Joe Cole knows a thing or two about winning the FA Cup. The former West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Lille creator collected two winners medals during his days as a player, both during his five year spell with the Blues.
Cole started the 2007 FA Cup Final, which Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea won 1-0 against Manchester United. He then came off the bench to help secure a 1-0 over Portsmouth under Carlo Ancelotti in 2010. Speaking to FourFourTwo on behalf of Budweiser ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Leicester, Cole revealed which of the current crop of Chelsea stars would have fit in with those cup-winning Chelsea sides of old.
“So many of today’s side are excellent but Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz have really impressed me,” the former England international tells FFT excitedly. “I think they’re very talented. They’re the new generation. They can hold their own at the highest level despite being so young. They’re making their own journeys and destinies in the game.
“Football’s evolved at such a rapid rate over the past decade, in terms of the way that teams play,” continues Cole. “So it’s tough to compare eras, but I love this new team. I think they’ll win plenty of silverware. Hopefully this year.”
Cole also revealed a tradition he upheld before every Wembley final he participated in - a way to reconnect with the little boy inside of him on the morning of the biggest game of the season.
“We used to stay at the Landmark Hotel near Wembley,” he recalls. “My primary school was just on the corner. I’d have my breakfast in the morning and then go for a little walk and I’d wander past my old primary school and reminisce on where it all started for me playing football. That was always a quirky thing I did when playing at Wembley.”
Cole is fronting a Budweiser campaign which sees the beer giants - and partner of the FA Cup - donate all its advertising space at the final to local pubs in West London and Leicester. The FA Cup is traditionally an extremely busy weekend for pubs, yet many will have limited space and capacity until May 17. Pubs from Chelsea and Leicester will hijack the perimeter boards, in-stadia screens and surround spots around Wembley Stadium.
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get a FREE England Euro 96 shirt!
EURO 2020 England stars show off retro Italia 90 Mash-Up shirt
CORINTHIAN FIGURES How the big-headed football collectibles took the world by storm
COVID-19 New lockdown guidance: What games will football fans be able to go to under new rules?
