CHELSEA WIN THE CUP!

 

 

The last time Chelsea reached the FA Cup final was back in '07. Back then Jose Mourinho was still the gaffer and the Blues beat Premiership title rivals United 1-0 at Wembley in extra time in a match that despite being a heavyweight contest, will never go down as a classic. The last time Everton reached the FA Cup final, they also beat United at Wembley, and again they won 1-0 with Joe Royle as manager and Paul Rideout hitting the winner. I was in secondary school at the time ad watched the game at Sam's place - when he was still a United fan. Another not-so-happy moment of my life. Despite the heritage of both teams, the two sides haven't faced each other in the final before.

This year, that's changed. Chelsea are now, briefly managed by Guus Hiddink. Again they have missed out on the Premiership title and Champions League but at least the Russian has been given one last chance to claim some silverware. Everton are a more solid unit but one even more hungry for silverware. There are enough former United players in their lineup, not that their previous history counts for much, as proved when they knocked us out in the semis. The two sides meeting at Wembley had the feel of a potentially tasty matchup, Chelsea having the class to be favourites but Everton having enough quality of their own to give them a match.

And in just 25 seconds, the Toffees proved it. Marouane Fellaini crossed the ball to ex-United assasin Louis Saha and as the ball hit the net, my jaw hit the floor. Chelsea quickly went on the attack themselves but their early efforts came to nothing. The equaliser came in the 21st minute with Florent Malouda crossing to Didier Drogba who headed home. After that, the Champions League team proved themselves to be the stronger side, any Everton effort to get back in from were smothered. Chelsea weren't quite able to turn the game around before half time though. Credit to Everton for staying in the match, this was proving to be one of the more interestinf finals.

Evertom brought on some fresh legs at half time and it turned out to be a smart move by David Moyes and Chelsea's attack started running into roadblocks and Everton built from there. Neither side looked like hitting the net though and there was a concern that the game would go into extra time. That was dispelled in the 72nd minute though when Nicolas Anelka found Frank Lampard who scorcehed it into the top corner. Chelsea fans will say that they should have gotten a third goal and yes it did cross the line, but wasn't given. At the other end, Everton looked to have run out of fuel. A good match, apparantly watched by 500 million worldwide and from a neutral POV, the right side won.

So congratulations to Chelsea, the 2009 FA Cup winners. For the Blues it's their second FA Cup in three years. Not so bad. There were two funny things about this match though. Firstly, it came after the Champions League final and in the 21st century, that gave it a slightly anti-climatic feel. Secondly, Guus Hiddink flew to Moscow that very night to watch the Russian Cup final the following day. Yep Chelsea have another manager, Carlo Ancelotti, flown in from AC Milan. If he's still at Stamford Bridge in 2009/10 that it'll be evidence that Roman Abramovich has grown a brain. In theory, Chelsea could still be a threat to United in the Premiership next season but they do have this habit of self-destruction so I'll believe a serious challenge from them when I see it.

And with that, the 2008/09 club season is over. Time to see what the Three Lions can do.

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