Portsmouth v AC Milan – who would have thought it?

I thought it was time to recognise the achievements of Portsmouth Football Club. When the Uefa Cup draw was made yesterday the name of the South coast club was drawn out in the same group as that of the great AC Milan. Portsmouth playing at the San Siro would have seemed scarcely credible. The fact that the draw actually means that Milan will be playing at Fratton Park seems even more surreal.

Delighted

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie was delighted with his side’s draw. He told the BBC;

“It is a dream. I am sure a lot of our fans would have loved to have gone to the San Siro but, if they really think about it, to have one of the European giants at Fratton Park in a European game is absolutely fantastic. It will be a difficult game for them. They will find it a tough place to come and it will be interesting.”

Portsmouth Football Club celebrated their centenary back in 1998. After they were formed they made steady progress through the leagues, reaching the First Division in 1927. They struggled in the top league and even recorded their record defeat losing 10-0 to Leicester City.

FA Cup final three times

Gradually Portsmouth managed to establish themselves in the top league and over a period of ten years they reached the FA Cup Final three times, losing the first two but being triumphant in 1939 beating Wolves 4-1.

The FA Cup was then suspended for the war and Portsmouth therefore have the record for holding the trophy for a period of six years.

After the war, in 1949 and 1950, Portsmouth won the league. They are in fact one of only five clubs who have won the top league two years in a row since the war.

Gradual decline

After those glory years for Pompey it all started to go wrong. Gradual decline led to relegation out of the top tier in 1959. A further relegation followed in 1961 but Pompey bounced back in the very next season. They remained in the second tier until 1976.

In 1976 they were relegated to the third tier with huge debts. Players had to be sold to avoid bankruptcy and extinction and just two years later Pompey were relegated to the bottom division.

Further financial crisis

The club bounced back in typical fashion and by 1983 they were back in the second tier. After a couple of near misses they arrived back in the top league in 1987 but a further financial crisis saw them relegated again in their first season.

Going nowhere

The next few years saw occasional good cup runs and a few attempts on promotion but the club was going nowhere and Portsmouth’s centenary season, 1998-99, saw yet another financial crisis hit the club. In December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Milan Mandarić saved the club in May 1999, and immediately started investing. However the club only survived relegation on the last day of the 2000-2001 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs.

Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp arrived in 2002 and just over a year later he guided the side to the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League. After three seasons of consolidation, Pompey finished in the top half in 2007, then last season they finished the league in eighth place and won the FA Cup for the first time since those glory days back in the thirties.

The FA Cup victory meant that Pompey qualified for Europe for the first time and earlier this season they beat Vitoria SC 2-0 and 4-2 to qualify for the group stages of the competition.

Torrid time

Since winning the league back in 1950, Portsmouth have had a torrid time and the achievement they have made in establishing themselves as a Premier League club and qualifying for Europe should definitely not be under estimated.

Compare the history of Portsmouth since 1950 with that of their future opponents AC Milan.

Fourteen Serie A titles

They have fourteen Serie A title wins and have been runners up ten times. They have won the Coppa Italia five times and the Supercoppa Italia five times. They have won what is now the Champions League seven times and finished second on four occasions. They have won the Uefa Super Cup five times and the Uefa Cup Winners Cup twice.

Now the great Milan find themselves travelling to play little old Portsmouth at their somewhat dilapidated Fratton Park ground in front of 20,000 noisy and intimidating fans. I think it is fair to say that Milan are in for something of a shock.

Great moment

It will be a great moment for Harry Redknapp to see his team take the field alongside Milan. Just seven years ago, before he arrived at the club, they were one game away from relegation to the third tier of English football. Just look at them now.