1997 FA Cup final

Match programme

Event

1996–97 FA Cup

Chelsea	Middlesbrough

2	0

Date

17 May 1997

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Man of the Match

Roberto Di Matteo

Referee

Stephen Lodge (South Yorkshire)

Attendance

79,160

← 1996

1998 →

The 1997 FA Cup final was the 116th final of the FA Cup. 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.

Chelsea won 2–0 to win the FA Cup for the second time, the first having come in 1970. It was also the club's first major trophy in 26 years.

It was the first major honour in the career of most Chelsea's players, but for Mark Hughes, it was the fourth time that he had featured in an FA Cup winning side (having played on the winning Manchester United teams of 1985, 1990 and 1994).^[1] For Middlesbrough, it was a second final defeat of the 1996–97 season (having lost the League Cup Final to Leicester City the previous month), to go with their controversial relegation from the Premier League.

Road to Wembley

Chelsea[edit]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Chelsea 3–0 W.B.A.

Round 4: Chelsea 4–2 Liverpool

Round 5: Leicester City 2–2 Chelsea

Replay: Chelsea 1–0 Leicester City

Quarter-Final: Portsmouth 1–4 Chelsea

Semi-Final: Wimbledon 0–3 Chelsea

(at Highbury, London)

Middlesbrough[edit]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Middlesbrough 6–0 Chester City

Round 4: Hednesford Town 2–3 Middlesbrough

Round 5: Manchester City 0–1 Middlesbrough

Quarter-Final: Derby County 0–2 Middlesbrough

Semi-Final: Chesterfield 3–3 Middlesbrough

(at Old Trafford, Manchester)

Replay: Middlesbrough 3–0 Chesterfield

(at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)

Match review

Chelsea took the lead just 43 seconds into the match, with Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo receiving the ball and firing it into the goal off the crossbar from 25 yards to record what was at the time the quickest ever goal in a Wembley FA Cup final (Louis Saha broke this record 12 years later in the 2009 final after just 25 seconds, coincidentally against Chelsea, though Chelsea won the match 2–1), breaking Jackie Milburn's 42-year record.^[2] Middlesbrough's prolific striker Fabrizio Ravanelli limped off after 21 minutes, further diminishing his side's chances of victory. Late in the first half Gianluca Festa put the ball in the net for Middlesbrough, but the goal was controversially ruled out for offside. 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 2–0 win.^[3]

Match details

17 May 1997

15:00 BST

Chelsea	2–0	Middlesbrough
Di Matteo 1' Newton 83'	Report

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 79,160

Referee: Stephen Lodge (South Yorkshire)

Chelsea

Middlesbrough



GK	30	Frode Grodås
RWB	2	Dan Petrescu
CB	6	Steve Clarke
CB	5	Frank Leboeuf
CB	20	Frank Sinclair
LWB	17	Scott Minto
CM	11	Dennis Wise (c)
CM	16	Roberto Di Matteo
CM	24	Eddie Newton
CF	10	Mark Hughes
CF	25	Gianfranco Zola	89'
Substitutes:
GK	13	Kevin Hitchcock
DF	8	Andy Myers
FW	9	Gianluca Vialli	89'
Manager:
Ruud Gullit



GK	25	Ben Roberts
RB	14	Curtis Fleming
CB	5	Nigel Pearson (c)
CB	18	Gianluca Festa
LB	17	Clayton Blackmore
RM	10	Juninho
CM	8	Robbie Mustoe	29'
CM	6	Emerson
LM	20	Phil Stamp
CF	11	Fabrizio Ravanelli	24'
CF	21	Craig Hignett	74'
Substitutes:
DF	4	Steve Vickers	29'
DF	7	Vladimír Kinder	74'
FW	9	Mikkel Beck	24'
Manager:
Bryan Robson

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay required if scores still level.
Three named substitutes.
Maximum of three substitutions.

References

External links

FA Cup

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1996–97 in English football

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National teams

League competitions

Level 1	Premier League
Levels 2–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
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Cup competitions

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Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon
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Third Division	Barnet Brighton & Hove Albion Cambridge United Cardiff City Carlisle United Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Fulham Hartlepool United Hereford United Hull City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Rochdale Scarborough Scunthorpe United Swansea City Torquay United Wigan Athletic

Summer 1996 transfers
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Chelsea F.C. matches

National

FA Cup

Finals	1915 1967 1970 1994 1997 2000 2002 2007 2009 2010 2012 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022
Knockout	Chelsea 2–4 Bradford City (2015)

League Cup/EFL Cup finals

FA Community Shield

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1986
1990

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1988 Second Division

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UEFA Champions League finals	2008 2012 2021
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International

FIFA Club World Cup finals	2012 2021
MLS All-Star Game	2006 2012

Wartime

Football League War Cup finals	1944 1945 (south) 1945 (play-off)

Middlesbrough F.C. matches

Middlesbrough F.C. matches
FA Cup Final	1997
League Cup Finals	1997 1998 2004
UEFA Cup Final	2006
Full Members' Cup Final	1990
Football League play-off Finals	1988 Second Division 2015 Championship
Other matches	Charlton Athletic 6–6 Middlesbrough (1960)