*Di Matteo does it again*

They gave the old thing a decent send-off, but not even fireworks and about a thousand Tannoy mentions of the Twin Towers’ impending doom could conceal the fact that the last FA Cup final before Wembley is pulled down was about as threadbare as the Venue of Legends itself.

The only goal was scored by Roberto Di Matteo who owns the record for fastest FA Cup final strike with his 43-second rocket against Middlesbrough three years ago. This one took 72 minutes longer to arrive, but was no less welcome. Another half-hour would have tried everybody’s patience, and the prospect of another penalty shoot-out between an English side and a foreign one was too awful to contemplate.

The result was a fair one, too. Aston Villa managed to contain Chelsea’s illustrious attack for half the game, but hardly threatened going forward. John Gregory’s players had gone into a huddle before kick-off, perhaps for a discussion about where their goals might come from, for though David James is sure to take some blame for his part in the goal, the bluntness of Villa’s attack was just as big a factor in the final outcome. ‘We didn’t do enough in the final third, but that’s been the story of our season,’ Gregory said.

Villa actually enjoyed the better of one of Wembley’s more mundane opening half-hours, managing to keep Chelsea pinned back in their own half even if the sum total of their early pressure amounted to a couple of well-flighted free-kicks and an optimistic shot over the bar from Paul Merson.

Dennis Wise brought the first save of the game when he volleyed straight at James from the edge of the area in the ninth minute, but though George Weah showed a couple of clever touches, he and the equally isolated Gianfranco Zola were mere spectators to most of the first-half action. Gianluca Vialli had preferred Zola to Tore Andre Flo, and after paying £10m for Chris Sutton at the start of the season Vialli couldn’t even find a place for him on the bench.

It was one of those games that needed something unexpected to liven it up, yet nothing short of a bomb or the early arrival of Wembley’s demolition men appeared likely to shake the players out of their torpor. Even the bookings were niggly non-events.

Gareth Barry and Mario Melchiot, a late replacement for the injured Albert Ferrer, collected cautions after tit-for-tat fouls on each other midway through the first half, and Wise in one of his more mischievous moods was correctly pulled up by referee Graham Poll for a sneaky attack on George Boateng’s ankles.

The first half’s most entertaining event, by far, came right at the end, when Dion Dublin, perhaps frustrated by winning so many aerial challenges and seeing so little come from the knock-downs, hurled Frank Leboeuf to the ground by the scruff of the neck as he shepherded the ball in his own area. Surprisingly, neither the referee nor his linesman saw anything wrong with the blatant shove, and somewhat less surprisingly, there was little sympathy from the crowd when the Frenchman stayed on the ground theatrically clutching a hamstring.

Leboeuf reappeared for the second half, which, by the time it was 10 minutes old, had provided more incident and entertainment than the entire first half. First Gareth Southgate headed over from Merson’s cross, then Zola found Weah at the other end for the Liberian to produce a shot on the turn that flew a foot wide of the right post.

Neither goalkeeper had had much to do by this stage, but James had showed signs of nerves when spilling a first-half cross, and looked uncomfortable again in the 53rd minute when saving from Di Matteo but making a present of the ball to Wise. The Chelsea captain accepted the gift gratefully, but his side’s celebrations were cut short by an offside flag raised against Weah.

After Gus Poyet had become the second Chelsea player cautioned for a foul on Boateng, Weah had the chance to make amends on the hour when a teasing Zola cross eluded Poyet and Villa’s defensive cover at the near post, and ran through to Weah at the rear. Completely on his own, the former World Player of the Year struck early but wastefully wide.

At least Chelsea had managed to make an impression on the game and a goal looked much more likely. Di Matteo finally broke the deadlock after Melchiot had decided he could do more than just keep an eye on the disappointing Benito Carbone, and set off on a run that saw him swap wings and interchange passes with Celestine Babayaro before Ian Taylor brought him down near the goal-line just outside the Villa area. Zola arrowed his free-kick predictably into the danger zone, James came for a punch but only ended up knocking the ball against Southgate, and in a crowded penalty area Di Matteo was on hand to sweep the rebound high into the net. It was hardly a classic Wembley winner, not a patch on his sweet strike from outside the area three years ago, but it was always likely to be enough.

‘We can only get stronger from this,’ a dejected James said. ‘Individual mistakes cost us the game, and mine was one of them, but we are a group of friends and we will overcome it.’

Villa brought on Julian Joachim and Steve Stone for the final 12 minutes, to little avail. Weah and Chelsea continued to have the better chances, with James continuing to have nervous moments, although shortly after the goal Leboeuf was obliged to clear off the line after De Goey had come out and missed a Merson free-kick.

Ugo Ehiogu headed Villa’s last chance over the bar, and having gone up the field for a last free-kick James was spared further embarrassment by the final whistle when Chelsea won the ball.

Though this was in some ways a hollow victory, Vialli must have enjoyed his first FA Cup final as manager, with the fans singing his name at the end, more than his debut as a player. ‘It’s like sex, the first time is always the one you remember,’ Leboeuf had said before the game. Vialli would disagree, and so would Villa’s FA Cup virgins.

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*The Guardian*
Monday, 22 May 2000

*Calamity ends the tedium*

Just as Americans have turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so the English have them for Christmas and FA Cup finals. To that extent at least the last final at Wembley before the old grey mare of a stadium goes to the knackers kept faith with tradition. Cranberry sauce again was the order of the day.

The most fortunate person in Saturday’s long-suffering crowd of 78,000 was five-month-old Henry Wise, son of Dennis, the Chelsea captain. He was taken up to the Royal Box by his father to collect the trophy after Aston Villa had been beaten by Roberto di Matteo’s opportunist goal. Wise Jr will have a picture to treasure but none of the memories of what went on before.

Though this was not the worst of Wembley’s 72 FA Cup finals it certainly finished in the bottom six. On Saturday the stadium of legends was the stadium of dog-ends, the pitch littered with bits and pieces of football which struggled to catch fire.

The drab spectacle was redeemed in part by the winners’ greater enterprise after half-time, but for neutrals the hero of the afternoon was David James, the Villa goalkeeper, whose error presented Di Matteo with the chance to score and spared everybody extra-time.

Nevertheless this success at the end of a season of unfulfilment may make a significant difference to the way Chelsea are heading. After their vapid performance at Old Trafford on Easter Monday, when a 3-2 defeat by Manchester United all but ended their chances of finishing in the top three of the Premiership and re-entering the Champions League next season, the break-up of the present team was widely predicted. Now, though the cracks are still there, the process may be less painful.

Marcel Desailly was easily Chelsea’s outstanding performer at Wembley, reducing the aerial threat of Dion Dublin to leaflet raids and consistently bringing the ball out from the back in an effort to instigate attacking movements. The Frenchman’s excellence was matched by Gareth Southgate in the Villa defence and, when defenders are dominant, it will always be difficult for a game to develop a pleasing flow.

John Gregory, the Villa manager and nothing if not a pragmatist, had long realised that his team would get nowhere attempting to take on Chelsea in a passing game. So George Boateng and Ian Taylor played it tough and tight in midfield and the ball was hoisted high and long towards Dublin.

Chelsea’s manager Gianluca Vialli started with Gustavo Poyet switched with Di Matteo on to the right flank to exploit his aerial advantage over Villa’s left wing-back Alan Wright. Chelsea, therefore, began off-balance and, with Wise and Didier Deschamps equally obdurate in the central areas, the match was a stalemate from the outset.

With the midfield resembling a trawl of mackerel, all heaving bodies struggling for air, there was never going to be much chance for skilful individuals to give the final a touch of distinction.

Paul Merson provided the one half-decent moment of the first half, a well executed volley from 25 yards which dipped over the bar, and even then Ed de Goey had it covered. Otherwise Merson’s principal role lay in trying to provide a decent service to Dublin from crosses and set pieces.

Villa might have created more opportunities had Benito Carbone been able to feed off Dublin to greater effect. But the diminutive Italian struggled to find space against Desailly and Mario Melchiot, the Dutch under-21 international who had replaced the unfit Albert Ferrer at right-back and seized his opportunity with athletic alacrity.

Villa’s one chance to save the match fell to Carbone 15 minutes from the end after De Goey dropped a free-kick from Merson. With half the goal to aim at Carbone scuffed his shot and Frank Leboeuf easily cleared it off the line. Julian Joachim ’s pace might have served Villa better had he arrived earlier than the 79th minute, by which time Chelsea were playing keep-ball as only they can.

Chelsea should have won the game earlier, as Poyet and Gianfranco Zola became greater influences and George Weah a greater threat. In the 50th minute the Liberian gathered a through-pass of typical shrewdness from Zola and beat James with a cross-shot which just rolled wide. In the 60th Zola’s centre found Weah racing unmarked towards the far post but he wafted the ball over the bar.

Chelsea appeared to have taken the lead when James failed to hold a Di Matteo cross-shot, Wise poking home the rebound, but the Chelsea captain’s celebrations were cut short when Weah was ruled marginally offside and James’s suspect handling went unpunished, for the time being.

Yet a goal was not far distant. With 17 minutes remaining the persevering Melchiot was fouled by Taylor near the left-hand corner flag. As Zola swung the free-kick into a crowded goalmouth James lunged out to meet it with both fists but did not quite get there, pawing the ball on to Southgate; Di Matteo hooked the rebound into the roof of the net.

Three cup finals earlier Di Matteo had put Chelsea ahead against Middlesbrough after 43 seconds; it was a pity he left it so long this time.

James, meanwhile, had lived up to his Liverpool nickname of Calamity, leaving Wembley to hope that, if he is England’s fourth-best goalkeeper, Kevin Keegan will never have to pick the fifth.

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*The Guardian*
Monday, 22 May 2000

*Boateng hits at Wise and claims he was targeted*

One person left cold, not warmed, by the image of Dennis Wise the cuddly daddy on Saturday was Aston Villa’s George Boateng, who has accused the Chelsea captain of trying to injure him and get him sent off .

“I still have marks on me because there were so many challenges from Wise the referee didn’t see,” said the robust midfielder. “I play my football hard but I play it fair. I don’t play to injure anybody or get them sent off.

“Wise literally tried to walk over my face while I was on the ground. Another time I walked away from Wise and he tried to flick my heels but I saw him coming. He was talking at me all the way through.

“I wouldn’t shake [Marcel] Desailly’s hand afterwards. I played the ball but he stepped on my feet once it had gone.

Wise, who was booked for a challenge on Boateng, responded succinctly: “He caught me at least three times but I’m not complaining or moaning. He’s a cry baby.”

Meanwhile Paul Merson says he is “90% certain” to leave Villa, though the club’s Italian striker Benito Carbone is likely to stay.

Merson, 32, wants to extend his contract so that he can finish his career in the top flight with Villa at the age of 35. “I’ve offered to take a pay cut to stay, as well,” he said. But he added: “I’ve had very negative feedback. I’ve got to see the boss [John Gregory] in the next couple of days but, if I want to stay at the top until I’m 35, I don’t think I’ll be doing it here.”

With the Belgian internaional Luc Nilis, who like Merson is a forward, due to arrive in the summer from PSV Eindhoven, Villa may have decided to cash in on the former England player after an impressive season. Merson joined Villa from Middlesbrough for £6.75m early in the 1998/99 season.

Carbone is more confident of extending the short-term contract on which he has been playing since joining from Sheffield Wednesday.

“The club and I will talk this week,” said the Italian, reported to be looking for £30,000 a week. “But I think it will be positive news because the club and the manager want me to stay and I want to stay. I think we can close the contract quickly.”

If Carbone moves to any other club this summer it will be a Bosman transfer with no fee. But, because of the deal struck with Wednesday, if he signs permanently for Villa he will cost £1m, of which £250,000 has been paid.

Merson believes Villa still need a few more signings to become a major force. In what could be viewed as a farewell swipe he said: “Villa need to spend a lot of money. I think you’re looking at three or four players. When I think who from our team would get in the top four sides, there are not many, including me.

“The class gap was evident last week against Manchester United and it showed again against Chelsea in the second half. The distance is massive at the moment.”