2004 FA Cup Final
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The 2004 FA Cup Final was the 123rd
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
and the fourth to be played at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national r ...
, the Welsh national stadium in Cardiff, due to the ongoing reconstruction of the usual venue, London's
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. The match took place on 22 May 2004 and it was contested by
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
, who had finished third in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
that season, and
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
, who had finished 10th in the First Division. Manchester United secured a record 11th FA Cup victory with a headed goal from
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
and a brace from
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
, which included a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
. In contrast, it was Millwall's first appearance in a final of either the FA Cup or the
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...
. At the trophy presentation after the match, the Manchester United players wore shirts bearing the name and number of midfielder Jimmy Davis, who died in a road accident in August 2003. The match was
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...
d by
Jeff Winter Jeff Winter (born 18 April 1955 in Middlesbrough, England) is a former Premier League referee. Refereeing career Winter took charge of the 2004 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Millwall, his final game as a professional referee before ...
. Tony Green and Roger East were the
assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
s and
Matt Messias Matthew David Messias (born 7 May 1964
of Messias:
fourth official.


Background

Manchester United were appearing in their 16th FA Cup final and had won it on 10 of their previous 15 appearances. Two of these victories had yielded a League and FA Cup
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...
(in 1994 and 1996) and in
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
they had won the FA Cup as part of an unprecedented treble of
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, Champions League and FA Cup wins. For Millwall, 2004 was their first appearance in an FA Cup final, although they had reached the
semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
on three prior occasions:
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
,
1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...
and
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...
. Their appearance in the 1937 semi-final was notable as Millwall were the first team in the old Third Division to reach that stage. They also became only the second team from outside the top flight of
English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
to reach the final since 1982, and the first team from outside the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
since its foundation in 1992. Millwall reached the 2004 decider without having met any club from the Premier League along the way.


Route to the final


Manchester United

''Home teams listed first. Round 3:
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...
1–2 Manchester United Round 4:
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
0–3 Manchester United Round 5: Manchester United 4–2
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
Round 6: Manchester United 2–1
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
:  Semi-final:
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
0–1 Manchester United (at
Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
)


Millwall

''Home teams listed first. Round 3: Millwall 2–1
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...
Round 4: Telford United 0–2 Millwall Round 5: Millwall 1–0
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
Round 6: Millwall 0–0
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
:Replay: Tranmere Rovers 1–2 Millwall Semi-final:
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
0–1 Millwall (at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...
)


Pre-match


Venue

Due to the ongoing reconstruction of
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, the match was played at the
Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national r ...
in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
for the fourth year in a row. The stadium was built in 1998 ahead of the
1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...
in Wales, with a capacity of 72,500. While it was being built, the
Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played the ...
played its home matches at the
old Wembley Stadium The original Wembley Stadium (; originally known as the Empire Stadium) was a stadium in Wembley, London, best known for hosting important football matches. It stood on the same site now occupied by its successor. Wembley hosted the FA Cup fin ...
, so after Wembley was torn down in 2000, the Millennium Stadium was selected to host the finals of the FA Cup, the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
and the
Football League play-offs The English Football League play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of the English football leagu ...
until at least 2003. Delays to the construction of the new Wembley meant that deal was later extended until 2006.


Referee

The referee for the final was
Jeff Winter Jeff Winter (born 18 April 1955 in Middlesbrough, England) is a former Premier League referee. Refereeing career Winter took charge of the 2004 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Millwall, his final game as a professional referee before ...
from
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...
, who was officiating in his last match as a professional referee, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 45. Winter's assistant referees were Roger East and Tony Green, while
Matt Messias Matthew David Messias (born 7 May 1964
of Messias:
fourth official.


Broadcasting

The match was broadcast live on television in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
on both
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and
Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...
. The BBC broadcast was presented by
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...
, with
Alan Hansen Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotla ...
,
Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
and
Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
in the studio, and commentary from
John Motson John Walker Motson (10 July 1945 – 23 February 2023) was an English football commentator. Beginning as a television commentator with the BBC in 1971, he commentated on over 2000 games on television and radio. From the late 1970s to 2008, Mot ...
in his 25th FA Cup Final as lead commentator. The BBC also provided live radio coverage on
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
, presented by
Mark Pougatch Mark Charles Albert Pougatch (born 27 January 1968) is an English radio and television broadcaster, a journalist and author who is currently the Chief Sport Presenter for ITV Sport, fronting their major football and rugby coverage. He is also ...
, with commentary from Alan Green and Mike Ingham, and analysis from
Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...
and
Steve Claridge Stephen Edward Claridge (born 10 April 1966) is an English football pundit, coach and former professional player. He was a pundit for BBC Sport football shows including ''Football Focus'' and ''The Football League Show'', until 2014 when he beca ...
.


Match


Team selection

Manchester United goalkeeper
Roy Carroll Roy Eric Carroll (born 30 September 1977) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best known for his spells at Wigan Athletic, Manchester United (where he won a Premier League winners medal and the 20 ...
appeared to have earned his place in the team for the FA Cup final after a run of good performances between the end of March and mid-April 2004, conceding just two goals in five games, including the semi-final win over
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
on 3 April. However, a 1–0 defeat away to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
on 17 April led to a recall for American goalkeeper Tim Howard for the last five games of the season. Although Howard conceded three goals in that time, he retained his place in the team for the cup final. Following the recurrence of a knee injury against Arsenal on 28 March, striker
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
was only able to play in one match in April 2004 and was expected to miss the last two league games against
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...
to ensure his fitness for the final; however, he recovered in time to play and score in both games, guaranteeing his place up front against Millwall. One surprise selection saw
Darren Fletcher Darren Barr Fletcher (born 1 February 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who is currently the technical director of Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career. He mostly played as a centr ...
named in central midfield alongside
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...
ahead of both
Nicky Butt Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner and chief executive officer of Salford City. He played prof ...
and Phil Neville. Millwall went into the final with doubts over the fitness of player-manager
Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his ca ...
(knee), captain
Kevin Muscat Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...
(knee) and midfielder Paul Ifill (groin); Wise and Ifill recovered in time to play in the final, but Muscat was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Bob Peeters Bob Peeters (born 10 January 1974) is a Belgian football manager and former player currently manager of Eerste Divisie club Helmond Sport. Club career Lierse Noted for his large stature, measuring 1.96 m, Peeters grew up in Wommelgem, Antwe ...
, Andy Roberts,
Tony Warner Anthony Randolph Warner (born 11 May 1974) is a football coach and former professional footballer who is the goalkeeping coach at Reading. Warner notably played in the Premier League for Fulham, having also being contracted to Liverpool and Hul ...
and Charley Hearn also missed the game through injury, while striker
Danny Dichio Daniele Salvatore Ernest Dichio (born 19 October 1974) is an English retired professional footballer and coach. Dichio scored the first goal in Toronto FC history against the Chicago Fire on 12 May 2007. Later in that same game he became the ...
was suspended. Because they were unable to play in the game, and with manager Wise in the starting line-up, Muscat and Warner led the Millwall team out for the national anthem before kick-off.


Summary

The first chances of the match fell to Manchester United's
Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
, who took a couple of long-range efforts at goal – one went just wide while another was tipped away by Millwall goalkeeper
Andy Marshall Andrew John Marshall (born 14 April 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played for Norwich City, AFC Bournemouth, Gillingham, Ipswich Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Millwall, Coventry City and the England under-21 team. He ...
. Scholes was presented with another opportunity on the six-yard line, when a
rabona In association football, the rabona is the technique of kicking the football where the kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg. There are several reasons why a player might opt to strike the ball this way: for example, a right ...
cross from
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
found him unmarked; the midfielder seemed as surprised by the cross as everyone else and completely missed the ball with his hooked shot. Millwall's only chance of the first half came when Paul Ifill broke down the right-hand side of the pitch and arrowed in towards the penalty area, only to have his shot blocked. They looked to have survived the first half without conceding until a minute before the interval, when
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...
played in
Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...
as the right-back moved into the penalty area and Neville chipped a cross back across the box; Millwall player-manager
Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his ca ...
waited for the ball to arrive, but in doing so, he allowed Ronaldo to steal in and head the ball past Marshall, to give United a 1–0 lead going into the break. Manchester United went 2–0 up 20 minutes into the second half, when
Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his entire professional career for Manchester United and briefly served as ...
went on a run down the right wing into the Millwall box only to be brought down by
David Livermore David Livermore (born 20 May 1980) is an English retired footballer who is the former assistant manager of Millwall, Cardiff City and Gillingham. Livermore has featured for clubs such as Arsenal, Millwall, Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion, L ...
. Referee
Jeff Winter Jeff Winter (born 18 April 1955 in Middlesbrough, England) is a former Premier League referee. Refereeing career Winter took charge of the 2004 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Millwall, his final game as a professional referee before ...
awarded a
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penal ...
for the foul and
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
scored with a powerful shot into the top-corner to the goalkeeper's right. United now held a comfortable advantage and Millwall struggled to find a way back into the match. United's defence kept Neil Harris and
Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his a ...
at bay, and the Red Devils eventually scored a third when Giggs went on a run down the left and crossed for Van Nistelrooy to tap in from three yards out. There were suggestions that Van Nistelrooy was offside at the moment of Giggs' pass, but television replays showed his feet were grounded in an onside position. Millwall had a chance near the end when substitute
Mark McCammon Mark Jason McCammon (born 7 August 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in England, he represented the Barbados national national team at international level. After starting his career with Cambridge United ...
almost found a way through United's defence, while Scholes had a late effort for the Reds, before
Curtis Weston Curtis James Weston (born 24 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays for AFC Fylde. Playing career Born in Greenwich, London, Weston attended Erith Secondary School, and was spotted by a Millwall scout when playing for the ...
(aged 17 years and 119 days) replaced Wise to become the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final, beating the record set by James F. M. Prinsep of
Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club play ...
, when he appeared in the
1879 FA Cup Final The 1879 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Etonians and Clapham Rovers at the Kennington Oval, London Borough of Lambeth, South London. Old Etonians won by 1–0, the only goal scored by Charles Clerke. Summary Although Clapham dominated the ...
at the age of 17 years and 245 days. The match finished 3–0 to Manchester United, their 11th success in the FA Cup.


Match details


Post-match

Manchester United were presented with the FA Cup by
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
manager
Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...
, who selected
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
as the man of the match. For the trophy presentation, the Manchester United squad changed into shirts bearing the name and squad number of Jimmy Davis, who died in a road accident while on loan to
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
in August 2003. Eriksson's selection of Van Nistelrooy as man of the match was met with criticism from some members of the media, with both the BBC and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' naming
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
as the game's best player. Ronaldo received praise from both his manager Alex Ferguson and teammate
Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...
after the game, as well as BBC pundit Alan Hansen and ''The Guardian''s Andy Gray. Dennis Wise claimed Ronaldo's goal at the end of the first half proved the turning point in the match, but he felt there were plenty of positives for his team to take from the game. It was
Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his a ...
's last game for Millwall, as he signed for Everton in July 2004, and
Nicky Butt Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner and chief executive officer of Salford City. He played prof ...
's last game for Manchester United, as he signed for
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
later that same month. Since Manchester United had already qualified for the
2004–05 UEFA Champions League The 2004–05 UEFA Champions League was the 50th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the 13th since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992. The competition was won by Liverpool, who beat Milan on penaltie ...
by virtue of their league position, Millwall qualified for the first round of the
2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...
. Club owner
Theo Paphitis Theodoros "Theo" Paphitis ( el, Θεόδωρος Παφίτης; born 24 September 1959) is a Greek-Cypriot British retail magnate and entrepreneur. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC business programme ''Dragons' Den'' and as former ...
said the club had made around £2.5 million for making it to the FA Cup final, but that the club could stand to lose money if they failed to reach the group stage of the UEFA Cup.


References


External links


Match report
at BBC Sport {{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Fa Cup Final
Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
Fa Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
Fa Cup Final 2004 Fa Cup Final 2004 2000s in Cardiff Sports competitions in Cardiff Fa Cup Final 2004