Why Cup nostalgia is no thing of the past for Cole

Opinion may differ in club boardrooms where the prize money and kudos of a title win and the global exposure and TV riches of the Champions League have more allure.

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But there is something charmingly old-fashioned about Cole, a modern footballer with a genuine fondness for the romance of the English game.

He will fulfil a childhood ambition when he steps out for Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday to face Manchester United in his first FA Cup Final.

Cole, 25, said: "I've played in Champions League and League deciders and World Cups and things but this is the biggest game I've played in. It's the FA Cup Final, isn't it? It's the one.

"It was always the game you watched as a kid, no matter where you were. As a boy, you would dream about scoring in the FA Cup Final, that's the ultimate, you don't dream about scoring in a League game.

"It's the top one and I'm not just saying that because it's what we're playing for. For me it's everything. For the club as well and the fans who stood by us.

"I know it's been hard for them to see Man United win the League so we want to give them something." Cynics will suggest the FA Cup has suddenly taken on extra significance for Chelsea because Manchester United reclaimed the Premier League title and Liverpool ended their European hopes.

But it is easy for any fan to identify with Cole's feelings for the trophy. As a 12-year-old Chelsea fan in 1994, he shuffled through the Wembley crowds only to see Glenn Hoddle's team hammered 4-0 by Manchester United in the final.

"It knocked me down for days," said Cole. "I remember being just devastated. My dad gave the tickets to one of his mates to take us, because he wasn't a big football fan.

"We met up at New Covent Garden market and went on a big coach with the Chelsea fans, singing and bouncing. Then it was back to the pub after. I had a few Diet Cokes!"

Three years later and Cole was watching from Wembley's VIP seats as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough with the help of Roberto Di Matteo's thunderbolt after 43 seconds.

"I was at the national school at Lilleshall up in Shropshire and I was getting settled to watch it on the box when the fella who looked after us, Tony Pickering, who was like our headmaster, said he had two spare tickets.

"He knew I was a Chelsea fan so he put us in a car and I went down with Craig Pead, who is playing for Walsall now. We had a great day.

"We were actually in the directors' box. I remember Di Matteo's goal, it was just blinding. I thought then, one day I want to be out there. It's always the dream of players."

Cole, who played at the old Wembley for England schoolboys, visited the almost-complete stadium last year when the World Cup squad paid a quick visit in hard hats and wellies before heading to Germany.

Now the Chelsea midfielder cannot wait to play in front of Wembley's first 90,000 capacity crowd since the revamp.

"People were telling me I wasn't going to make it but I refused to listen," said Cole after a season wrecked by knee and foot injuries.

"I've come back earlier than anybody thought and I'm really proud of that. I worked so hard in the gym. I can't sit here and say I'm 100 per cent but I'm feeling good.

"Every moment of my life for the last six months has been to get my body right and it has all boiled down to this game.

"It's about whether I take something out of the season, or is it a bit of a damp squib for me? Hopefully I'm going to have the FA Cup in my pocket tomorrow night."