Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic will miss the 2015 Capital One Cup final after his red card against Burnley…
One of the biggest talking points from this weekend’s Premier League fixtures was Nemanja Matic’s dramatic red card during the 1-1 draw with Burnley. The Serbian midfielder reacted angrily to a challenge from Ashley Barnes, and his subsequent shove earned him his marching orders.
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Matic will now be suspended for the Capital One Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. The loss of such a key player will come as a big blow to Jose Mourinho and the rest of the Blues squad, who will be well aware that they will need to be at their best to claim victory at Wembley.
Of course, Matic is far from the first player to miss a cup final through suspension. Here are ten of the most famous occurrences from down the years:
10) Alessandro Costacurta (AC Milan & Italy) – 1994 Champions League Final & 1994 World Cup Final
Talk about unlucky, the defender missed two finals in the space of a couple of months. Milan did at least manage to win their final without him, beating Barcelona 4-0. Unfortunately Italy were less fortunate, losing to Brazil on penalties.
9) Luis Garcia (Liverpool) and Hayden Mullins (West Ham United) – 2006 FA Cup Final
The pair clashed in a league game between the two teams shortly before the cup final. Their punch-up resulted in both players missing the match at the Millennium Stadium, which will be best remembered for Steven Gerrard’s late heroics.
8) Antonio Maceda and Rafael Gordillo (Spain) – 1984 European Championship Final
Spain had already done well just to qualify for the tournament: needing to beat Malta by 11 goals to make the finals, they eventually won 12-1. However, with two key players missing for the final against France, they were soundly beaten 2-0.
7) Pavel Nedved (Juventus) – 2003 Champions League Final
In one of the most forgettable European finals of all time, AC Milan beat Juventus on penalties after a dire 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. Perhaps the game would have been slightly better if the beaten finalists hadn’t been missing their star player.
6) Michael Ballack (Germany) – 2002 World Cup Final
The former Chelsea man was the inspiration behind the German’s surprise run to the tournament’s final, but his absence from the game against Brazil left his team with little chance of causing an upset. Ronaldo scored twice as the South American’s won the trophy.
5) Andreas Moeller (Germany) – 1996 European Championship Final
Moeller was booked in the semi-final against England, but the incident didn’t stop him scoring the winning penalty in the shootout to send his country through. While he was missed against the Czech Republic, the Germans were still able to get over the line.
4) Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Dani Alves and Eric Abidal (both Barcelona) – 2009 Champions League Final
Alves and Abidal were both suspended as a result of cards during a dramatic semi-final against Chelsea, best remembered for Anders Iniesta’s late winner. Fletcher was sent off in United’s game against Arsenal, and it was his absence that proved to be most crucial, as the Catalans won 2-0.
3) Laurent Blanc (France) – 1998 World Cup Final
The former Manchester United star will consider himself especially unlucky after Slaven Bilic’s play-acting resulted in Blanc seeing red in France’s semi-final win over Croatia. France still beat Brazil 3-0 to win the tournament on home soil.
2) Roy Keane and Paul Scholes (Manchester United) – 1999 Champions League Final
United’s midfield duo both missed out on the Champions League win over Bayern Munich, making the Red Devil’s comeback victory all the more impressive. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored late on as United clinched a 2-1 victory.
1) John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires (all Chelsea) and David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luis Gustavo (all Bayern Munich) – 2012 Champions League Final
The seven suspended players did not prevent the clash between Chelsea and Bayern Munich being one of the most exciting and entertaining European finals for several years. Who doesn’t remember Terry running onto the pitch in his full kit to celebrate the win.
And the one that never was… Paul Gascoigne (England) – 1990 World Cup Final
Everyone remembers the famous tears against Germany. As it was, England lost on penalties and the old enemy went onto lift the trophy!