Historical Football Kits

 
English League Teams > FA Cup Finals

English FA Cup Finalists 1990 - 1999

manchester united fa cup winners 1999Following the tragedy at Hillsborough, seating was installed throughout Wembley stadium, reducing capacity from 98,000 to 80,000. In the 1992-93 campaign and thereafter the semi-finals were played at Wembley rather than at neutral club grounds. Money from the sale of television rights transformed the game and the Premier League was increasingly dominated by expensive foreign stars. The cup was monopolised by the big city clubs: Arsenal won it twice, including one double of domestic league and cup but the team of the decade was without question Manchester United whose four Cup wins included a domestic double followed by the treble of FA Cup, League and European Champions Cup.

1989 - 1990

manchester united 1990 fa cup final kit

Manchester United

crystal palace 1990 fa cup final kit

Crystal Palace

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Manchester United 3 Crystal Palace 3

venue Wembley Stadium
date 12 May 1990

The first game played in front of an all-seated crowd was a six goal thriller. Palace took the lead first but United came back and in the 62nd minute they went ahead. Palace brought on Wright, who had missed much of the season after breaking his shin, and he equalised in the 73rd minute. In the first period of extra-time, Wright scored his second to put Crystal Palace back into the lead. It seemed that Palace were going to win their first ever FA Cup but with eight minutes left, Hughes equalised. Having arranged their homecoming in advance, United's team drove through Manchester on the traditional open-top bus empty-handed.

 

1989 - 1990 Replay

manchester united 1990 fa cup final replay kit

Manchester United

crystal palace 1990 fa cup final replay kit

Crystal Palace

Manchester United 1 Crystal Palace 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 17 May 1990

The following Thursday, Wembley was again packed. In a controversial decision, Alex Ferguson brought Les Sealey, on loan from Luton, in to play in goal. Sealey's loan had to be extended by two days to make this possible. The first half was a scrappy affair littered with fouls and constantly interrupted by the referee's whistle. In the second half, Palace's man-to-man marking began to unravel and the Manchester team took control, Lee Martin scoring the winner in the closing minutes.

 

1990 - 1991

spurs 1991 fa cup final kit

Tottenham Hotspur

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nottingham forest 1991 fa cup final kit

Nottingham Forest

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Nottingham Forest 1 (Extra time played)

venue Wembley Stadium
date 18 May 1991

In his extraordinary career the FA Cup had eluded Brian Clough and this was not his day. Nor was it Paul Gascoigne's. Within two minutes of the kick off, Gazza made a reckless challenge on Parker and only fifteen minutes later, committed another bad foul just outside the Spurs penalty area. Pearce scored from the free-kick and moments later Gascoigne collapsed with torn ligaments. Lineker had a goal disallowed, a decision that TV replays showed to be in error. Lineker was then brought down by the Forest goalkeeper who saved the subsequent penalty. In the 56th minute Spurs finally equalised and the match went to extra time. Within a few minutes of the restart the unfortunate Des Walker nodded the ball into his own net.

Incidentally, the long shorts worn by Spurs in this match met with considerable derision but quickly caught on and became universal.

 

1991 - 1992

liverpool 1992 fa cup final kit

Liverpool

sunderland 1992 fa cup final kit

Sunderland

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Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 9 May 1992

Liverpool's fifth FA Cup win came at the expense of Sunderland who were, for the second time appearing in the final while playing in the Second Division. There was no fairy-tale repeat of 1973. Two goals in the second half were enough to see Liverpool safely home. Sunderland wore their spectacular navy and white change kit for this match.

 

1992 - 1993

arsenal 1993 fa cup final kit

Arsenal

sheffield wednesday 1993 fa cup final kit

Sheffield Wednesday

Arsenal 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Replay after 1-1 draw)

venue Wembley Stadium
date 15 & 20 May 1993

These clubs had met in the League Cup final at Wembley weeks before (Arsenal won 2-1) and after playing their semi-finals at Wembley as well, were appearing in the stadium for the fourth time in six weeks when the replay was completed. Overall, the four hours it took to decide the destination of the FA Cup were entirely unremarkable and the replay was watched by the smallest crowd ever assembled at a Wembley final - 62,267. The kick-off was delayed for half an hour to allow Sheffield supporters delayed by an accident on the M1 to get to the game and it has to be assumed that many failed to get to the stadium. Arsenal's decisive goal in extra-time in the replay.

 

1993 - 1994

manchester united 1994 fa cup final kit

Manchester United

chelsea 1994 fa cup final kit

Chelsea

Manchester United 4 Chelsea 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 14 May 1994

United had clinched the Premiership title by eight clear points and were looking to become the fourth club to achieve the "Double" in the twentieth century. The game started slowly on rain soaked turf and at half-time there was no score. United seemed below par and Chelsea were the better team by a small margin. When play resumed the scrappy pattern of the first half continued with passes going astray and caution inhibiting players from taking risks. On the hour the game's character changed when United were awarded a penalty and their talisman, Eric Cantona stroked the ball home. Chelsea went all out for an equaliser but were caught on the break when Kanchelskis took a tumble in the Chelsea penalty area and Cantona converted the penalty. Two minutes later Hughes made the game safe with a third goal and added a fourth in the final minute. United had achieved their first "double" with considerable style.

 

1994 - 1995

everton 1995 fa cup final kit

Everton

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manchester united 1995 fa cup final kit

Manchester United

Everton 1 Manchester United 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 20 May 1995

United were back to defend the cup but in a match that started at a frenetic pace, they would be frustrated. Everton's goal came in the first half, a header from six yards by Paul Rideout. In the second half Everton's veteran goalkeeper, Southall defied the United onslaught. For this match, Everton unveiled their new kit for the following season. NEC's sponsorship ended at the end of the season so this is the only time that their logo appeared on the new shirts.

 

1995 - 1996

manchester united 1996 fa cup final kit

Manchester United

Liverpool

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Manchester United 1 Liverpool 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 11 May 1996

Footballer of the Year, Eric Cantona scored the goal that secured Manchester United their second "Double," the first time that this feat had been achieved. The game was generally disappointing as was Liverpool's choice of an ugly change kit in bottle-green and white.

 

1996 - 1997

chelsea 1997 fa cup final kit

Chelsea

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middlesbrough 1997 fa cup kit

Middlesbrough

Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 17 May 1997

Despite their lengthy history Middlesbrough had never won any top level silverware. Beaten finalists in the League Cup, Boro had just been relegated from the Premier Division and had nothing to lose. Chelsea's Di Matteo struck home in the first minute of the game and from ten on the unfancied Middlesbrough side faced an un uphill struggle. Middlesbrough went onto the attack in pursuit of an equaliser and were caught on the break by a Chelsea counter-attack and Newton made it 2-0.

 

1997 - 1998

arsenal 1998 fa cup final kit

Arsenal

newcastle united 1998 fa cup final kit

Newcastle United

Arsenal 2 Newcastle United 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 16 May 1998

Arsenal completed their second "Double" with considerable ease. Newcastle tried but were never able to match Arsene Wenger's formidable side. The Gunners scored once in each half.

 

1998 - 1999

manchester united 1999 fa cup final kit

Manchester United

newcastle united 1999 fa cup final kit

Newcastle United

Manchester United 2 Newcastle United 0

venue Wembley Stadium
date 22 May 1999

Newcastle returned to Wembley with visions of restoring their former cup glory but once again they came up against a team that was riding high. Manchester United were already Premier League champions and in the final of the European Champions League. They brushed a feeble Newcastle aside and could have scored five or six, the game was so one-sided. The following Wednesday, Manchester United came from behind to beat Bayern Munich, completing a magnificent and unique Treble.

 
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