But you already know what happened next. But as a moment of high drama, importance and skill, 1997 will always be hard to beat. It was just a fantastic feeling, I had goose pimples. Middlesbrough kicked off but Italy international Di Matteo picked up the ball in his own half 35 seconds into the game. Saha's goal beat the 42-second strike by Roberto di Matteo for Chelsea against Middlesbrough in the 1997 final, which was the earliest goal scored in an FA Cup final at the old Wembley. Middlesbrough kick-off but Italy international Roberto Di Matteo picks up the ball in his own half 35 seconds into the game.. Lets be honest, there was no doubting that JT would be included here! FA Cup: 50 memorable goals - Roberto Di Matteo's speedy strike, Top 50 FA Cup goals: Di Matteo's drive. Association football championship match between Chelsea and Middlesbrough, held in 1997, controversial relegation from the Premier League, "Where are they now? It may have been devalued a little in recent years thanks to the cold, hard cash on offer in other competitions, but it remains one of the top honours a footballer in England can ever hope to win, and it continues to make dreams come true. The Gunners led 1-0 through Freddie Ljungberg but 21-year-old England striker Owen equalised with seven minutes left with an acrobatic finish. The only free-kick in the top 10, and it came after a foul that is perhaps as famous as the goal itself. Video, 00:05:02, From Football Manager to football manager, Potter insists there are positives within Chelsea camp. SPFL: Premiership winner, relegation and top scorer markets settled, Real Madrid favourites to sign Sadio Mane, Stoke sweating for more than one reason ahead of Liverpool trip, Chelsea poised for summer clear out as Oscar deal moves closer, Punters urged to keep slips if backing Guardiola for Chelsea. I managed to score the goal, which helped us massively, but it is a team effort. Read about our approach to external linking. In extra time, Whiteside dribbled in off the right flank before performing a step-over and curling a perfect arcing shot around defender Pat van den Hauwe, past Neville Southall and into the far corner for the only goal of the game. Steven Gerrard's long-range goal against West Ham United in 2006 has come top in a vote to find the best FA Cup final goal from the last 50 years. Without everybody being together and working towards an objective, you will not achieve anything. The goal that won us the #FACupTake. [1] For Middlesbrough, it was a second final defeat of the 199697 season (having lost the League Cup Final to Leicester City the previous month), to go with their controversial relegation from the Premier League. He has also reported on the England national team between 2008-19 and been a regular contributor to talkSPORT radio station for over a decade. Minto, who was appearing in his first, and only, final of his professional career, says: All of us were relaxed. Louis Saha scored an even quicker goal for Everton against the Stamford Bridge club in 2009. Left-back Pearce stepped up to thunder a left-foot rocket past Erik Thorstvedt into the top corner, but Spurs went on to win 2-1 with Des Walker scoring an extra-time own goal. But if I can say that it is because football is a team sport. Read about our approach to external linking. In Switzerland they didn't show many English matches, but the final was always the one they showed live. Other Chelsea players were pushing forward too, including right-back Frank Sinclair. It was a very good idea. Ricky Villa, who had scored the opening goal, dribbled brilliantly through the City defence and turned the ball past onrushing keeper Joe Corrigan to make it 3-2 and win the FA Cup. Not only is it a thing of beauty it is the start of everything for Chelsea in the modern day. Video, 00:01:05Potter insists there are positives within Chelsea camp. Di Matteo does it again | Soccer | The Guardian Since the 1990s games have been held at both the new and old Wembley Stadium, plus the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, all of which feature in our top four FA Cup final goals. Everyone was chasing me. This one makes the cut just for the sheer out-of-nowhere-ness of it. Cooke played a major part in our win over Leeds, with a sublime pass to set up Osgood for that iconic diving header. Let us know your favouriteDownload Chelsea FC's official mobile app:-App Store https://apple.co/2vvlN9t-Play Store http://bit.ly/2MfNJHX Subscribe: http://che.lc/YTsubscribeTo watch more EXCLUSIVE Chelsea content go to: http://che.lc/YTwebsiteWelcome to the official home of Chelsea Football Club on YouTube. He scored in the Carabao Cup Final and FA Cup victories in 1998 and 2000 respectively. The Fastest FA Cup Final Goal - Quiz Monkey A. Listen to BBC Radio 5 live's podcast on the top 10 FA Cup final goals of the last 50 years. 'Massive performance' from Man Utd - Ten Hag. [15] Di Matteo's goal was the fastest in a Wembley FA Cup final until the record was broken by Louis Saha for Everton in 2009. Since then, they have won consistently.. Read about our approach to external linking. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fastest ever FA Cup Final goal | Di Matteo doing bits on the phone 2007 It took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was contested by Chelsea and Middlesbrough, the North East club appearing in its first FA Cup Final. Video, 00:01:05, Potter insists there are positives within Chelsea camp, Can Everton ever be great again? Chelsea cruelly expose Boro fault lines - The Independent But on his home debut in Englands top division in August 1996, the elegant midfielder made his mark, stroking the ball from 25 yards out to provide Chelseas first win over Middlesbrough that season. Can Everton ever be great again? They were a team renowned for a silky playing style under head coach Ruud Gullit and their opponents had just been relegated from the Premier League. No. The sole entry of our 1970 winning side. The 2006 FA Cup Final will forever be known as The Gerrard Final. 1. When they have finished, you can vote for which you think is your clubs best and discuss what we got right/wrong. Eddie Newton added a late second as Chelsea won 2-0 to end their trophy drought. In a largely disappointing match, in which Chelsea were generally in control, Chelsea eventually added a second goal seven minutes from full-time with Eddie Newton steering the ball into the net from Gianfranco Zola's clever flick to seal a 20 win.[3]. His reputation had been growing steadily, but what happened next changed his life for good. This is the reason we're all here.It was one of the first games in the UK with a substantial amount of fans in attendance in more than a year, and they were all treated to an absolute scorcher.Why none of the Chelsea midfielders elected to close him down is anyone's guess but take nothing away from the strike as Tielemans arrowed one across Kepa Arrizabalaga right into the top corner.The precision and height of the ball made for one of the most aesthetically pleasing strikes you're ever likely to see. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Video, 00:01:00No regrets starting Kane on bench - Stellini, Whoops! You'll have to skip to 4.30 in the video above to see it, but Drogba's deft one-two with Lampard, before running onto the ball and lifting it beyond Edwin van der Sar is just *chef's kiss*. His skillfull abilities made him one of the Blues best assets during the late 90's. He scored 9 goals in his debut season and helped Chelsea to get to the 1997 FA Cup Final. Video, 00:01:48 Top 50 FA Cup goals: Di Matteo's . ; Blue heaven in 43 seconds", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1997_FA_Cup_final&oldid=1133695092, May 1997 sports events in the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 02:27. With the Hammers winning 3-2 entering injury time, a header clear dropped to Gerrard who, despite hobbling with cramp, thumped a first-time shot from 35 yards past Shaka Hislop into the bottom corner. Fifteen years later as caretaker manager, Di Matteo led Chelsea to their only Champions League success to date, only to be sacked months later. He wasnt in the middle of all the celebrations just to the side, chipping in.. Just ask Leicester City, who won the competition for the first time ever in 2021, and did so thanks to one of the best goals you are ever likely to see from Youri Tielemans. Skip to main content. Winning silverware has become a common occurrence in the Roman Abramovich era the club have collected 16 major trophies since the multi-billionaire arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2003. FA Cup: 50 memorable goals - Roberto Di Matteo's speedy strike Seven seconds. Global Edition. A simple pass found Di Matteo unmarked on the edge of the centre circle and he set off on a 40-yard run with no-one making much of an effort to stop him. Ahead of Saturday's Wembley showdown between Arsenal and Aston Villa, which will be shown live on the BBC, we wanted you to let us know which is your favourite final goal. West Ham had one hand on the trophy and were minutes away from causing an upset, until Gerrard fired a low drive from 35 yards past Shaka Hislop to level the game at 3-3. This winning goal was half of a memorable brace from Owen in the first FA Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium while Wembley was being rebuilt. Tottenham's Paul Gascoigne brought down Gary Charles, causing damage to his own knee ligaments that would keep him out of the game for almost a year. When it comes to naming the most important Chelsea goal in modern times, one stands out from all the rest. Only 43 seconds had elapsed and, at the time, it was the fastest goal scored in an FA Cup final at Wembley a record since surpassed by Louis Saha, who netted against the Blues for Everton in 2009 after 25 seconds but Di Matteo took it all in his stride. Middlesbrough played a part in their own downfall. $count = count($specifications_fields['footer_content']['footer_assoc'])?>. There could only really be one, couldn't there?With just 42 seconds on the clock, Di Matteo's spectacular strike against Middlesbrough was the fastest goal in FA Cup final history and remained such for 12 years until Louis Saha came along.More importantly, though, it was a thunderbastard of a strike.The diminutive Italian brought the ball forward from inside his own half and unloaded his strike from such a ludicrous distance that you can't even blame any of the Boro defenders for failing to close him down. Well, it hasn't been branded 'The Gerrard Final' for nothing. Saha may have scored the fastest FA final goal ever after just 25 seconds, but this match-winning strike from Lampard meant Chelsea won 2-1 after Drogba's equaliser. Oh no, the competition's 149-year history has seen some absolute screamers, and we're here to celebrate the very best of them.