The FA Cup 2009Saturday the 30th of May sees the FA Cup Final return to Wembley with this year’s contest between Everton and Chelsea. Chelsea go into the final as slight favourites and with this being Gus Hiddink’s last game in charge of the London club he will be anxious to bring back the silverware to Stamford Bridge. David Moyes will also be desperate to win the competition with his Everton side that haven’t lifted the trophy since 1995, after the famous victory against Manchester United and Paul Rideout’s renowned winner.

The 2009 FA Cup Final will be the 128th in its long and distinguished history as the world’s oldest domestic football cup competition. The first FA Cup was held in 1871 – 72 with Wanderers FC winning 1 – 0 against a team from the Royal Engineers. Wanderers FC were a renowned amateur club from Battersea in London and went on to dominate the early FA cup by winning it four times in the 1870’s. As the name suggests they never had a permanent home ground but were known to have played frequently at Lille Bridge (near to modern day Stamford Bridge) and Battersea Park. The Wanderers FC legacy continued after they were disbanded in the 1880’s and still to this day many clubs such as Bolton and Wolverhampton have taken up the name ‘Wanderers’ as homage to the legendary London club. The FA cup is also known for its famous ‘giant killings’ as non-league clubs are pitted against the best professional clubs in the country but only on one occasion has a non-league club gone on to win the competition, in 1901 Tottenham Hotspur who were playing in the Southern Amateur League at the time won the FA Cup in a 3 – 1 replay victory over Sheffield United.

This year’s competition is looking to be one of the most exciting in recent history, with both clubs desperate to win the converted trophy. Chelsea last won the competition in 2007 with Jose Mourinho leading the club and Didier Drogba scoring the winner. The club has changed much since then with Manchester United becoming dominant in the league and several Mourinho replacements failing to live up to expectations, but Chelsea have enjoyed a positive finish to the season and have found a new lease of life with current manager Gus Hiddink. Everton have seen a great resurgence over the last few years under the stewardship of David Moyes and an FA Cup victory would be the perfect reward for one of the best managers in England.

Whether you support the blue of Chelsea or the blue of Everton, this year’s FA Cup final is sure to be one the best sporting events of the summer and a great way of spending any Saturday afternoon.

Wembley stadium, situated in North West London, is serviced by three train stations and five underground lines with Wembley Park station, Wembley Stadium station and Wembley Central station all nearby and offering good quality transport links throughout London.