The 2008 FA Cup final isn’t a showpiece that lives particularly long in the memory – unless you’re a fan of Portsmouth or Cardiff, of course.
It was the first time the Bluebirds had appeared in the final of the competition since winning it in 1927, having failed to even reach the quarter finals in the 81 years that had elapsed.
Pompey, meanwhile, reached the semi-finals in 1949 and 1992 but hadn’t been in the FA Cup final since beating Wolves in 1939.
The stage was set as Premier League Portsmouth took on mid-table Championship Cardiff in the end of season finale at Wembley Stadium.
In truth, it was no surprise that the game was settled by the odd goal – Pompey had made it to the final by winning every game by one goal, while the Bluebirds defensive record in the competition was relatively impressive:
Third round
Ipswich Town 0-1 Portsmouth
Cardiff City 3-1 Chasetown
Fourth round
Portsmouth 2-1 Plymouth Argyle
Hereford United 1-2 Cardiff City
Fifth round
Preston North End 0-1 Portsmouth
Cardiff City 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Quarter finals
Manchester United 0-1 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 0-2 Cardiff City
Semi-finals
Portsmouth 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Cardiff City 1-0 Barnsley
And so veteran striker Nwankwo Kanu proved to be the match winner for Portsmouth and sent the Pompey faithful back to the south coast in jubilant spirits with his strike eight minutes before half-time.
But who was the starting eleven for Harry Redknapp’s side on the day they claimed their first major domestic honour since the top flight title in 1950?
#1 GK – DAVID JAMES
Although he was an England international at the time, James hadn’t played competitively for his country since a 2-2 draw with Austria on 4 September 2004. The goalkeeper conceded twice in a matter of minutes as England let a two-goal lead slip in their 2006 World Cup qualifier in Vienna.
Prior to representing Portsmouth, James played for Watford, Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City, before joining Bristol City and Bournemouth. He also had spells in Iceland and India and is now a pundit BT Sport. His only other honour was the 1995 League Cup with Liverpool.
#5 RB – GLEN JOHNSON
Another player who was part of Steve McLaren’s international set-up, Johnson joined Portsmouth from Chelsea where he was part of a league and cup double winning side in 2004/05. The 2007/08 campaign was his first season at Fratton Park and he enjoyed success in the following year as he was named in the PFA Team of the Year and also won BBC Goal of the Season for his incredible volley against Hull City.
Johnson went onto play for Liverpool, where he won the League Cup in 2012 before moving to Stoke in 2015. He has played for England at two World Cups and one European Championship and is still a regular for the Potters under Mark Hughes.
#23 CB – SOL CAMPBELL
Named in the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions (1998/99, 2002/03 and 2003/04), Campbell enjoyed unbridled success at the heart of Arsenal’s defence where he played a key role in the ‘Invincibles’ campaign. That would be his last major honour with the north London club, whom he’d joined from fierce rivals Tottenham.
From Portsmouth, Campbell had a brief stint in League Two with Notts County where former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was Director of Football, before returning to Arsenal for a second spell. He then retired in 2012 – a year after leaving Newcastle.
#15 CB – SYLVAIN DISTIN
Prior to the FA Cup triumph with Portsmouth, Distin’s only domestic honour was the 2000 Coupe de la Ligue with Gueugnon. The French side made history by becoming the first – and only – Ligue 2 side to win the competition as they beat a PSG team containing Ali Benarbia (with whom Distin later played alongside at Manchester City), Jay-Jay Okocha and Laurent Robert.
After leaving Pompey, the Frenchman spent six seasons on Merseyside with Everton before joining Bournemouth in their first campaign back in the Premier League. With 469 appearances over 16 years, Distin has played more games in England’s top flight that any other overseas outfield player.
#7 LB – HERMANN HREIDARSSON
The only Icelandic player to have won the FA Cup, Hreidarsson also holds an unwanted record of being relegated from the Premier League with every club he has represented at the top level (Crystal Palace: 1997/98, Wimbledon: 1999/00, Ipswich: 2001/02, Charlton: 2006/07 and Portsmouth: 2009/10).
With 89 appearances, he is the second most capped player for Iceland and scored five times for his country. After a spell with Coventry in the Championship, Hreidarsson returned to Iceland and retired in 2014.
#6 DM – LASSANA DIARRA
After frustrating spells with Chelsea and Arsenal where regular first team opportunities were limited, Diarra moved to Fratton Park where he quickly established himself as an integral member of Redknapp’s squad.
The Frenchman spent 18 months on the south coast before joining Real Madrid in 2009. He won the Copa del Rey in 2011 and helped Jose Mourinho’s side to a first La Liga title in four years the following season. Diarra had spells in Russia with Anzhi and Lokomotiv Moscow, and is now a free agent after being released by Marseille.
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Centre back
Sol Campbell
Right back
Glenn Johnson
Goalkeeper
David James
Centre back
Sylvain Distin
Left back
Hermann Hreidarsson
Defensive midfield
Lassana Diarra
#30 CM – PEDRO MENDES
Signed from Tottenham in January 2006, Mendes was part of the Porto side that won the Champions League in 2004. Despite an array of passing skills and venomous eye for goal, he was only capped 12 times by Portugal.
After leaving Fratton Park, Mendes headed north of the border to join Rangers where he helped the Ibrox club to the league title in his first season. He returned to Portugal in 2010 with Sporting Lisbon before retiring in 2012 after a spell with Vitoria de Guimaraes.
#19 CM – NIKO KRANJCAR
After winning eight domestic honours in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split respectively, Kranjcar joined Portsmouth for a fee believed to be £3.5m in August 2006. He spent three seasons at Fratton Park before signing for Tottenham where he was reunited with Redknapp, and also linked up with fellow Croatians Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric.
In 2012, Kranjcar moved to Dynamo Kiev but couldn’t help the Ukrainian giants to any domestic honours. He spent two seasons on loan with QPR in the Championship, where he again teamed up with Redknapp and helped the west London club reach the Premier League via the play-offs. The 81-time Croatia international now plays for Rangers in the Scottish top flight after leaving New York Cosmos.
#17 RW – JOHN UTAKA
Nigerian forward Utaka joined Portsmouth from Rennes in 2007 and provided the assist for Kanu’s cup winning goal. Having spent time in Egypt and Qatar, he signed for Lens in 2002 where he quickly made a name for himself because of his blistering pace and finishing ability.
After leaving Pompey with the club in the Championship and in financial turmoil, Utaka moved back to France with Montpellier and claimed an unlikely Ligue 1 crown as he scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Auxerre on the final day of the season to clinch the title.
Centre midfield
Pedro Mendes
Centre midfield
Niko Kranjcar
Right wing
John Utaka
#11 LW – SULLEY MUNTARI
The Ghanaian arrived at Fratton Park with somewhat of a reputation, having been sent of three times in 16 games in his final campaign with Serie A side Udinese. He spent just one season at Portsmouth, but was an integral part of their FA Cup winning squad as he scored the winner against Manchester United in the quarter final at Old Trafford.
From Pompey, he moved back to Italy and spent time with both Milan clubs – either side of a loan spell back in the Premier League with Sunderland. After a stint in Saudi Arabia with Ittihad, Muntari returned to Serie A with Pescara on loan.
#27 ST – NWANKWO KANU
Kanu was part of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning squad that boasted names such as Edwin van der Sar, Frank de Boer, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars and Patrick Kluivert. He won six major honours in Holland before moving to Inter Milan, where he helped the Milan giants to UEFA Cup glory in 1998.
From Italy, he joined Arsenal and claimed a further four domestic trophies and was part of the Gunners’ ‘Invincibles’ campaign. He signed for West Brom on a free transfer in 2004, but didn’t renew his contract as the Baggies were relegated after two seasons in the top flight. Kanu spent six years at Portsmouth and wrote himself into Pomey folklore with the winning goal against Cardiff – tapping home after Peter Enckelman spilt Utaka’s cross.
MANAGER – HARRY REDKNAPP
Redknapp is often regarded with mixed emotions by Pompey fans having taken charge of fierce rivals Southampton in between two spells at Fratton Park. He also joined Tottenham two days before receiving Portsmouth’s Freedom of the City in October 2008, having guided the club to FA Cup glory the previous season.
The former Bournemouth, West Ham and QPR manager also had a spell in charge of the Jordan national team in 2016, where the Western Asia side recorded an 8-0 win over Bangladesh and lost 5-1 to Australia in his two games at the helm. Redknapp is renowned for his interviews through car windows on transfer deadline day.
Left wing
Sulley Muntari
Striker
Nwankwo Kanu
Manager
Harry Redknapp