THE FA Cup final for many is one of the career pinnacles.
Running out at a packed out Wembley with the stands full of passionate fans dreaming, like the players involved, of lifting the famous trophy.
But for one former Chelsea player, the 2009 final was one that will live long in the memory – but not for the action ON the park.
He revealed he MISSED the entire showdown with Everton after a boozy night out on the eve of the massive match.
It didn’t stop there, he SLEPT through the game and didn’t know the Blues had won the silverware until kitman Mick Roberts – who had helped him initially – returned to the dressing room to tell him.
He proceeded to go out and celebrate the trophy success but admits it wasn’t his ‘finest hour’ after being overwhelmed by his injury issues and insisted it’s important to be honest after letting ‘his standards slip’.
The player in question? Joe Cole.
The former England international – who also played with the likes of West Ham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and abroad at Lille and Tampa Bay Rowdies – offered an honest insight in his book ‘Joe Cole Luxury Player’.
In quotes shared by the Daily Mail, he recalled: “The kitman Mick Roberts clocked me. He said, ‘You don’t look great mate, lie down there’ and he barricaded me in between the skips, into the sort of den you’d make for your kids.
“I slept in there until he came in and said we’d won the FA Cup, and we went out and celebrated.
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“Not my finest hour. I let my standards slip but I’ve tried to be honest.
“It’s important to be honest.
“You can’t talk for the whole book about the great times and not talk about your mistakes.”
Chelsea defeated Everton 2-1 to lift the FA Cup.
Guus Hiddink, who was interim boss at the time, got the trophy on his CV thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
They had to come from behind and do it the hard way after Louis Saha had netted for the Toffees inside the first 30 seconds.
