2010 Football League Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Football League Cup
2009–10 Football League Cup
The 2009–10 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 50th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs....

, the 50th season of the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. The match, played at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

 on 28 February 2010, was won by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, who beat Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 2–1. Aston Villa took the lead in the fifth minute of the game, via a James Milner
James Milner
Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...

 penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

, but Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

 equalised for Manchester United seven minutes later. Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

, who replaced the injured Owen shortly before half time, scored the winning goal with 16 minutes left to play.

Manchester United went into the match as defending champions, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 on penalties in the 2009 final
2009 Football League Cup Final
The 2009 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Football League Cup, the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League...

. The win gave them their fourth Football League Cup title, their third in five years and their second in succession, becoming the first team to retain the trophy since Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 in 1990
1990 Football League Cup Final
The 1990 Littlewoods Cup Final took place at Wembley Stadium on 29 April 1990, and was contested between Nottingham Forest and Oldham Athletic. A single Nigel Jemson goal gave Forest the cup, equalling Liverpool's then-record of four wins....

. Since Manchester United qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League via their league position, the place in the following season's Europa League which would have been given to the winners of the League Cup was instead given to Villa, since they finished in sixth place in the 2009–10 Premier League.

Background

Out of the 173 previous meetings between the two sides, Manchester United had won 87 and Aston Villa had won 49, with the remaining 37 games finishing as draws; however, Villa's record in the League Cup against United was markedly better, with four wins in six matches between them. United's only League Cup win over Aston Villa came in October 1975, when they won 2–1 at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...

 in the third round. The only previous meeting between the two teams in the final of the competition came in 1994
1994 Football League Cup Final
The 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 27 March 1994 at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3–1 to claim their fourth League Cup final victory...

, when Villa won 3–1 and United winger Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...

 became the first player to be sent off in a League Cup final.

Aston Villa hold the advantage over Manchester United in the league matches between the two sides in 2009–10, having beaten the Premier League champions 1–0 at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 in December and holding them to a 1–1 draw at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...

 three weeks before the League Cup final.

Both Manchester United and Aston Villa had played in seven Football League Cup finals, but Manchester United had only won three compared to Villa's five. However, United's most recent victory came in 2009
2009 Football League Cup Final
The 2009 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Football League Cup, the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League...

 – when they beat Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 on penalties – whereas Villa's last League Cup title came in 1996
1996 Football League Cup Final
The 1996 Coca-Cola Cup Final took place on 24 March 1996 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Aston Villa and Leeds United. This was the 35th final and the 29th to be played at Wembley...

, when they beat Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 3–0. Manchester United went into the match looking to become the first team to retain the League Cup since Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 in 1990
1990 Football League Cup Final
The 1990 Littlewoods Cup Final took place at Wembley Stadium on 29 April 1990, and was contested between Nottingham Forest and Oldham Athletic. A single Nigel Jemson goal gave Forest the cup, equalling Liverpool's then-record of four wins....

.

Ticketing

Since 2008, the final of the Football League Cup has been played at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

 in London. The stadium has a capacity of 90,000 spectators, and each team received an allocation of 31,750 tickets for their supporters. Both clubs chose to limit their initial applications to season ticket holders, with priority given to those supporters who had attended more cup games up to that point in the season.

Match ball

The match ball for the 2010 League Cup final is a variation of the Mitre Revolve
Mitre Revolve
The Mitre Revolve is an association football ball made by Mitre Sports International, a British sports equipment manufacturer. It is the official ball of several football competitions, including The Football League, the Football League Cup, the Football League Trophy and the Scottish Premier League...

 ball used by The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. The ball is white and patterned with black with gold trim. 150 balls were produced for the two teams to train with prior to the final, each of which is stamped with a unique identifying number and the date of the match. The ball also features a special logo that reads "FIFTY" – in recognition of the 50th season of the League Cup – where the letter I is replaced by an image of the League Cup trophy.

Officials

Staffordshire
Staffordshire Football Association
The Staffordshire Football Association is the governing body of football in the county of Staffordshire. -External links:*...

-based referee Phil Dowd
Phil Dowd
Philip Dowd is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire....

 was named as the referee for the 2010 League Cup final on 1 February 2010. His only previous cup final experience came in 2006, when he was the fourth official for the 2006 FA Cup Final. His assistants for the match were Shaun Procter-Green from Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Football Association
The Lincolnshire Football Association, often known simply as the Lincolnshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Lincolnshire, England...

 and David Richardson from West Yorkshire
West Riding County Football Association
The West Riding County Football Association is the governing body of football in the area covered by the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire.-External links:*...

, with Lee Mason
Lee Mason
Lee S. Mason is an English professional football referee from Bolton, Lancashire, who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is chairman of the Bolton Referees Society and still lives locally...

 from Lancashire
Lancashire County Football Association
The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England...

 acting as fourth official.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony for the match began with the Football League Cup trophy being brought out onto the field of play by Manchester United fan Private Dave Tatlock of 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
The Second Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is a battalion-sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O'Sullivan....

; Tatlock had been wounded while on tour in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 in 2008. A piece of shrapnel embedded in his spine, leaving him paralysed, and he had been told by doctors that he would never walk again. Within four weeks, he regained feeling in his legs, and three months later he was able to walk with the aid of a stick. At the time of the match, he was waiting for an operation that would fully restore his mobility.

The players and officials then emerged from the tunnel and lined up along a red carpet, accompanied by their team mascots; Manchester United's mascot was seven-year-old Charlie Simpson, selected for his fund-raising efforts in aid of the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

, while Aston Villa were led out by six-year-old Ben Clay, whose identical twin Oliver has cerebral palsy and attends a hospice run by Acorns Children's Hospice
Acorns Children's Hospice
Acorns Children’s Hospice Trust is a registered charity, offering a network of care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families across the heart of England. Acorns has three hospices, situated in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester as well as a Community Team that...

, whose logo Aston Villa wear on their shirts. The teams were then presented to the day's guests of honour: Brian Mawhinney
Brian Mawhinney
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney PC is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 until 1997 and a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 2005.-Early life:...

, chairman of The Football League, and Martin Thomas, the Supply Chain Director of Molson Coors (UK)
Molson Coors Brewing Company
Molson Coors Brewing Company is a company that was created by the merger of two of North America's largest breweries: Molson of Canada, and Coors of the United States, on February 9, 2005...

, who own the Carling
Carling
Carling brands are currently owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company. In South Africa it is distributed by SABMiller.Carling Black Label is the name of a brand of Canadian lager in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa...

 brand. Finally, the national anthem was sung by 21-year-old Camilla Kerslake
Camilla Kerslake
Camilla Kerslake is an English classical crossover singer from London who has become the first signing to Gary Barlow’s new record label...

.

Team selection

Aston Villa went into the match with only two players unavailable due to injury: forward Marlon Harewood
Marlon Harewood
Marlon Anderson Harewood is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Guangzhou R&F in China.Harewood started his career at Nottingham Forest. During his career there, he had loan spells at Haka and Ipswich Town before joining West Ham United in 2003 and then Aston Villa in 2007...

 (foot) and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker is an English footballer of Sierra Leonean descent. He currently plays for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League. He is known for being a robust midfielder with good overall tackling and passing qualities...

 (ankle); although midfielder Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov is a Bulgarian footballer who captains Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgarian national team. He won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2003 when he was playing for Celtic...

 had missed the previous game with a virus. Defender James Collins and forward Emile Heskey
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...

 were both rested for Villa's FA Cup fifth round replay against Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 on 24 February. Also rested was goalkeeper Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....

, indicating manager Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...

's intention for Friedel to start the final, despite reserve goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Brad Guzan
Bradley Edwin "Brad" Guzan is an American soccer player who plays for Aston Villa of the Premier League.-Early Career:...

 having started each of Villa's other League Cup matches during the season. Defender Stephen Warnock
Stephen Warnock
Stephen Warnock is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a left-back.He has been capped by England twice and was part of the nation's squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup...

 had been suffering a shin problem earlier in the season, but he was given two weeks of rest before returning to the Villa side for their last three matches before the final to gain some match fitness.

Manchester United, on the other hand, were beset by injury and suspension; midfielder Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 broke his arm in the league match between the two teams 18 days earlier, forcing him to miss a month of the season, while fellow midfielder Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....

 suffered an injury to the cruciate ligament in his left knee against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Defender Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

 had been expected to play in the match following a four-match suspension for an incident against Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

, but he suffered a recurrence of a back problem that had kept him out of contention for three months earlier in the season. Also missing with long-term injuries for United were midfielder Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....

 (knee) and defender John O'Shea
John O'Shea
John O'Shea can refer to:*John O'Shea, Irish footballer with Sunderland*John O'Shea , New Zealand film director*John O'Shea *John O'Shea , Wales international rugby union footballer*John O'Shea...

 (thigh), while midfielder Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...

 was suspended for three matches after being sent off for a two-footed tackle on Stiliyan Petrov in the match between United and Villa on 10 February.

Aston Villa's team was as expected, with the possible exception of Friedel starting in goal ahead of Guzan. Martin O'Neill played a 4–4–2 formation with Heskey and Agbonlahor in attack and Ashley Young and Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...

 on the wings, while Stephen Warnock was deemed fit enough to play at left-back and Stiliyan Petrov recovered from his virus to captain the side from central midfield. The biggest surprise in the teams selected by both managers was Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

's decision to leave in-form striker Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

 on the bench, opting instead to partner Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

 with Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

 up front and play four in midfield. Also surprising was Ferguson's decision to play Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak is a Polish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Manchester United and the Polish national team.Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak has previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC Uerdingen 05 and Hertha BSC, before...

 in goal ahead of Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

, who had been rested in midweek. It later came to light that Rooney had a minor knee injury and was named on the bench as a precaution.

Details


|
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> ASTON VILLA:
GK 1   Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....

RB 24   Carlos Cuéllar
Carlos Cuéllar
Carlos Javier Cuéllar Jiménez is a Spanish footballer who plays for Aston Villa. He is primarily a central defender, but can also operate as a right-back.-Early career:...

 
CB 29   James Collins 
CB 5   Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he was a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.Dunne began his professional career at Everton...

LB 25   Stephen Warnock
Stephen Warnock
Stephen Warnock is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a left-back.He has been capped by England twice and was part of the nation's squad at the 2010 FIFA World Cup...

RM 7   Ashley Young
CM 8   James Milner
James Milner
Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...

CM 19   Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov is a Bulgarian footballer who captains Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgarian national team. He won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2003 when he was playing for Celtic...

 (c)
LM 6   Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...

 
CF 18   Emile Heskey
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...

CF 11   Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Gabriel Imuetinyan "Gabby" Agbonlahor is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa. Agbonlahor is a product of Aston Villa's Academy and has earned three caps for the English national team. He is currently the longest-serving player at Villa Park, joining as a youth player in...

Substitutes:
GK 22   Brad Guzan
Brad Guzan
Bradley Edwin "Brad" Guzan is an American soccer player who plays for Aston Villa of the Premier League.-Early Career:...

DF 2   Luke Young
DF 23   Habib Beye
Habib Beye
Habib Beye is a French born Senegalese footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Aston Villa and for the Senegal national team...

MF 4   Steve Sidwell
Steve Sidwell
Steven James "Steve" Sidwell is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Fulham in the Premier League. His previous clubs include Arsenal, Reading, Chelsea and Aston Villa.-Arsenal:...

MF 16   Fabian Delph
Fabian Delph
Fabian Delph is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Aston Villa and has represented his country at under-21 level. He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged just 11...

FW 10   John Carew
John Carew
John Alieu Carew , is a Norwegian professional association football player who plays for West Ham United and the Norwegian national team. His father is Gambian and his mother is Norwegian; he was born and raised in Norway.-Vålerenga:John Alieu Carew began his career with his local club Lørenskog,...

 
FW 14   Nathan Delfouneso
Nathan Delfouneso
Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Aston Villa. His natural playing position is as a striker, however he has been used as a winger throughout his career...

Manager:
  Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...

style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center> MANCHESTER UNITED: | GK 29   Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak is a Polish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Manchester United and the Polish national team.Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak has previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC Uerdingen 05 and Hertha BSC, before...

RB 21   Rafael
Rafael Pereira da Silva (footballer born 1990)
Rafael Pereira da Silva , commonly known as Rafael or Rafael da Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Manchester United. He normally plays as a defender in a right back position, but can also play on the right side of midfield...

  CB 15   Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

  CB 23   Jonny Evans
Jonny Evans
Jonathan Grant "Jonny" Evans is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester United and Northern Ireland. Evans was born in Belfast and started his career at Greenisland FC, where he was spotted by Manchester United scouts. He progressed through Manchester United's football...

LB 3   Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra
Patrice Latyr Evra is a French international footballer who currently plays for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back and is described as "the classic example of a modern full-back" who is...

 (c) RM 25   Antonio Valencia CM 24   Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher
Darren Barr Fletcher is a Scottish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester United. He is the current captain of Scottish national team...

CM 16   Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...

LM 13   Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...

  CF 7   Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

  CF 9   Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

Substitutes: GK 12   Ben Foster
Ben Foster (footballer)
Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...

DF 2   Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....

  DF 6   Wes Brown
Wes Brown
Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...

MF 18   Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

MF 28   Darron Gibson
Darron Gibson
Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson is an Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland national team...

  FW 10   Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

  FW 32   Mame Biram Diouf
Mame Biram Diouf
Mame Biram Diouf is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester United and the Senegal national football team....

Manager:   Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...



MATCH OFFICIALS
  • Assistant referees:
    • Shaun Procter-Green (Lincolnshire
      Lincolnshire Football Association
      The Lincolnshire Football Association, often known simply as the Lincolnshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Lincolnshire, England...

      )
    • David Richardson (West Yorkshire
      West Riding County Football Association
      The West Riding County Football Association is the governing body of football in the area covered by the administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire.-External links:*...

      )
  • Fourth official: Lee Mason
    Lee Mason
    Lee S. Mason is an English professional football referee from Bolton, Lancashire, who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He is chairman of the Bolton Referees Society and still lives locally...

     (Lancashire
    Lancashire County Football Association
    The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England...

    )


MAN OF THE MATCH
  • Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

MATCH RULES
  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shootout if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics

Aston Villa Manchester United
Goals scored 1 2
Total shots 10 18
Shots on target 3 9
Ball possession 50% 50%
Corner kicks 4 5
Fouls committed 10 11
Offsides 4 4
Yellow cards 2 2
Red cards 0 0

Road to Wembley

Manchester UnitedRoundManchester United 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

Round 3 Aston Villa 1–0 Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

0–2 Manchester United Round 4 Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

0–0
(1–3p)
Aston Villa
Manchester United 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

Round 5 Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

2–4 Aston Villa
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

2–1 Manchester United Semi-final Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

0–1 Aston Villa
Manchester United 3–1 Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

Aston Villa 6–4 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate Aston Villa won 7–4 on aggregate
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