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Pascal Chimbonda's performances for Wigan Athletic in his first
season in English football earned him places in both the Premiership
team of the year and the French 2006 World Cup squad, but the full back
ended the domestic campaign in acrimonious circumstances. Moments after
the final whistle of Wigan's final league game of the season, Chimbonda
handed in a transfer request, sparking fury from manager Paul Jewell who
stated he would not be sold for any less than £6m. It was not until the
final hours of the summer transfer window that Chimbonda's wish to
leave the Lancashire club was granted when he joined Tottenham Hotspur
for a knock down fee of £4.5m.
Whilst he was primarily signed as
an alternative to right back Paul Stalteri, Pascal's ability to play
across any position in the back four was a key factor in Martin Jol's
decision to bring the Frenchman to White Hart Lane. Despite making a
losing debut in a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford, Chimbonda settled in
quickly, making the right back position his own as he forged a potent
attacking partnership with Aaron Lennon down the Tottenham right flank.
Pascal's versatility was called upon late on in his first season as an
injury crisis blighted Tottenham's defence just in time for their
biggest game of the season, the UEFA cup quarter-final with Sevilla. An
unfortunate 2-1 reverse in the first game in Spain set up an intriguing
second leg in North London, but with no recognised left back fit to face
the Spaniards, Chimbonda switched flanks to fill the void. However,
Sevilla exposed his lack of experience in this position and after 5
minutes, Spurs were 2-0 down on the night, effectively ending that
season's European campaign.
The 2007-08 campaign threatened to be
yet another transitional season for Tottenham Hotspur once Martin Jol
was sacked early on, but the arrival of Juande Ramos from Sevilla
brought the club its first silverware in 9 years with success in the
Carling Cup, a cup run that Chimbonda featured heavily in for both good
and bad reasons. Pascal scored the second goal in a 2-0 defeat of
Blackpool in the 4th round and filled in at centre back following the
dismissal of Didier Zokora as the 10-men of Tottenham inflicted
Manchester City's first home defeat of the season in the quarter-final.
After comfortably disposing of their North-London rivals Arsenal 6-2 on
aggregate in the semi-final, Spurs faced Chelsea in the first League Cup
final held at the new Wembley, a game that would signal the start of
the end of Chimbonda's spell at White Hart Lane. Alan Hutton's arrival
from Rangers earlier in the year meant Pascal started the final at left
back, but with Tottenham trailing 1-0 manager Ramos opted to replace him
with the more creative Tom Huddlestone, a decision that was greeted
with disgust from the Frenchmen, who traipsed off the pitch and straight
down the tunnel. Although he returned to the bench shortly afterwards
and actively joined in with the team celebrations at the final whistle,
his act of petulance did little to appease him to both fans and
management alike.
Following their Wembley success, Tottenham only
had the UEFA cup left to play for, so their exit from the competition
to PSV Eindhoven on penalties, in which Chimbonda's missed penalty sent
the Dutch team through, signalled a premature end to Tottenham's season.
For the remainder of the campaign, Pascal was utilised as a left back
but his tantrum at Wembley meant his days at White Hart Lane were
numbered so it was no surprise when he left the club to join Sunderland
in July 2008 for an undisclosed fee. (Stephen Bradley)
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