Bangkok--20 May-- Join guest pundit Mark Schwarzer from Middlesbrough for the culmination of the English Football Season As the English football season comes to a close, STAR Sports (True Visions Ch.65, 66) brings you the LIVE broadcast of the thrilling FA Cup Final on 17 May, together with Middlesbrough goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, who will be sharing his insights as a guest pundit for Asia’s No. 1 Sports Broadcaster. After 9 exciting months full of memorable upsets, this Saturday's showpiece between second division club Cardiff City and Premier League side Portsmouth is a fitting end to a wonderful season filled with gripping moments. The Australian will have plenty of opinions on the underdog Cardiff City, who dramatically ousted Middlesbrough in the sixth round of the competition. With so many pre-match opinions flying fast and furious, only STAR Sports will bring you exclusive insights from the insider. Said Schwarzer on why Portsmouth could win it: “Portsmouth are used to playing against Premier League sides so they have right attitude and mindset to take them through the final. Furthermore, Portsmouth has never won the FA Cup before so they will be hungry for it.” On what Cardiff City can do score an upset: “Making it into the FA Cup Final is already a huge achievement for Cardiff City and they will play with nothing to lose. They will certainly use this to their advantage. Cardiff City are possibly even hungrier than Portsmouth so this could give them a psychological edge. I’d say they should settle in quickly and get an early goal to stun the opposition and give Portsmouth a good jolt.” Kindly refer to the attached transcript for more quotes from Schwarzer. Second division teams reached the final four times in eight seasons from 1973 and Cardiff City have a great chance to match the achievements of upset winners Sunderland, Southampton and West Ham United, the last second-tier team to win the Cup in 1980. Catch the curtain call of the English season this Saturday, 17 May, with the live studio match preview at 2000BKK and the live match at 2100BKK, only on STAR Sports. About ESPN STAR Sports ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies — Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) — to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services. 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For more information, please contact: Tom Van Blarcom / Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Tel: +66 (0) 2260 5820 Email: [email protected] Mark Schwarzer Exclusive quotes on the FA Cup Final 2008 Cardiff is undoubtedly the underdog going into this final. How would you rate their chances? I won’t bet on them. Having said that, although everyone is writing them off and saying it’s a foregone conclusion, anything can happen in football. Cardiff City have got good players like Robbie Fowler and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink so they are no walkover. The Premier League clubs are traditionally the favourites to win in an FA Cup final but should anyone trust Portsmouth given they have lost their last four matches and won only once since their narrow victory over West Bromwich Albion in the FA semi-final? I think that’s because Portsmouth has focused very much on the FA Cup and not so much on the Premier League. The team has maintained its fitness throughout the tournament; no player has been sent off. Everyone’s fit and ready for the final and it’s hard not to see Portsmouth win it. That being said, it would be nice to see Cardiff City win it because at least I can say we (Middlesbrough) were defeated by the FA Cup Champion and not feel as bad! But if you had to pick one? Portsmouth. Having played against Cardiff (and lost), how should Pompey try to stop the Bluebirds? Don’t underestimate them and keep the pressure on. Portsmouth are used to playing against Premier League sides so they have right attitude and mindset to take them through the final. Furthermore, Portsmouth has never won the FA Cup before so they will be hungry for it. And what should Cardiff City do to score an upset? Making it into the FA Cup Final is already a huge achievement for Cardiff City and they will play with nothing to lose. They will certainly use this to their advantage. Cardiff City are possibly even hungrier than Portsmouth so this could give them a psychological edge. I’d say they should settle in quickly and get an early goal to stun the opposition and give Portsmouth a good jolt. In particular, what do you think the Pompey defence needs to do to put the brakes on Cardiff’s Aaron Ramsey? Keep it tight and don’t drop too deep. Close down on him quickly, leave him no space at all and give him no time on the ball. Do you think the FA Cup Final is less significant this year since none of the big four are in the final? Not at all. All the big teams, except Arsenal, have all played with the same mindset — to win. I think everyone is genuinely surprised to see the big four get knocked out as most of us were counting on them to get through. All teams take the competition seriously and play to win. At the end of the day, any team that gets to the FA Cup final deserves it and just because it’s none of the big fours teams doesn’t take the shine off Cardiff and Portsmouth’s success one bit nor does it mean that the FA Cup is any less significant. Is the FA Cup still relevant? Of course. It’s a big tournament and a measure of some success. Instead of having the Premiership teams win everything, I think the FA Cup gives lesser teams an opportunity to get in the limelight a bit and win some silverware. What do you think of the Australian influence on the Barclays Premier League? It’s been a very strong influence on the Premier League for the last 5-10 years. It’s the best league in the world so it’s very encouraging to see young Aussies make such an impact. It’s good for Australian football as a whole as these youngsters get to play with the best players in the world day in, day out, which can only improve their game. Aussies and the English share a similar, hardworking mentality so it also encourages English clubs to look out for Aussie players. What’s your view on Australian football? We’re in a transitional state right now. Some key players have retired and we’re seeing players previously on the fringe coming forward to make themselves heard, so to speak. The Australian football league is growing, we’re seeing new faces on the scene and we’re preparing for the World Cup 2010 campaign, which will give us an opportunity to play world-class football. All in all, I’m looking forward to the future.