1996 FA Cup Final

Event

1995–96 FA Cup

Liverpool	Manchester United

0	1

Date

11 May 1996

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee

Dermot Gallagher (Oxfordshire)

Attendance

79,007

The 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.

Build-up

A few days before the final, Manchester United had secured their third league title in four years (1992–93, 1993–94 and 1995–96, coming second in 1994–95). The final was also their third in three seasons, having beaten Chelsea 4–0 in 1994 and lost 1–0 to Everton in 1995.

Liverpool, on the other hand, were going through a barren spell in terms of trophies, having not won the league title since 1989–90 or an FA Cup since 1992, although they had tasted success in the League Cup in 1995.

Liverpool and Manchester United were the two top scoring sides in the FA Premier League in this season, and entered the game as the most attacking sides in English football, with Liverpool winning their last meeting 2–0 at Anfield, and United equalising at Old Trafford to get a 2–2 draw in the reverse fixture, with Robbie Fowler scoring all four of Liverpool's goals against United in both meetings.

Match summary

The match, despite the rivalry between the two teams, was a fairly unmemorable game, rarely sparking into life, with playmakers Eric Cantona and Steve McManaman, marked and closed out by Jamie Redknapp and John Barnes and Roy Keane and Nicky Butt respectively. Keane went on to stop virtually every attack the Liverpool midfield threw at United, and covering as commentator Peter Brackley described, "every blade of grass", to win the man of the match award.

The game started with a frenetic pace and Manchester United started with several positive chances before Liverpool came back into the game, but chances at either end were limited. Neither goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel for United and David James for Liverpool, was seriously tested throughout the majority of the game. However, with just five minutes remaining on the clock, David James tried to punch a corner clear. The ball landed just outside the penalty area, at the feet of United captain Eric Cantona, who had scored in his comeback game after a seven-month suspension at Old Trafford against Liverpool earlier that season in a game that ended 2–2. Cantona hit his shot goalwards, through the crowded penalty area and the ball nestled in the back of the goal, winning the game for United. Cantona had been marked out of the game, but true to his form all season, popped up with yet another magical moment.

Result

The win was United's third FA Cup win under Alex Ferguson, having also won in 1990 and 1994. They became the first club to win the competition nine times, and also became the first club to win the league championship and FA Cup double on two occasions.

Two notable absences from the Manchester United side were the club's two longest serving players Steve Bruce and Brian McClair, who were dropped in favour of younger players and missed out on a chance to add to their impressive list of honours at the club. Bruce never played for United again, as he was transferred to Birmingham City 11 days later, while McClair remained at the club for a further two seasons and added another league title to his personal honours.

Match details

Liverpool v Manchester United

11 May 1996
15:00 BST

Liverpool	0–1	Manchester United
	Report	Cantona 85'

Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 79,007
Referee: Dermot Gallagher (Oxfordshire)

Liverpool

Manchester United


GK	1	David James
CB	12	John Scales
CB	5	Mark Wright
CB	6	Phil Babb	60'
RWB	4	Jason McAteer
LWB	2	Rob Jones		86'
CM	15	Jamie Redknapp	40'
CM	10	John Barnes (c)
AM	17	Steve McManaman
CF	23	Robbie Fowler
CF	8	Stan Collymore		74'
Substitutes:
GK	26	Tony Warner
MF	16	Michael Thomas		86'
FW	9	Ian Rush		74'
Manager:
Roy Evans


GK	1	Peter Schmeichel
RB	3	Denis Irwin
CB	6	Gary Pallister
CB	12	David May
LB	23	Phil Neville	69'
RM	24	David Beckham		90'
CM	16	Roy Keane
CM	19	Nicky Butt
LM	11	Ryan Giggs
SS	7	Eric Cantona (c)
CF	17	Andy Cole		64'
Substitutes:
DF	20	Gary Neville		90'
MF	5	Lee Sharpe
FW	22	Paul Scholes		64'
Manager:
Alex Ferguson

Match officials

Assistant referees:
- Anthony Bates (Staffordshire)
- Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)
Fourth official: Paul Durkin (Dorset)

Match rules

90 minutes
30 minutes of extra time if necessary
Replay required if scores still level, to be played at 19:30 on 16 May 1996
Three named substitutes
Maximum of two substitutions

Post-match

For Liverpool, the match was perhaps most notable for being the final appearance of goalscoring legend Ian Rush, who had scored 346 goals for the club since joining them in 1980 (sandwiched by a one-season spell at Juventus in the late 1980s) and left at the end of the season to sign for Leeds United.^[1]

The only Manchester United player whose involvement with the club ended with this game was unused substitute Lee Sharpe, who joined Rush at Leeds United just before the 1996–97 season began, after eight years at Old Trafford.

The match was also notable for a non-football reason, having been picked up by the British tabloids for its pre-match formalities because the Liverpool team turned up in Emporio Armani cream-coloured suits, outlandish, striped ties, and white Gucci shoes, causing much press conjecture to follow regarding the side's "Spice Boys" image, which began shortly after Liverpool were defeated in this game.^[2]

References

External links

FA Cup

Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

History Trophy List of finals FA Cup Third-fourth place matches Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Non-league clubs in the 5th Round

1995–96 in English football

« 1994–95

1996–97 »

FA competitions

Premier League and
Football League

Football Conference

Football Conference
Conference League Cup

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Coventry City Everton Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon

First Division	Barnsley Birmingham City Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Derby County Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Leicester City Luton Town Millwall Norwich City Oldham Athletic Portsmouth Port Vale Reading Sheffield United Southend United Stoke City Sunderland Tranmere Rovers Watford West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Blackpool Bournemouth Bradford City Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Carlisle United Chesterfield Crewe Alexandra Hull City Notts County Oxford United Peterborough United Shrewsbury Town Stockport County Swansea City Swindon Town Walsall Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City

Third Division	Barnet Bury Cambridge United Cardiff City Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Fulham Gillingham Hartlepool United Hereford United Leyton Orient Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Rochdale Scarborough Scunthorpe United Torquay United Wigan Athletic

Others	Newport

List of transfers

Liverpool F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1914 1950 1965 1971 1974 1977 1986 1988 1989 1992 1996 2001 2006 2012

League Cup Finals	1978 1981 1982 1983 1984 1987 1995 2001 2003 2005 2012 2016

FA Community Shield	1922 1964 1965 1966 1971 1974 1976 1977 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1988 1989 1990 1992 2001 2002 2006

UEFA Champions League Finals	1977 1978 1981 1984 1985 2005 2007

European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1966

UEFA Europa League Finals	1973 1976 2001 2016

UEFA Super Cup	1977 1978 ~~1981~~ 1984 2001 2005

Intercontinental Cup	~~1978~~ 1981 1984

FIFA Club World Championship Final	2005

Other matches	Ajax 5–1 Liverpool (1966) 1983–84 European Cup semi-final 1986 English Super Cup Final Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989) Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (1989) Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle (1996)

Manchester United F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1909 1948 1957 1958 1963 1976 1977 1979 1983 1985 1990 1994 1995 1996 1999 2004 2005 2007 2016

League Cup Finals	1983 1991 1992 1994 2003 2006 2009 2010

FA Community Shields	1908 1911 1948 1952 1956 1957 1963 1965 1967 1977 1983 1985 1990 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2016

UEFA Champions League Finals	1968 1999 2008 2009 2011

European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1991

UEFA Super Cups	1991 1999 2008

Intercontinental Cups	1968 1999

FIFA Club World Cup Final	2008

Other matches	Manchester United–Arsenal brawl (1990) Manchester United 9–0 Ipswich Town (1995) Nottingham Forest 1–8 Manchester United (1999) Battle of Old Trafford (2003) Battle of the Buffet (2004) UEFA Celebration Match (2007) Manchester United 4–3 Manchester City (2009) 2010 MLS All-Star 2011 MLS All-Star 2013 A-League All Stars

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.