I won Ballon d’Or, Premier League and reached Champions League final – but FA Cup victory was best day of my life

MICHAEL OWEN has revealed that winning the FA Cup in 2001 was the best day of his life.

The former Liverpool star netted vital goals in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the final at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

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Owen, 44, fired in an equaliser for Gerard Houllier’s side after Freddie Ljungberg had given Arsenal the lead.

The striker then grabbed a second that turned out to be the winner in the 88th minute.

The victory completed an incredible year for the Reds in which they had also won the League Cup, Uefa Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Charity Shield.

The final was held in Wales for the first time as Wembley Stadium was being reconstructed.

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Owen enjoyed a fine career in which he turned out for clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Newcastle and Stoke City.

He also won the Ballon d'Or in 2001 after a fantastic goalscoring year.

Despite all his future success of playing in World Cups and winning a Premier League title, Owen has insisted that the day in Wales was the pinnacle.

He told : "The best day of my life.

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"It was just an incredible season winning all those trophies.

"We won five in that calendar year.

"It was incredible, but that game against Arsenal in the FA Cup final is something I’ll never forget."

On the game itself, Owen admitted that he thought they were going to lose before he bagged his first goal.

He added: "For about 85 minutes of the game, I thought we were going to get beaten.

"They were an incredible team. It was sort of the ‘invincibles’ era.

"We had a good team ourselves and we were in good shape at the time, winning plenty of trophies that season.”

"I was in good form going into that game.

"I’ve never been involved in a game where I’ve not had a chance. So even though there was 85 minutes on the clock, I knew I’d get a chance – fortunately, I got two."

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