History of the FA Cup thirteen years earlier, however, while Blackpool had been up against a Bolton side reduced to nine fit men, Sheffield Wednesday, by contrast, were in no way handicapped. The match, however, was largely forgotten as it was overshadowed by England's World Cup victory later that year. The record for most FA Cup wins by a player is held by Ashley Cole, who has won it seven times (with Arsenal in 2002, 2003 and 2005, and Chelsea in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012). With Chelsea's victory over Portsmouth in the 2010 final, Cole beat the record of five jointly held by Charles
1996–97 FA Cup 1996–97 FA Cup The 1996–97 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods for sponsorship reasons) was the 116th season of the FA Cup. The tournament started in August 1996 for clubs from non-league football and the competition proper started in October 1996 for teams from the Premier League and the Football League. The tournament was won by Chelsea with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the final at Wembley stadium. The First Round featured those non-league teams who had come through the qualifying rounds and the teams from the third and fourth tiers of the English football