Wayne Rooney is 21 and this is his second FA Cup Final.
He lost the first to Arsenal on penalties in Cardiff on Saturday May 21, 2005, and now he is back at Wembley two years later.
The world’s most expensive stadium, which cost £798 million, is an ideal stage for England’s two best teams and the Premiership’s two most expensive strikers.
Didier Drogba was 29 on the day of the quarter-final against Spurs at Stamford Bridge, when Chelsea survived after going 3-1 down when Aaron Lennon gave Mikel the runaround. Lampard got two and then Drogba kept Chelsea in the cup with a perfectly measured knockdown to Kalou, who volleyed home for 3-3 and a replay at the Lane.
When Chelsea played Liverpool in it was a yawn for 42 minutes, a tactical stand-off. Then Drogba, so athletic that he can pounce backwards, chested a long ball back into D and somehow hit a half-volley that was awesome and Chelsea won 1-0.
That was the week that Arsene Wenger said, “It cannot be the ambition of a big manager to win ugly.”
On the day before Chelsea played Arsenal, Drogba said, “I’ve only been at a big, big level for four years.” That was true. A late developer who grabbed headlines with 11 goals in a European season for Marseilles -some in the Champions League, some in the Uefa Cup – Drogba was previously a playboy in the French lower leagues, clubbing and eating four Mars bars a day.
Football is about players, so this FA Cup Final will be about players, but we may see a contest which clearly defines two very different managerial methods.
Jose Mourinho is 44 and has won everything except the FA Cup, while Sir Alex Ferguson is 66 and really wanted to win the European Cup again. So Sir Alex will be more relaxed on the day.His job has not been offered to Klinsmann or Hiddink.
Mourinho has an approach that is combative, based on organised force, strength, stamina, perseverance, the ability to wear teams down, a belief that Drogba will eventually produce a shot or a header or knockdown to win the game.
In this demonstration of disciplined power, his pivotal player is Michael Essien. For Mourinho it’s : Make sure you don’t concede, then score. For Sir Alex it’s : Go out and play and score three goals. His approach is also very combative but it’s : win your tackles, keep attacking, keep trying things.
So Saturday’s final, really, is about flair and momentum versus organisation. It’s the irresistible force of the red devils, who can be thrilling attackers, against the defensive strength of the patched-up blue champions of 2006 and 2005.
With Carvalho out injured, tiny anchorman Claude Makelele will play a crucial role, reading moves, volleying lateral passes of perfect weight, slowing the game down by making it look easy, passes that seem to tell his teammates : take your time, get it right.
I wonder about John Terry. His face doesn’t look the same as it looked before he headed Diaby’s boot in Cardiff on February 25.
But, as I say, it’s mainly interesting as a clash of football philosophies. Jose’s way of winning is : keep a clean sheet, then score. Sir Alex’s way is : Go out and express yourselves, you’re better than them, you can score more goals, you’ve proved that, so use your skills to beat them.
Recently, Chelsea look burned out and it’s as if Mourinho’s aggressive and paranoid style has worn him down and worn his team down. You can see it in every game Chelsea have played in the last two months. Their game had become cruder, more primitive : mark your man, win your duel, hit Drogba with a long ball. As the games have become more important, as the pressures have increased, as injuries took their toll, they’ve gone more direct. And Drogba, a super-athletic centre forward, does love to be hit by an early ball, so that he can invent explosive moments.
Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich, accompanied by his Russian mates, looks down from on high and wants his team to be loved, not hated. He knows that Chelsea’s style is not attractive and doesn’t win the hearts and minds of neutrals, and that Mourinho’s public relations are terrible because he is so paranoid, so egotistical. The manager will gladly settle for being the most successful bad guy in world football. He didn’t have a playing career, so he needs the attention. If Chelsea win he’ll probably dive onto his knees with both fists clenched.
Also, Mourinho’s man-management style can be very harsh and judgmental. It’s the opposite of Arsene Wenger’s mollycoddling approach, as we’ve seen again this week when he demanded more effort from Shevchenko in future. When asked if the Ukrainian was under an obligation to improve next season, Mourinho said: “That’s up to him, it’s up to him. Hopefully he’s not happy with the season he has given us. I hope he’s not happy with what he gave to this team. If he’s not happy, then that’s a good start. He’s a Chelsea player. He has a contract. And if he’s not happy and if he wants to try everything for us, it’s up to him.”
Poor old Sheva is injured and it must be galling for the manager to ignore the contribution that he has made in giving Drogba a kick up the arse, and in taking defenders away from the big man. Still, the fans watching all round the world know that it’s all about what the players do on the day.
Can Vidic and Ferdinand contain the 32-goal Drogba? Will Ronaldo’s shot fly just inside the post or just outside? Will Rooney shine on English football’s biggest day? Will the headlines go to a player we did not expect to score?
Typically, Mourinho has got his retaliation in first. Two weeks ago he said Cristiano Ronaldo was “uneducated” and now he has warned the Footballer of the Year not to dive in the Cup Final. He said, “Ronaldo is a big player. But if he wants to be a bigger one, he must be fair with his opponents. The final should be played with happiness. I’ll be disappointed if some players are diving and trying to get the opposition red cards on Saturday.
“I don’t want to see any provocation. It will be sad if it is not a good and fair event — with good winners and proud losers.”
It’s the first global event at the new Wembley, so let’s hope it’s an exciting game and that everything works. Maybe, just maybe, Manchester United can thump Chelsea 3-1 in a classic. Or maybe Chelsea will win ugly. If they do then Jose Mourinho can strut around west London with his Yorkshire terrier, calling, “Come on, boy. Come on, Gullit !”
His dog is called Gullit, we now discover.
PS The dog is a bitch called Leya.
PPS.On a cool,windy Saturday morning in north London, I’ve got a feeling that, like Sevilla-Espanyol, this final will be a draw after 90 minutes. But if Rooney has a quiet game, and Ronaldo shows off too much, and Fergie picks Darren Fletcher, Chelsea will not need more than 90 minutes to win this FA Cup.
Tactically, they can control a game better than United. Of late, Rooney has been a rescuer like Rebrov was for Dynamo Kiev, a scorer of vital late goals.Another late strike might be needed to take United into extra time