Jose Mourinho was Chelsea’s manager when they defeated Manchester United to win their fourth FA Cup trophy on May 19, 2007.

Prince William, whose brother Prince Harry got married to retired actress Meghan Markle – now Duchess of Sussex – at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle today (May 19), presented the trophy to Chelsea players captained by John Terry. Two-time African Footballer of the Year, Didier Drogba scored the only goal in the final, the first to be played at the new Wembley stadium. 2007 was the same year Chelsea revenged their 1994 FA Cup final loss to United. Eric Cantona scored two penalties in less than seven minutes, while Hughes and McClair netted one as United mauled Chelsea 4-0 in the match, which was the 49th FA Cup final to be held since the Second World War.

The 2018 FA Cup final is the first time Chelsea and Manchester United would play in the tournament’s final stage since their last meeting 12 years ago. This time, Mourinho arrived at the Wembley stadium on Saturday night (May 19) as Manchester United’s manager. The Portuguese manager had wished to lift his first ever FA Cup trophy at Manchester after 360 days without a silverware. Mourinho had won the EFL Cup, FA Community Shield and UEFA Europa League during his debut 2016/17 season with the Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho said after his team lost 1-0 to Chelsea who finished 5th in Premier League this season; “I congratulate them because they won, but I don’t think they deserve to win. I congratulate because I am a sportsman. They score one more goal than us and they get the cup, and I have to do what my job asks me to do: I am the Manchester United manager and I have to be respectful, not just because they were my previous club, but because they are the opponent that won the cup. But I think we deserved to win, we were the best team, but that’s football.”

Chelsea were the better side in the first half, which Eden Hazard scored the only goal – a penalty – after he was floored by United’s defender, Phil Jones, and they defended with great purpose in the second half. “We tried to defend well. We scored one goal, it’s enough today,” the match-winner Hazard said, adding,  “Though if we want to win a lot of games, we need to play better, because we just played defensively. But we won it and we are happy.”

United dominated the possession with 61 percent and a total of five shots on target, while the Blues only record three important shots. The Blues’ manager Antonio Conte leaped  around in joy after his team’s victory before giving his old foe, Mourinho, a hug. Conte speaks: “I’m very satisfied because today was very difficult. In this moment to win the FA Cup against a really strong team like Man Utd, we must be pleased. It wasn’t easy. I’m very happy for our fans & players.”
May 19th is just a lucky day for Chelsea as Mourinho recorded 360 days without a trophy.  19th May 2012: FYI: Chelsea won their first and only Champions League trophy after defeating Bayern Munich 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time at the Allianz Arena in Germany on May 19, 2012.
Photo Credit: Getty