The competition began to commemorate the incredible contribution of the players in 125 years - and after more than 10,000 votes we have our team, headed by Rush, the Star Man.

Rush says he is honoured and delighted to have been named as the All-Time FA Cup Hero, as voted by supporters up and down the country.

The Liverpool legend is the competition's all-time leading goalscorer with an incredible 44 goals, with five of those coming in Finals themselves.

And Rush beat the likes of Bobby Moore, Sir Stanley Matthews and Gary Lineker to the Star Man award in the 'Team of Heroes', and puts the achievement high up amongst his proudest FA Cup moments.

He said: "It's a great honour because the FA Cup has been special to me since I was a kid.

"In terms of the competition, there is no greater honour than being named the All-Time FA Cup Hero.

"It's the most famous Cup in the world as well, so I'm very proud. It's just great to be in that team, never mind being its Star Man."

As difficult as it was for Ian to pick out a highlight from his many FA Cup memories, he shares the thoughts of many Liverpool fans when he looks back on the two Final victories over Merseyside rivals Everton in the 1980s.

Those games were extra special for Rush, since he found the net twice in both games - even though he actually started on the bench in the 1989 Final.

He added: "To score in the two Liverpool versus Everton Finals was special, not just because they were local derbies but because the one in 1986 was the first ever all-Merseyside Final.

"I think the reason why Liverpool fans like me is because I always seemed to do well against Everton, and to score against them in two Cup Finals made it that much better."

Rush's goalscoring record in the competition speaks volumes for the high regard he and his fellow heroes had for the FA Cup during their careers.

As a prolific goalscorer, the Welsh international was used to finding the back of the net, but still says there is no goal quite like an FA Cup goal.

He said: "I've got a really good affiliation with the competition because I've got the record number of goals and the record number in Finals.

"That must've helped me win the award because people like to see goals being scored rather than defended.

"You dream about scoring in the FA Cup, so when you do it's something special. I was fortunate enough to do it in three Cup Finals.

"It gets better each time, and it's even better when you finish playing and look back."