005, both hit home runs off Farnsworth. Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu homered for the Yankees.
* The Boston Red Sox swept the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 and 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Over the 2 games, David Ortiz cheated his way to 2-for-5 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals, 6-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-3 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Ba Rays, 9-8 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. This was the only extra-inning game of the day, and Ryan Ludwick won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres, 4-2 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
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