Chelsea Lift FA Cup as Di Matteo Magic Does the Trick

Their victory at Wembley Stadium in a match they dominated for the first hour keeps the London side’s momentum going for what could be an even greater triumph in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in two weeks’ time.

A season that seemed destined to end in failure under coach Andre Villas-Boas could now finish as the most successful in the club’s history if they become European champions.

Andy Carroll’s 64th minute strike for Liverpool brought the game to life for the last half-an-hour after Chelsea appeared to be coasting to a seventh FA Cup success and their fourth in six seasons but Di Matteo’s side hung on to claim the spoils.

The club’s campaign has been transformed under Di Matteo – who never lost at Wembley as a player – with just two defeats in 18 matches although he is still only their caretaker boss.

“I’m fortunate enough to have played for the club and won the trophy and today I led the players out … not many people get that chance,” said a beaming Di Matteo.

This victory and another against Bayern in Munich on May 19 would make it seem almost impossible for Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich to give the job to anyone else although with Chelsea, as ever, the future is uncertain.

The stakes are high because if Chelsea do not win the Champions League they might miss out on playing in the competition altogether next season since they look likely to finish outside the top four in the Premier League.

NAIL-BITING WIN

Italian Di Matteo, an FA Cup winner as a player with Chelsea in 1997 and 2000, celebrated an ultimately nail-biting win on the pitch with his team who have rediscovered their self-belief and confidence since he took over.

However, he refused to be drawn on his future, telling reporters: “It is not an issue. I am very pleased with my position until the end of the season and then we will make a decision that is best for the club and we will all respect it.”

He graciously added: “AVB should get some credit as he started our run in the FA Cup.”

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish lamented his side’s slow start to the match and thought his players were naive.

He said: “For the first hour they were better than us. Maybe a bit of naivety from our point of view or experience from theirs but if we have had more of the game with the pace we showed later, we might have had a better score.”

Chelsea weathered Liverpool’s fightback and left back Ashley Cole, who had already won the FA Cup six times, more than any other player, and now has seven winners medals told reporters Di Matteo had given the team their confidence back.

“Roberto always had belief in us and trusted us to play our game. That is exactly what we have done in training and on the pitch we have shown a fantastic team spirit and now we think we can win every game we play. He has done that for us.”

Di Matteo, unlike Villas-Boas, trusted the old guard of Drogba, skipper John Terry and Frank Lampard to rescue Chelsea’s season, and it was no coincidence that the trio were the first in line to lift the trophy for their ecstatic fans at the end.

For Terry, it was a special moment. He became the first man for 130 years to captain a team to four FA Cup wins, and the first to do so with one club.

CAPTAIN’S PERFORMANCE

Banned from playing in the Champions League final, Terry gave a captain’s performance on the pitch with a very important block on a late Carroll drive.

Chelsea showed all the inner strength built up over the last decade during the closing period of a game they looked to have under complete control after Ramires put them ahead in the 11th minute and Drogba made it 2-0 with a sweet strike in the 52nd.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/05/05/sports/soccer/05reuters-soccer-england-cup.html?partner=rss&emc=rss