Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink celebrates his fine goal against Wolves in the Fifth Round.
By Nicholas Veevers. Sunday, 06 April 2008.
Barnsley v Cardiff City
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Semi-Finals
4pm, Sunday 6 April 2008
Wembley Stadium
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As one of the more experienced members of the Cardiff City squad, hitman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits that he never expected to be contending an FA Cup Semi-Final after joining the Bluebirds last summer.
The 36-year-old has featured in plenty of big games in his career over the years, including The FA Cup Final of 2002, but he admits that reaching this stage with the Welsh outfit is up there with the best moments of his career so far.
“I must say it’s the greatest feeling ever,” he revealed, ahead of Sunday’s game with Barnsley at Wembley.
“To be involved in a Semi-Final at a stadium like Wembley, well every player, irrelevant of how old they are, would love to be in this position.
“I got to the Final with Chelsea in 2002 and we lost 2-0 to Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium.
“Then two years ago, I also played in a Semi-Final for Middlesbrough but again we lost, this time to West Ham so of course it would mean a lot to me, but for now we can only think about this game.”
When the Dutchman arrived at Ninian Park last August after a spell with Charlton Athletic, the most that anyone connected to the Welsh club really expected was a promotion challenge in the Championship.
However, FA Cup wins against non-League Chasetown, Hereford United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hasselbaink’s former club Middlesbrough have seen them reach the last four and now everyone is focused on reaching The Final.
“Being at Cardiff you don’t think about it because you just don’t expect it to happen,” admitted Hasselbaink.
“When you play for sides like Chelsea or Middlesbrough, you expect to get to the Quarters or Semis, if not the Final itself.
“It’s what comes with being at a big club. At the start of this season I don’t think anyone expected Cardiff – or Barnsley or West Brom – to be in this position, but that’s what The FA Cup is about.
“You can never predict what’s going to happen and that gives a lot of smaller teams some extra wings – if you understand what I mean!”
Having played for teams across Europe such as Atletico Madrid, AZ Alkmaar and Boavista and then in England for the likes of Chelsea and Middlesbrough, Hasselbaink has more than enough experience of competitions in his locker, but he admits that The FA Cup remains amongst the most special and even more so now that the Final is back at Wembley.
“Everybody knows The FA Cup, whether you’re in Holland, Portugal or Spain,” he revealed.
“It’s the biggest competition of its kind in the world, without a doubt.
“I went to the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley, which was Chelsea and Manchester United last May and I also saw the League Cup Final a few weeks ago.
“It’s a great stadium and I can’t wait. I played with Chelsea at the old Wembley – it was the very last Charity Shield game before it was knocked down.
“We won 2-0 against Manchester United so I’m hoping the new stadium will bring me similar luck as well.”