Cesc Fàbregas will have an extra incentive to claim the FA Cup for a second time in his career after admitting he has mislaid his winner’s medal from his first appearance in the final, with Arsenal 13 years ago.
The Spain midfielder had just turned 18 when he started for Arsène Wenger’s team in the goalless draw with Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium. Fàbregas had relished his tussle with imposing opponents, who included Roy Keane in their number, before being replaced by Robin van Persie four minutes from the end of normal time, then watched Patrick Vieira convert the decisive spot-kick in the subsequent penalty shootout to claim the trophy with his final touch in an Arsenal shirt.
Yet Fàbregas – who has since gone on to claim two Premier Leagues with Chelsea, La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Barcelona, and the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, has admitted his medal for the first major silverware of his senior career has since been lost. “This one, I cannot find it,” he said. “My dad used to keep my medals and, once I’d grown up, I said to him: ‘Listen, where are all my medals and stuff?’
“He’d nearly lost the World Cup one even but I found that in a box in my mum’s house. I have nearly all of them but I’ve lost two or three, including the FA Cup one. I hope, on Saturday, I will have a new one to keep. I remember that final back in 2005 in a special way. It was my first big trophy as a professional, and at a very young age. We played really badly, to be honest. We were lucky. I can say that now. But I remember kicking Keane in a one-on-one, winning that and getting away because he was on the floor. And Patrick scoring the winner … a nice moment. Good celebrations.”
There has been precious little to celebrate this season at Chelsea, with the team’s title defence petering out early and Champions League qualification proving elusive. Yet securing the FA Cup, at the expense of José Mourinho’s United, would provide some consolation going into another summer of change at Stamford Bridge.
“To go and win a trophy is not that easy,” said Fàbregas, who enters the last year of his contract at the club this summer. “In the Champions League, we played Barcelona, one of the top teams in the world. In the FA Cup, we have done well. In the league, we should have done better. We were not consistent enough in our performances. This is on us as players.
“We should have put it right when we had the chance to. We didn’t and we paid for it. It is a big disappointment, I’m sure for the club as well, because they want to be and are used to being in the Champions League every year. All we can do now is go on, win the final and give the fans a good end of the season.
“The FA Cup is seen as one of the big trophies. Everyone talks about the Champions League, the World Cup, the Euros, but I think if you are a bit of a romantic, the FA Cup is always very special. We have to value being in the final, we have to appreciate that, and know that if we win, we are winning a special trophy.”
