Youth Soccer A Dangerous Game

2010 FIFA World Cup

This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective.

Coulibaly was preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in October 2008,^[7] and was one of 32 referees selected for the tournament.^[8] Coulibally was one of four African officials originally selected by FIFA to work the tournament.^[9]

On June 18, 2010 Coulibaly took charge of the Group C match between the United States and Slovenia. After conceding two first half goals, the United States fought back to equalize and had scored an apparent third goal to take the lead; however, Coulibaly disallowed the goal without stating any reason, which led to harsh criticism from United States players and sport analysts alike.^[10][11][12] Commentators also expressed concern over other calls Coulibaly made in the match, such as a yellow card given to Robbie Findley for a handball that bounced off his face.^[13][14]

The paradigm of the pupil overcoming the master was established long before it found its most popular modern incarnation in various Hollywood movies. Given how much has happened to each in the last 10 years, you might have wondered whether either still saw any significance in their meeting. But Mourinho’s evident glee in seeing off Barcelona, the charge across the pitch with finger raised, the subsequent insistence that he could never manage the club, suggested that there is perhaps something Oedipal to be worked out.

Tactically, at least, both can be said to belong to the same family. Van Gaal followed the path from Ajax to Barcelona first beaten by Rinus Michels in 1971, confirming and strengthening the links between Total Football and the Barcelona style. Van Gaal modified the method of Michels — and there were those who said his interpretation was mechanistic — but the style he took from Amsterdam to Catalonia was discernibly Dutch.

Mourinho was no slavish disciple, and has certainly not felt constrained by the classically Dutch demand for aesthetically pleasing football, but he too has used 4-3-3 as his basic model, both at Chelsea and now at Internazionale. His sides have usually been adept at pressing — another characteristic of Total Football — but Inter showed against Barcelona that they are equally good at sitting back, and maintaining defensive shape, unconcerned by aspects such as possession that other sides might regard as basics.

There was something almost nihilistically beautiful about that performance in the Nou Camp in the second leg of the semi-final (10-man Inter lost 1-0 to Barcelona). Yes, once Thiago Motta had been erroneously set off, Inter had their moments of fortune, notably in the simple headed chance missed by Bojan, and then the goal the same player had ruled out for a handball decision that could have gone either way. However, despite that, it was a display to strike fear into coaches across Europe. No matter how good you are, no matter how astute your passing or thrilling your dribbling, it said, no matter if we have only 16 per cent of possession, we can still stop you. The key now is whether Mourinho opts for similar containment against Bayern, or whether he prefers to take the initiative, and press high up the pitch as Inter did against Chelsea, particularly in the second leg.

My suspicion is that, without a lead to defend, and facing a team of far more limited attacking options than Barca, he will prefer the more aggressive approach, particularly in the absence of Bayern’s Franck Ribery through suspension. Mourinho is a difficult manager to predict — and at times it can seem that he is making changes almost in order to draw attention to his own importance — but his key thinking here, surely, will focus on the interrelated issues of how to stop winger Arjen Robben, who has been key to Bayern’s progress by cutting in form the right, and how to replace the suspended Thiago Motta at the back of his midfield.

Either Javier Zanetti or Cristian Chivu can play at left back or as a holding midfielder, but the problem with both is that both would be vulnerable against Robben in a sprint. Zanetti, although 36, reads the game well enough and is quick enough over the first yard to make him the less risky option at left back. The Argentinian is comfortable on either foot, which means he should be able to cope with Robben cutting infield onto his stronger left foot, but there is then the danger of Bayern right back Phillip Lahm overlapping from fullback.

Inside-out wingers (players who play on the opposite flank of their natural foot and cut inside) such as Robben have become an increasing feature of modern soccer, but it is notable that all those who have been successful from an attacking point of view have been coupled with an attacking fullback. Occupy the fullback, as England manager Fabio Capello did with his deployment of Theo Walcott against Danijel Pranjic when England beat Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb in 2008, and the whole flank can be disrupted).

Goran Pandev has usually been used on the left side of Inter’s midfield, but his lack of pace is a concern when it comes to tracking Lahm. If he is to leave out Pandev, Mourinho would seem to have three options. He could play Mario Balotelli on the left, and hope his pace is sufficient to drive Lahm back; he could play Maicon, who would offer a blend of attacking threat and defensive cover (although it would mean a change at right back, with Zanetti perhaps switching flanks), or he could bring Mcdonald Mariga into the middle of midfield as replacement for Motta, allowing Chivu to play as a left-sided midfielder with Zanetti behind him, which was the left-sided combination that neutered Lionel Messi and Dani Alves in Barcelona.

Changing an effective right side would, frankly, seem a little odd, given that is an area where Bayern are perhaps vulnerable. Hamit Altintop, the likely replacement for Ribery, is a far less threatening presence, and is likely to spend most of the game tracking the forward surges of Maicon, while the left back Diego Contento tries to deal with the wanderings of Samuel Eto’o.

As so often in modern football, the key battles seem to be those between fullbacks and wide midfielders, but Wesley Sneijder could have a decisive influence if he escapes the clutches of his Netherlands international teammate Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger. With both teams playing two holders plus, in Inter’s case, a playmaker, and in Bayern’s case a second striker in Thomas Muller, the center of midfield looks likely to be too congested for either side really to make decisive inroads there.

In effect, it may come down to which right-sided forward has more of the ball in attacking positions. If it is Eto’o. then Inter can be confident; if Robben, then the game should be Bayern’s.

It could also have left the sporting and marketing departments at Red Bull New York, the club Henry looks certain to join after the World Cup, wondering if they have made a rather large mistake in their efforts to recruit him.

Catalan newspaper Sport reported Friday that Henry had signed a pre-contract agreement with the club, with the only surprise being that the news had taken so long to leak out. Sources in Barcelona told SI.com that Henry’s manager, Darren Dein, a lawyer and the son of ex-Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, had tied up a deal in principle with the Red Bulls as long as three weeks ago.

Unsurprisingly, considering its season only finished on Sunday night, Barcelona has not yet agreed to any sale. It would demand some compensation given that Henry’s contract has one more year to run, and both parties would need to make sure contingencies are in place were Henry to suffer an injury at the World Cup. So it’s not a done deal just yet.

As a marquee signing, Henry ticks all the right boxes: The current France captain, he is a former World Cup and European Championship winner, and the top scorer (with 51 goals) in the French national team’s history. His goals also helped Arsenal win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, and he regularly tops fans’ poll as their all-time favorite player. With Juan Pablo Angel filling the only one of three Designated Player spots afforded to each MLS team, there is room on the Red Bulls’ roster for Henry.

However, it has been a swift fall from grace for Henry, who had 26 goals and 12 assists in Barcelona’s all-conquering campaign in 2008-09 — the team won the league, the Spanish Cup and the Champions League, and added to that the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup to become the first side holding all six titles in one year. Henry had finally overcome the jinx of talented French players who have struggled at Barcelona in the past, a list that includes Laurent Blanc, Emmanuel Petit, Philippe Christanval and Christophe Dugarry. But this season Thierry has scored only four goals and set up three.

Last week, Barcelona president Joan Laporta told Spanish reporters that Henry “can leave in the summer if he wants.” The news received no more than a passing mention, and it is now an open secret in Barcelona that the Red Bulls will be his next port of call. “I think it will be,” he told the New York Post last summer when asked about the possibility of joining the Red Bulls. “It’s always been a dream for me to live in the U.S.,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times while on tour with Barcelona in summer 2008. “Everyone knows I love New York. I have friends here and … there’s something I can’t describe about New York that I like.”

But will the MLS be welcoming a busted flush, or is there more to come from the 32-year-old? The answer, as with most issues surrounding Henry, is not simple.

One theory is that after winning every title going last season, particularly his “Holy Grail,” the Champions League, Henry simply took his foot off the gas; another is that his attention was focused on France’s difficult World Cup qualifying campaign (though a similar problem didn’t seem to affect the form of teammate Lionel Messi too much); and another that he was worried about the next, and probably final, move of his career.

Preseason back and Achilles injuries contributed to his sluggish start to the campaign. The emergence of the prolific Pedro Rodriguez, who scored in the Spanish Super Cup win over Athletic Bilbao and hit the winner in the European Super Cup win over Shakhtar Donetsk, further reduced his chances.

Even though the club fully supported Henry during the media storm following his controversial role in the “handball” goal that qualified France for the World Cup, Guardiola did not seem impressed by the player in training. “Thierry knows he can give more and I expect more from him,” was a familiar refrain from the coach at Barcelona’s pregame press conferences.

The die was cast after Barcelona was drawn against Henry’s former club Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals. “The bond I have with the Arsenal fans I will never get anywhere else,” Henry told Sky Sports News in an interview that aired after the draw. “I’m not saying I won’t try to fight … because that’s the way the game is. But I don’t want to play against Arsenal.”

Barcelona were 2-0 ahead in the first leg at the Emirates, but ended up drawing 2-2, with captain Carles Puyol sent off and out of the second leg. Instead of commiserating with his teammates, Henry, who had played the last 14 minutes, stayed out on the pitch and milked an emotional farewell from his old club’s fans. It was a bad error of judgment on his part. Henry has only started one game since then, and was ignored for the rest of Barcelona’s European campaign. Guardiola even selected defenders in positions Henry could have filled: Dani Alves at right wing against Real Madrid, and Maxwell left wing against Espanyol.

Although Henry has cut an unhappy figure in Spain this season, there could yet be a twist in this tale. Henry gave a hint of it in a recent interview with French magazine Surface: “The most important thing [about the World Cup] is to arrive fresh and without injuries so everyone can prepare well,” he said. “From my experience, that’s the base of any success.”

He may have been referring to the example of Zinedine Zidane, whose final season for Real Madrid before the 2006 World Cup was a poor one. He was then written off in Germany, especially by the Spanish press who expected their Round of 16 match against France to be Zidane’s final match. Instead, Zidane scored and was Man of the Match in a 3-1 win. He went on to guide France to the final, and later made it be known that he had timed his season carefully to peak during the tournament.

“Great players in all World Cups are often those who have been able to rest during the season, just look at Zidane four years ago,” Uefa president and former France international Michel Platini told Journal du Dimanche. “I think certain players save themselves and I hope that’s why we haven’t seen much of them this season.”

Henry will be praying that he falls into that category once the World Cup gets underway — but not half as much as the management team at the Red Bulls.

Benfica won their first Portuguese league title for five years.

ENGLAND

Chelsea won the Premier League title by one point from Manchester United after both finished their campaigns with one-sided wins.

Chelsea flattened Wigan Athletic 8-0, helped by a hat-trick from Ivorian forward Didier Drogba, to bring the Premier League trophy back to Stamford Bridge after three seasons of Manchester United domination.

Nicolas Anelka, with a brace, Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole were also on target. United’s 4-0 win over Stoke City was in vain and saw Wayne Rooney aggravate a groin injury.

West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London. They have played their home matches at the Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904.

The club was founded as Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1895 and was later reformed, in 1900 as West Ham United. They initially competed in the Southern League and Western League before joining the full Football League in 1919 and enjoyed their first top flight season in 1923, featuring in the first FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley that year against Bolton Wanderers. The club have won the FA Cup three times: in 1964, 1975 and 1980. They have also been runners-up twice, in 1923 and 2006.

In 1965, they won the European Cup Winners Cup, and in 1999 they won the Intertoto Cup. Their players are considered an important factor behind England‘s triumph in the 1966 World Cup, as England’s captain at the time was West Ham’s Bobby Moore, and both goalscorers were West Ham players.

They also won the inaugural Football League War Cup in 1940. The club’s best final league position is third place in the 1985–86 (old) First Division.

West Ham currently compete in the Premier League, and finished in 9th position in the 2008–09 season. They have been members of the Premier League for all but three seasons since its creation in 1992, and their highest finish in the Premier League was 5th in 1998–99.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, (pronounced /t??n?m?h?tsp?r/), commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English professional football club based in Tottenham, North London which currently plays in the Premier League. The club’s home stadium is White Hart Lane.

Tottenham Hotspur were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. In 1963, Spurs became the first British club to win a major European trophy – the European Cup Winners’ Cup. In the 1970s, they won the Football League Cup on two occasions and were the inaugural winners of the UEFA Cup in 1972. In the 1980s, Spurs won several trophies: the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield and the UEFA Cup 1983–84. In the 1990s, they won the FA Cup and the Football League Cup and in 2008, they beat Chelsea in the final of the Football League Cup. This victory means that Tottenham have won a trophy in each of the last six decades – an achievement only matched by Manchester United.

The club’s Latin motto is Audere est Facere (lit: “To Dare Is to Do”), and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football. The club has a long-standing rivalry with near neighbours Arsenal and matches between the two teams are known as the North London derby.

Sunderland Association Football Club (pronounced /?s?nd?rl?nd/) are a professional association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that compete in the Premier League. Since their formation in 1879, they have won six First Division titles—in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936 (see Sunderland A.F.C. seasons).

Founded by schoolteacher James Allan, Sunderland moved towards professionalism and they were elected into The Football League in 1890. Sunderland performed well in the league, earning plaudits such as a “wonderfully fine team”,^[2] and won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 3–1 victory over Preston North End. However, their achievements petered out, and they were relegated in 1958. They had remained in the top league for 68 successive seasons, a record surpassed only by Arsenal. Sunderland’s only triumph after the Second World War was their second FA Cup in 1973, when they secured a 1–0 victory over Leeds United thanks to a goal scored by Ian Porterfield.

Sunderland play their home games in the Stadium of Light, an all-seater, having moved from Roker Park in 1997 for a stadium of higher capacity. The ground initially held 42,000 supporters, but that was increased to 49,000 after redevelopment in 2000. Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United, with whom they have contested the Tyne–Wear derby since 1898.

Stoke City Football Club (pronounced /?sto?k ?s?ti/) is a football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Founded in 1863, Stoke is the oldest club in the Premier League, and thought to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County.

Stoke play their home fixtures at the Britannia Stadium, a 28,000 all-seater stadium. The stadium was opened in 1997; prior to this date Stoke had played at the Victoria Ground, which had been their home ground since 1878 (a record of 119 years currently shared with Wolverhampton Wanderers). The club’s nickname is The Potters (after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent) and their home kit is a red-and-white vertically striped shirt with white shorts and white socks.

Prior to their 2008 promotion, Stoke had not participated in top flight football since the 1984-85 season, in which they were relegated with a total of 17 points, a record low total for twenty-one years. Stoke’s first major trophy was won in the 1972 League Cup Final, when they beat Chelsea 2-1. The club have won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, firstly in 1992 and most recently in 2000.

Portsmouth Football Club (pronounced /?p??rtsm??/) is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey,^[1] sometimes called ‘The Blues’, with their fans known as ‘The Blue Army’. They play in the Premier League. They have played their home matches at Fratton Park since 1898.

The club is majority owned by the wealthy Al-Faraj family of Saudi-Arabia^[2]

Portsmouth have won the FA Cup twice, most recently in 2008. Pompey’s main rivals are Southampton, though they are now separated by two divisions.

The club was founded in the back garden on 5 April 1898 at 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth, with John Brickwood, owner of the local Brickwoods Brewery as chairman, and Frank Brettell as the club’s first manager. The club joined the Southern League in 1899 and their first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2 September 1899 (a 1-0 victory)^[3], followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park, a friendly against local rivals Southampton, which was won 2–0, with goals from Dan Cunliffe (formerly with Liverpool) and Harold Clarke (formerly with Everton).^[4] That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them the runner-up spot in the league. 1910-11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Robert Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.

Football was suspended during World War I, but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth won the Southern League for the second time. Continuing success saw them in the Third Division for the 1920-21 season. They finished 12th that year, but won the division in the 1923-24 season. The club continued to perform well in the Second Division, winning promotion by finishing 2nd in the 1926-27 season, gaining a record 9-1 win over Notts County along the way. Portsmouth’s debut season in the First Division was a struggle. The next season they continued to falter, losing 10-0 to Leicester City, still a club record defeat. However, despite their failings in the league, that season also saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change. The 1933-34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup Final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Birmingham City on the way. The club was again defeated in the final, this time to Manchester City. Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938-39 season saw Portsmouth reach their third FA Cup Final. This time the club managed to defeat the favourites, Wolves, convincingly 4-1. Bert Barlow and Jock Anderson scored whilst Cliff Parker scored twice (3rd and 4th) completed the famous victory. League football was again suspended due to World War II, meaning Pompey hold the unusual distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest uninterrupted period as the trophy wasn’t contested again until the 1945-46 season.

[edit] Post War Pompey : 1946 – 1971

League football resumed for the 1946-47 campaign. In Pompey’s Golden Jubilee season of 1948-49, the club were tipped to be the first team of the 20th century to win the Football League and FA Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw a record attendance of 51,385, a club record which still stands to this day.

In 1956 Portsmouth played the first league game under floodlights against Newcastle United on the 22nd of February.

The club retained the title the following year, beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the last day of the season, and are thus one of only five English teams to have won back to back titles since World War II. Although the team finished third in 1954-55, subsequent seasons saw Portsmouth struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959.

Portsmouth went down to the Third Division in 1961 (the first former English League champion team to do so) but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking under the guidance of George Smith. Despite limited financial means, Smith maintained Portsmouth’s Second Division status throughout the sixties until moving upstairs to become General Manager in April 1970.

[edit] John Deacon and Pompey: 1972 – 1988

A cash injection, that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, failed to improve Portsmouth’s league position. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Portsmouth were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.

In November 1976 the club found itself needing to raise £25,000 to pay off debts and so avoid bankruptcy. With players having to be sold to ease the club’s financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Portsmouth were forced to rely on an untried manager, Ian St John and inexperienced young players. Consequently, they were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1978.

Portsmouth were promoted back to Division Three in 1980, and in the 1982-83 season they won the Third Division championship, gaining promotion back to the Second Division. Under Alan Ball‘s management, Portsmouth narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in 1986-87. Unfortunately, by the middle of the 1987-88 season the club was again in grave financial trouble, and Portsmouth were relegated straight back to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former Queens Park Rangers Chairman, Jim Gregory.

[edit] Smith, Venables and Mandari?: 1991 – 2001

Jim Smith‘s arrival as manager at the start of the 1991-92 season, combined with the emergence of some good young players, sparked a revival in the team’s fortunes and that year Portsmouth reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing on penalties to eventual winners Liverpool after a replay. Portsmouth missed out on promotion to the FA Premier League only by virtue of having scored one less goal than West Ham United.

In the summer of 1996 Terry Venables arrived at Portsmouth as a consultant, later taking over as chairman after buying the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1996-97, beating FA Premier League side Leeds United en route, but finished just short of the qualifying places for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League.

Portsmouth’s centenary season, 1998-99, saw a serious financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Milan Mandari? saved the club with a takeover deal in May 1999, and the new chairman immediately started investing. However the club only survived on the last day of the 2000-2001 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.

[edit] Redknapp era: 2002 – 2008

Harry Redknapp took over as manager in early 2002, with Jim Smith returning to the club as assistant manager. Redknapp was able to make the most of Mandari?’s willingness to invest in players at a time when competitors were struggling after the collapse of ITV Digital’s television deal with the Football League. Just over a year later, Portsmouth were celebrating winning the Division One Championship and promotion to the Premier League, winning the title with a game to spare.^[5]

The club finished 13th, 16th and 17th in its first three Premier League seasons. Redknapp had resigned midway through the club’s second Premier League season, after a disagreement with Mandaric, and went on to manage bitter rivals Southampton, only to return just over a year later. In January 2006 Portsmouth was bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak and, with large amounts of money available for the manager to make record signings, the club finished the 2006-07 season in the top half of the table for the first time, only one point short of European qualification.

The 2007-08 season started with Portsmouth beating Liverpool 4-2 on penalties to win the Barclays Asia Trophy after a goalless draw, with Pompey goalkeeper David James saving penalties from Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres. It wasn’t to be the club’s only success that season as, in 2008, Portsmouth reached the FA Cup Final for the first time since 1939. They had eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter finals and the following day became the only Premier League team left in the cup, following Cardiff’s surprise win over Middlesbrough. Portsmouth immediately became favourites to win the cup; in a season noted for the scalping of favourites. They beat Championship side West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on 5 April at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals, the same day that the club celebrated its 110th birthday. Portsmouth went on to win the cup with a 1-0 win against Championship team Cardiff City. The win earned them a place in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, the club’s first time playing European football. Their first UEFA Cup match resulted in a historic 2-0 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes and went on to win the aggregate (4-2). This put Portsmouth in the group stages for the first time in its history.

[edit] Adams, Hart and Arabs: 2008 – present

On 25 October 2008, Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, this time to join Tottenham Hotspur as their new manager, replacing Juande Ramos. Following his departure, Redknapp’s assistant Tony Adams was promoted to the managerial role.

Adams’ official tenure began with a 0-1 defeat to Liverpool on 29 October 2008. On 27 November, Portsmouth managed a historic result against Italian giants AC Milan, going 2-0 up during the game and finishing at 2-2. However, results and performances of this ilk did not continue, and the FA Cup Holders bowed out of the 2009 competition at the 4th Round stage with a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Championship side Swansea City. Striker Jermain Defoe and midfielder Lassana Diarra departed in the January transfer window making things more difficult for Adams. Rumours of Adams’ dismissal began circulating on 8 February 2009^[6] and this was confirmed by the club on 9 February 2009 ^[7] Youth team coach Paul Hart took over as manager until the end of the season, with Brian Kidd assisting him, and oversaw an upturn in form that resulted in Portsmouth being guaranteed Premier League safety on 16 May; the club were not in action themselves that day, but Newcastle’s defeat by Fulham made Portsmouth mathematically safe with two games remaining. Portsmouth finished the 2008-09 season in 14th place.

On 26 May 2009, Portsmouth accepted a bid from United Arab Emirates businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim to buy the club following negotiations led by Portsmouth executive chairman Peter Storrie on behalf of club owner Alexandre Gaydamak.^[8] A statement released by the club read “Portsmouth Football Club can confirm that it has accepted an offer from Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim to buy the club, and has been completed” “Executive chairman Peter Storrie concluded the deal with Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim in Rome on Tuesday night the 26 May”.

Because of the financial problems suffered by the club, Portsmouth were forced to sell several of their top players and earners including Peter Crouch, Sylvain Distin, Niko Kranj?ar and Glen Johnson.

On 21 July, Al Fahim was appointed Non executive Chairman of Portsmouth. On Wednesday 19 August the official Portsmouth website announced that a rival consortium headed by current CEO Peter Storrie had also made a bid for the club; unknown at the time, this was backed by Ali al-Faraj. Despite this, Al Fahim completed the takeover on 26 August; Al Faraj moved to review a takeover of West Ham United.

As the early stages of the 2009/10 season progressed the finances dried up and the club admitted on 1 October that some of their players and staff had not been paid. On 3 October, media outlets started to report that a deal was nearing completion for Ali al-Faraj to take control of the club. On Monday 5 October, a deal was agreed for al Faraj and his associates via British Virgin Islands registered company Falcondrone to hold a 90% majority holding, with Al-Fahim retaining 10% stake and the title of non-executive Chairman for two years.^[9][10][11] Falcondrone also agreed a deal with Gaydamak the right to buy, for £1, Miland Development (2004) Ltd, which owns various strategic pockets of land around the ground, once refinancing is complete.^[12]

2 days after the al-Faraj takeover was completed Portsmouth’s former Technical Director Avram Grant returned as Director of football. ^[13]