Cole wants to give Jose a Wembley to cherish

Cole was only 18 when Keegan walked out on his country following that infamous 1-0 defeat by Germany, and if Chelsea overcome Blackburn to reach the final on May 19, Mourinho may leave his own indelible mark on the stadium.

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The Chelsea midfielder, whose only appearance at Wembley was in a schoolboy international against Germany 10 years ago, said: "I was in the dressing room when Keegan resigned and he just walked past me. I was just happy to be there. It was the first time I'd met up with England... and the manager resigned!

"Being young, I just kept my head down. It was a strange day because they were playing That's Life by Frank Sinatra and fireworks were going off. It was the first time I'd been with the squad, although I'd trained with England before. I was only 18 and it was some experience.

"The old Wembley's gone but not forgotten. We've been waiting for the new one and although it took longer than expected, it still looks the part.

"Hopefully we can get off to a cracking start there with a cracking final."

Cole is among a generation of England players who never played for their country at the old stadium, but Chelsea's multi-millionaire line-up have the incentive to book their place in the first FA Cup Final.

Mourinho's squad are still fighting on three fronts — Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup — and the Chelsea chief seems determined to play in the first final at Wembley for seven years.

Cole added: "He has been brilliant, but I don't get involved in the politics. We play for the manager and we're all grateful to be playing for Chelsea.

"We all know what he has done for the club. We're all in this together and we're all focusing on the same goal."

Mourinho almost has a full complement of players to choose from for tomorrow's semi-final, with Cole's return after a knee injury coming at a critical stage of the season.

When Petr Cech returned to the Chelsea team for their Premiership clash with Liverpool in January, Mourinho claimed it was "like having a £50million player".

He joked yesterday that, applying a similar theory, Cole "must be worth £49m".

The midfielder's arrival as a second-half substitute in Valencia on Wednesday certainly helped turn the Champions League quarter-final Chelsea's way and he can expect a similar role against Blackburn.

By Cole's own admission, he is not fully fit, but he recognises the importance of his role in a team chasing four trophies.

He added: "We have so many important games coming up and I just want to get myself fit and help the boys out.

"This is the stage of the season when it counts and there are trophies to be won. We're just rolling on at the moment and we have players coming into some real form.

"I'm taking my first steps, but I'm not 100 per cent fit yet. You can only get match fit by playing games, but this is a great time to come back." n.ashton@dailymail.co.uk