In my time, I never really played too many games in the League Cup, but the three campaigns I ended up playing the final, we won, and they were significant for me for different reasons.

The first one was my first trophy at the club. The second one in 2007 was the one I shouldn’t have been able to experience because it was the season I got my head injury and was told to forget about the rest of the season. And the third one, in 2015, I knew would be the last final I would play for Chelsea.

One man’s loss is another man’s gain

In my first season at Chelsea, Carlo Cudicini was playing the games in the League Cup. When we went to Old Trafford for the second leg of the semi-final, Jose decided I was going to play that game. Just beforehand, he said he was making an exchange where I would play that return leg, but when we reached the final, Carlo would play. It was all set and said in the meeting, so everybody knew the script.

We won 2-1 at Old Trafford and qualified for the final in Cardiff. A week before the final, we played an FA Cup tie in Newcastle, and in preparation for the final Jose decided to play Carlo. Unfortunately for Carlo, he got sent off in the last minute.

It was fortunate for me because I started the final. Because of weather warnings they closed the roof in the Millennium Stadium. The atmosphere was unbelievable. That’s what I really recall.

The start of something…

I remember the shush sign from Jose which created this nice rivalry between us and Liverpool! We played them so many times in the first two seasons. The whole vibe and momentum shifted with the shush sign. It created an even better atmosphere in the crowd.

We conceded after 45 seconds which wasn’t the start we wanted! We came back to win in extra-time, and it was great to have won my first trophy at Chelsea, and in such an amazing game. It is a wonderful memory.

For the group, it was important to have that trophy in our hands. We had been doing really well in the league, we were on course, but we wanted something already, that first silverware, first accomplishment together.

Enjoying the unexpected

After my injury at Reading, I was told I wouldn’t play again that season. I just had to make sure everything went right and I might eventually be able to start pre-season and play from the start of the next season.

I skipped that part and came back in January 2007! My first home game back was the semi-final return leg against Wycombe, and I got an amazing reception at Stamford Bridge.

The final against Arsenal was the last one in Cardiff before it all returned to Wembley. That was the first trophy after my big injury when there were so many questions about whether I would be able to play football again. It was great for me.

We started poorly again and had to overcome that, which we did. Didier really started his ongoing goal streak against them that day. He had an ongoing groin issue when he arrived which bothered him in his first season, but by the third season you could clearly see Didier Drogba’s strengths and why the club brought him here. His legendary journey with us had started.

That was also the game John Terry got a kick in the head. You don’t really want to see players getting knocked out, and it did give me a bad feeling, but thankfully it didn’t have any major consequences.

There was a great reaction from Bryan English and Colin Lewin, the Arsenal doctor, who was there quickly because he had helping one of his players. It looked bad, but straight after the game he was fine with no concussion problem.

It showed football is a contact sport where things like that can happen. It also showed how the health and safety of the players in the stadium had increased since my incident, when questions were asked about why ambulances and paramedics were not always present. Today it almost feels like if you have a major problem, the best place to do it is at a stadium.

Last hurrah

In 2015, I had played most of the games in the League Cup and started the final against Spurs, which we won 2-0. We completely dominated the game from start to finish, it wasn’t like the two previous ones where we had to come from behind.

The significance for me was that I was not the number one goalkeeper at the time, and I knew I was going to leave at the end of that season. I knew it was the last final I would play with Chelsea. We won the league and then my playing story with Chelsea ended. But it was a good way to finish.

Respecting the competition

Of course, in the hierarchy of the cups it’s probably the one you put the lowest from the four trophies you can win, but it’s a trophy and everybody tries to win it. It still gives you the satisfaction and that feeling of accomplishment throughout the season, which can give you good motivation for the rest of the season.

The reason Chelsea have won the League Cup and reached finals is because we have always treated it with respect. The feeling of winning a trophy is special.

We played Liverpool recently in the league, we know it will always be a very difficult game against them. There is a lot of energy from their side, a lot of energy from our side. It results in an exciting contest. Both teams will go for it. I’m expecting an exciting game and I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully we end up on the right side of things. It would be amazing to finish this month with another trophy.