Chelsea had the undisputed honour of being the first team to win the FA Cup at the New Wembley Stadium, when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 126th FA Cup Final on Saturday, 19 May 2007.
The match at the new Wembley was watched by a crowd of 89,826 spectators.
Didier Drogba scored the only goal of the game during extra-time – in the 116th minute to be exact – to seal a domestic cup double for Chelsea as they’d won the League Cup earlier in the season.
The victory was Chelsea’s fourth FA Cup triumph in their history, and their first since 2000.
The defeat was a disappointing end to Manchester United’s season, as they had already won the Premier League title and had been hoping to complete a domestic double
Here are the starting line-ups for both teams in the final:
Chelsea
- Petr Cech (GK)
- Geremi
- Ashley Cole
- Michael Essien
- Ricardo Carvalho
- John Terry (c)
- Frank Lampard
- Claude Makelele
- Didier Drogba
- Joe Cole
- Andriy Shevchenko
Substitutes:
- Carlo Cudicini (GK)
- Khalid Boulahrouz
- Salomon Kalou
- Shaun Wright-Phillips
- Michael Ballack
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Manchester United
- Edwin van der Sar (GK)
- Gary Neville (c)
- Patrice Evra
- Wes Brown
- Rio Ferdinand
- Michael Carrick
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Paul Scholes
- Wayne Rooney
- Ryan Giggs
- Louis Saha
Substitutes:
- Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
- John O’Shea
- Owen Hargreaves
- Darren Fletcher
- Henrik Larsson
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
Match Officials
Referee: Steve Bennett
Assistant Referees: Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann
Fourth Official: Howard Webb
Who is Didier Drogba?
Didier Drogba was a Ivorian professional footballer who played as a striker. He retired from professional football in 2018.
During his career, he scored a total of 367 goals in 679 appearances for club and country. Drogba is best known for his successful career at Chelsea FC, where he scored 164 goals in 381 appearances and won numerous domestic and international titles.
He also represented the Ivory Coast national team, scoring 65 goals in 104 appearances and leading them to their first-ever World Cup appearance in 2006.
How long had the FA Cup Final been played at the old Wembley Stadium?
The FA Cup Final was played at the old Wembley Stadium since 1923, although the very first FA Cup Final was in 1872. During this time, the stadium became synonymous with the FA Cup Final and was regarded as one of the most iconic venues in world football.
Some of the most memorable moments in the history of the FA Cup Final, such as the “White Horse Final” in 1923 and the “Gazza tears” in 1991, took place at the old Wembley Stadium. However, by the late 1990s, the stadium had become outdated and in need of major renovation, which led to the decision to demolish it and build a new stadium on the same site.