Rohan Tawde takes a closer look at the 2009 FA cup finalists as each of the teams prepare for the battle to take the silverware back home.
The curtains are all set to be drawn on the 2008-09 English football season with the FA Cup final at the phenomenal Wembley Stadium on the 30th May and it will be the Blues of Chelsea taking on the Merseyside team of Everton to claim the prestigious trophy.
Both the sides are running into this final with good form accompanying them. Guus Hiddink’s team is unbeaten for 13 consecutive games in all competitions, while David Moyes’ unit is oozing with confident after securing fifth place in the Premier League table.
Chelsea’s road to the Wembley Stadium has been fairly smooth one, with them facing a top-flight club only once, when they beat their London rivals Arsenal in the penultimate round. Everton, on the other hand, edged out formidable opponents like Liverpool, Aston Villa and League Champions Manchester United to make it into the final.
Since Guus Hiddink took the job at helm at Chelsea, the West Londoner side has rediscovered their old traits as a bowelless team. Players like Essien, Lampard and Didier Drogba have revived themselves by bringing a lot of intensity to the Pensioners’ outfit. In fact, the Ivorian striker has thumped 13 goals since the Dutchman’s appointment as manager in February.
The Blues have a strong attacking unit with the combo of golden boot winner Anelka, Malouda and Drogba in front while their mid-field constitutes of talismanic names like Lampard, Essien and Ballack. Deco, Carvalho, Ferriera and Joe Cole would be missing because of injuries but Hiddink has plenty of star-power to cover for them in this big game.
The name Guus Hiddink has gained plenty of popularity in short time at the Stamford Bridge. But he would be bidding farewell to Chelsea and English football for now, as he is all set to take back the charge of the Russian team. And the Dutchman can’t think of better way to sign off from the club by clinching the FA Cup and ending their two-year silverware drought.
Everton under fiery David Moyes has had an inspirational season. Helping his team earn a spot in next year’s Europa Cup (New name for the UEFA Cup), despite injuries robbing him of a recognised striker for a sizeable chunk of the campaign, speaks a lot about Moyes. He has rightly earned himself the title of ‘Manager of the Year’ with an impressive 2008-09 season.
Moyes formation of 4-4-1-1 or 4-5-1 has done wonders for Everton throughout the campaign, which has helped them nudge out elite names on their road to Wembley. Names like Jagielka, Arteta, Anichebe, Turner, and Yakubu would be definitely missing from the final line-up, but impact players like Pienaar and Phil Neville would make it into the team after recovering from their respective injuries. Brazilian striker Jo will also miss the final due to the terms of his loan agreement, which means Saha will start on the attacking front.
From the tactical point of view, it would be terrific to watch both the mid-fields plucking out each other. With Everton’s defensive crux Jagielka missing out, the Blues’ attacking trio could cause all kind of problems for their opponents with their strength and pace. Another interesting battle we can witness would be between the two outstanding mid-fielders Frank Lampard and Tim Cahill. The former has tasted FA Cup success before while the latter would be determined to put it right this time after missing out his chance to gain glory with the Millwall side in 2004.
So, we as spectators are in prospect for a mouth-watering Final contest as Chelsea would look to break their jinx of trophy-less couple of seasons, while Everton would love to conquer the FA Cup and bring it back to Merseyside, to envy their Red neighbours.
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a guest
said:
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... I am rooting for Everton, so that they can bring back the FA Cup to the merseyside and gloat Liverpool and Chelsea for a trophy less season........Screw Liverfools and Chelshit..... |
a guest
said:
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... I am rooting for Everton, so that they can bring back the FA Cup to the merseyside and gloat Liverpool and Chelsea for a trophy less season........Screw Liverfools and Chelshit..... |
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