May 21, 2005: North London soccer team Arsenal and Manchester United face each other in the FA Cup Final, at the Millennium Stadium (now named the Principality Stadium) in Cardiff, Wales.
In 2004, Arsenal had won the Premier League, and United the Cup. In 2003, it was the other way around. Arsenal had won both, "The Double," in 1971, 1998 and 2002. United had won The Double in 1994, 1996 and 1999, adding the UEFA Champions League in 1999 for a "European Treble."
Arsenal had also won the League in 1989 and 1991, and the Cup in 1979 (beating United) and 1993. United had also won the League in 1993, 1997, 2000 and 2001, and the Cup in 1983, 1985 and 1990.
But in 2005, West London team Chelsea had won the Premier League, thanks to having more cash on hand than Arsenal and United combined. This left the other 2 to battle it out for the Cup.
There were a dozen reasons why Arsenal should have lost the Cup Final. United had dominated the rivalry in the last 3 years, including drawing with Arsenal in their unbeaten League season of 2003-04, knocking them out of the FA Cup in that season's Semifinal, and, earlier this season, fouling and diving their way to ending Arsenal's 49-game League unbeaten streak. Thierry Henry, the best forward in the world at the time, was injured and unavailable. Centerback Sol Campbell was injured, and did not start.
Rio Ferdinand scored for United, 27 minutes in, but the goal was correctly ruled offside. Wayne Rooney took a shot on which Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had to make a fantastic save to tip it over the crossbar. Rooney sent 2 more shots over the bar in the 1st half.
In the 62nd minute, referee Rob Styles showed Arsenal right back Lauren a yellow card for persistent fouling on Cristiano Ronaldo, whose subsequent free kick just cleared the crossbar. Two minutes later, a John O'Shea foul on José Antonio Reyes resulted in a free kick that would be Arsenal's first serious chance, but they could not convert.
Reyes, literally kicked into submission in the streak-ending game the previous October 24, received a yellow card for a tackle on Mikaël Silvestre. Another shot by Rooney over the bar ended regulation, with the scoreline still 0-0.
It took until early in extra time for Arsenal to get its 1st shot on target, from rookie Dutch striker Robin van Persie, saved by United goalkeeper Roy Carroll. Paul Scholes fired a shot that deflected off Kolo Touré's torso, and then his hand. United demanded a penalty, but Styles correctly ruled the handball accidental.
With time running out, United went back to the usual, and got dirty. They targeted Reyes again, and Scholes was given a yellow card. Quinton Fortune caught Ljungberg in the face with a flailing arm, and committed a high tackle on Edu. Neither action led to a card, and the Arsenal players objected to Styles. Rooney shouldered Ashley, and Styles awarded a free kick, but not a yellow card. Arsenal Captain Patrick Vieira tripped Cristiano, and got a yellow card.
With just seconds left in stoppage time of extra time, Reyes body-checked Cristiano, and Styles showed Reyes a second yellow card, which equals a red card, which equals a dismissal. Reyes became the 2nd player to be sent off in an FA Cup Final, after Manchester United's Kevin Moran in 1985. But Arsenal did not have to play with just 10 men, because the full-time whistle went immediately after Reyes' dismissal, and the match finished at 0–0, making it the 1st FA Cup Final to result in a penalty shootout.
United won the toss, and chose to kick first. Ruud Van Nistelrooy converted his kick, and Lauren converted his. In the 2nd round, Lehmann dove to his right, stopping Scholes and giving Arsenal the advantage. Cristiano and van Persie converted. Rooney and Cole converted. Finally, it was up to the Captains. Roy Keane had to convert for United to stay alive, and he did. Vieira had to convert to give Arsenal the Cup, and he did. Arsenal became the 1st team to win 10 FA Cups.
That final kick was the final act in an Arsenal uniform for Vieira. He had been pursued by United, Chelsea and Real Madrid in the Summer transfer window in 2003, and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger rejected an £18 million offer from Real in Summer 2004. But in Summer 2005, Wenger made the biggest mistake of his career: He decided on a youth movement, which led to the phasing out of several veterans, including Vieira, whom he sold to Turin, Italy team Juventus for £13.7 million.
Wenger particularly built the team around van Persie, who turned 22 at the start of that season, and midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, who was just 18. Both ended up as unfaithful servants: Fàbregas forced a sale to FC Barcelona in 2011, van Persie to Manchester United the following year. The 2005 FA Cup would be the only trophy that either of them won for Arsenal. And, for this and other reasons, it would take Arsenal 9 years to win another trophy.
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May 21, 2005 was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team that would become the New York Red Bulls, played the New England Revolution to a 2-12draw at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
American-style football was out of season. The NHL team owners had locked the players out, canceling the entire season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played on this day.
These Major League Baseball games were, and most of them were what have become, since the establishment of Interleague Play in 1997, the traditional geographical rivalries:
* The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees, 7-1 at Shea Stadium. Kris Benson pitched 6 shutout innings, beating Randy Johnson. Miguel Cairo, later to be a Yankee, knocked Johnson out of the box in the 7th inning, with a home run. José Reyes went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 0-for-2 before leaving the game due to an injury. Alex Rodriguez got 2 of the Yankees' 5 hits, including their only RBI.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. This one isn't that big of a rivalry, but the Braves had been in Boston from 1871 to 1952. David Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a walk.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The ballparks are 98 miles apart. Érik Bédard pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Jorge Julio and Steve Kline each pitched a shutout inning.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3 at Dolphins Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals, 7-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. This matchup doesn't make sense as a rivalry, but the Nationals had been the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004, so, the year before, it would have been an All-Canadian matchup. Roy Halladay pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and Scott Schoeneweiss and Justin Speier each pitched a perfect inning.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-3 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. This was the one intraleague game of the day, and hardly a rivalry.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. CC Sabathia was the winning pitcher, and helped his own cause with a home run. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit. This one isn't any kind of a rivalry. The D-backs scored a run in the top of the 11th inning, but the Tigers scored 2 in the bottom half, with Marcus Thames singling Rondell White home with the winning run.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Wrigley Field.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Despite the Packers-Vikings and UW-UM rivalries, Brewers vs. Twins was never a big rivalry, not even when both were in the American League from 1970 to 1997. Doug Davis pitched a 7-hit shutout.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Larry Walker hit a home run. Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 18-3 at Ameriquest Field (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
David Dellucci hit 2 home runs. Hank Blalock went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at SBC Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds did not play.
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