Ex-Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit gave players swig of champagne BEFORE 1997 FA Cup final vs Middlesbrough, reveals Sinclair

FRANK SINCLAIR has revealed Ruud Gullit gave his Chelsea players a swig of champagne BEFORE the 1997 FA Cup final.

According to defender Sinclair, then Blues boss Gullit sensed nerves in the dressing room prior to kick-off and so cracked open a bottle of bubbly to calm everyone down.

Blues’ heroes like Mark Hughes, Dennis Wise, Eddie Newton, Frank Leboeuf and Gianluca Vialli could swig bubbly before 1997 final glory, says Frank SinclairRuud Gullit celebrates a victory for Chelsea and his unorthodox pre-match tactics in the 1997 FA Cup final against Middlesbrough

Frank Sinclair tackles Middlesbrough striker Fabrizio Ravanelli in the final

Chelsea scorers Roberto Di Matteo, left, and Eddie Newton, centre, rejoice with skipper Dennis Wise at Wembley

It worked a treat as Chelsea went on to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at Wembley – with Roberto Di Matteo famously scoring a wonder goal inside 42 seconds.

Ex-Leicester ace Sinclair, now 49, told talkSPORT 2: “Ruud Gullit sensed a bit of nerves between the players.

“I felt OK, I didn’t really pick up on it.

“But obviously him being the manager at the time, he sensed that maybe the changing room was a bit too quiet.

“He actually opened a bottle of champagne before the game and gave us all just about a mouthful each.

“We all cheered each other and downed it and thought to ourselves, ‘What the hell is this all about!’ It picked our mood up.

“I went out there and was a bit tipsy for the warm-up – no I wasn’t, I’m lying! 

 

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“It certainly settled us down.”

Sinclair’s old sides Chelsea and Leicester face off against each other on the hallowed turf in this season’s FA Cup final on Saturday.

Midfielder N’Golo Kante and centre-back Andreas Christensen have been sweating on their fitness for the Blues this week.

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