As we countdown to the Emirates FA Cup Final this weekend between Leicester City and Chelsea, Emirates is celebrating early by giving you the chance to win a magical trip to Dubai.
To mark the final and this very special giveaway, we brought together two former players who know the opposing teams well – and have played their fair share of Emirates FA Cup matches over the years. Seven-time Emirates FA Cup winner Ashley Cole was joined by Emile Heskey, who lifted the cup with Liverpool in 2001, to chat about their memories of the famous old competition and the special away days they experienced during their careers.
“When you’re going to the smaller clubs, you don’t know what to expect”, said former Leicester man Heskey of his first away day memories from the competition. “I was on the bench actually. But, lucky enough, I came on and scored and you go home happy.”
Cole, a winner of the competition with both Arsenal and Chelsea, had plenty of stories to tell about misbehaving teammates on the coach journeys to away games. “Petr Cech… I would sit in front of him on the coach and he loved to play the drums. But he hasn’t got any drums so what’s he going to play on? The back of my seat! Absolute nightmare.”
The two even shared a classic Emirates FA Cup Final back in 2001, with Emile’s Liverpool side ending up 2-1 winners thanks to a famous late brace from Michael Owen. When asked to name the best Emirates FA Cup game he’d played in, Emile unsurprisingly chose that final. Ashley immediately responded, “I knew that was coming!”. Bad luck, Ash…
Emile and Ashley have no shortage of memories from trips away in the Emirates FA Cup. Now it’s your turn to make your ultimate away day memory, thanks to Emirates.
You could win a prize package for two people including Emirates flights to Dubai and five-star accommodation at the JW Marriot Marquis for three nights, to be enjoyed once UK and UAE travel restrictions permit.
