Memorable FA Cup moments from this millennium
The FA Cup has returned! At least for fans like us, who get to follow it from the 3rd round onwards when the big players from The Premier League enter the competition.
The oldest tournament in the world is renowned for bringing the romance back in football every now and then. Now, I have been following football only for a good part of the last decade. So, of its 130 year old history let us reminisce some of the best moments in the FA Cup since 2000.
1. 2006 Cup Final
Let us begin with my favourite.
The FA Cup final, 2006. The 91st minute! Liverpool trailing, a goal down!
Liverpool attack with a long ball, the ball is cleared and falls at a player 30 feet away from the goal. Surely, he is too far out. No! Not for Gerrard. Certainly not when Stevie G is playing for Liverpool; that too in a big game! He volleys… do I need to say more?
To say that it is an incredible goal is an understatement! Even movie script writers can’t come up with better stuff. (Just ask Dhana Dhan Goal’s scriptwriters; they came up with a broken nose and a bicycle kick if I remember right!)
It is not just the Gerrard equaliser, it was the whole game that was so enthralling. Liverpool fell 2-0 behind before getting one back through Cisse. A Konchesky cross that went straight into the goal meant it was up to Gerrard again to pull Liverpool back into the game, as he scored with two wonderful volleys. The rest, as they say, is history.
If you thought the game could not get any more interesting, Cisse in fact wore boots of two different colours in it! Classic Cisse.
2. Millwall – 2004 final!
Millwall became the first team in the top flight to reach the FA Cup final in 12 years. But they certainly had more than their share of luck in this campaign.
They did not face a single Premier League outfit in their run to the final! Some luck of the draw!
They did eventually face a top flight side, Manchester United, in the final where Millwall were convincingly beaten 3-0, thanks to a Van Nistelrooy brace and a header from a young Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tim Cahill was the star performer of the team and the Aussie was unfortunately again in the losing side in the final against Chelsea in 2009.
3. Jimmy Traore masterclass
This is probably the funniest moment in the FA Cup in the last decade or so. Just watch this.
As you guessed it, Liverpool were knocked out in the first round, thanks to Jimmy Traore.
PS: Don’t judge him guys, he is a champions League winner.
4. Manchester United 0-1 Leeds United, 3rd round 2010.
This one is for the true romantics.
Forty two league places separated the two sides, Leeds United from League One and Manchester United. Since Leeds’ relegation,the Lancashire-Yorkshire derby had lost most of its steam, well because they dint play each other much.
This was an easy tie for United, Manchester that is, and on paper at the least, it should have been. For starters, both Rooney and Berbatov were starting the game. But it was Beckford from Leeds who stole the headlines.
Jermaine Beckford silenced the Old Trafford crowd in the 19th minute, and took Leeds to the next round. On the other hand it was the first time that Sir Alex had lost in the third round and the first time his side lost to a lower league side in the FA Cup in his reign.
For those of you thinking, the victory might have been a lucky flash in the pan, well, Leeds had more possession, 54%. Manchester United were simply poor.
5. Saha’s fastest goal in history of FA Cup Finals, 2009.
Louis Saha scored the fastest goal in the final’s history, in 25 seconds, for Everton. Again, a volley. Prior to this, he had missed 4 finals by way of unavailability or injuries.
Unfortunately, he ended up in the losing side as Chelsea crawled back to win the game 2-1, Lampard winning it with a beautiful left footed strike.
6. Owen scores twice in the last ten minutes, FA Cup final 2001.
Liverpool came back from behind to get past Arsenal and win the Cup 2-1, on the way to a Treble Cup winning campaign in 2000-01. Yup, even Liverpool have a treble winning season of their own (League, UEFA and FA).
Why not many talk about this incredible achievement as much as they do about United’s treble season of 99, I would never know. For this is impressive as well. So what if the three trophies don’t include the Premier League and the Champions League. Every team enters a competition to win it. And to win 3 out of 4 that you play in is simply commendable.
Owen scored twice in the Final of the FA Cup on a Sunday and then Liverpool went on to lift the UEFA Cup the following Thursday.
7. Final’s temporary move to Cardiff
The Final had to be temporarily moved to the Millenium Stadium in the Welsh city of Cardiff, from 2001 to 2006, as the old Wembley was demolished and renovated to a modern state of the art multi-purpose stadium.
Interestingly both the first and the last finals were won by Liverpool, first in 2001 and then in 2006. Originally the 2006 final was scheduled to be the first in the new Wembley.
The first final in the new Wembley (2007) was aptly played between arguably the two best sides in the country, Manchester United and Chelsea. But in an ironic fashion, the two teams played out a dull and cagey affair with Chelsea edging out United with an extra time goal.
An honourable mention here for United, as they played a Premier League outfit in each of their rounds on their way to the final, a feat they last achieved in 1948.
8. FA Cup Season 2007-08
2007-08 was truly the year of the underdog. The competition gave the nation and the footballing world a glimpse of what essentially the competition is still all about. Small teams playing in a packed Wembley for a major top filght trophy.
The semi-final line-up in 2007-08 included just one team from the Premier League, Portsmouth, the first time it has happened since 1908. The rest of the three semi-finalists were Cardiff City, West Bromwich Albion and Barnsley.
Portsmouth won the final against Cardiff 1-0 to lift their first major trophy since 1950.
9. Portsmouth reach the final again in 2010
Portsmouth managed to reach their second FA Cup final in 3 year, having already been relegated to the Championship!
Following financial and administrative difficulties, Portsmouth received a 9 point-penalty which resigned the team to almost certain relegation. Having had many players laid off and unpaid, they still managed to reach the finals beating Spurs in the semis. In the final they lost to Chelsea 1-0 and have been playing in the Championship since.
10. Manchester City’s first major trophy in 35 years, FA Cup 2011
This one has probably, the most significance in contemporary football.
The lifting of the trophy by City announced their arrival as the next big thing in European football. Having bagged their first major trophy since 1976, City will look for greater success in Europe and England.
They beat Stoke City in the final and Manchester United in the semis. Both matches had the same score-line and goal-scorer, 1-0 and Yaya Toure, respectively.
Guys my memory is weak and essentially biased towards the bigger teams in England and more so towards United, so I apologise if I overlooked or forgot some other significant moment involving any team.
I am sure you have your own favourite moment in the FA Cup. Please share it in the comments so that we can all enjoy recollecting it.
PS. Almost all the FA Cup final videos are available on Youtube.