FA Cup

Sun, 20th May 2007

At the end of a long season, with the FA Cup won by a Didier Drogba goal scored in the 116th minute, an understandably tired-looking José Mourinho was asked if his team deserved to have taken the honours.

He was quick to reply "Yes." He went on to say that Chelsea had won a very difficult quarter-final against Spurs followed by a tough semi-final against Blackburn at Old Trafford. "So, yes, I believe we deserved this victory because we were the best team today and we have fought to be here in this Final."

He reminded the assembled journalists that this was a team that had had to deal with a lot of problems during the season. "So this was an important victory for them, for me and for my family." The Special One also recognised that Chelsea made a special kind of history by being the last team to win at the old Wembley and the first to win at the new one.

Asked about his half-time substitution of Joe Cole, Mourinho revealed that, before the game, Cole had been sitting with one of his feet in an ice bath "because he didn't want to feel it during the match". By half-time it was clear he could not go on. "But this is the kind of player I have. I cannot fault him for his attitude. The same with Robben when he came on. Fantastic attitude. The same with Ashley Cole, who has not played recently"

Reflecting on a game played by two sets of tired players, Mourinho said: "It was not easy. It was a game when you had to think hard all the time. We did not give them the game they expected. But I believe we had the game under control the whole time."

Pressed to give his reaction to Didier Drogba's part in a match that, for long periods, looked as if it could only be resolved by a moment of individual skill, he said: "I do not want to separate any of my players. But Didier is fantastic."

John Mikel Obi also came in for praise. "A young man. Only 20-years-old. Controlling the game for long periods. Unbelievable. And Paulo [Ferreria] also. Unbelievable."

If Mourinho looked tired, Sir Alex Ferguson looked exhausted. "I don't think we played well," he said. "We had two or three players out there who looked tired in the first-half."

Sir Alex revealed that he had been expecting a penalty shoot-out. "That's why I brought Solskjaer on - for the penalties." Speaking of penalties, Sir Alex believed Manchester United should have had a penalty when Michael Essien slid in on Ryan Giggs just before Petr Cech made a save on the line.

After admitting that the Barclays Premiership had been his priority, he said he believed the country's two best teams had met on the day. Asked about Didier Drogba's contribution, he said: "He's strong. He was aggressive. But we can deal with that. I think he kept Chelsea's season alive. He kept producing goals at important times."

There are many who would say that 116 minutes into an FA Cup Final was probably the most important time for Drogba to score what turned out to be a history-making goal.