'Dennis Wise gave us champagne before FA Cup final – then he smashed Cristiano Ronaldo'
Dennis Wise had a unique way of doing things during his time as player-manager at Millwall - and he kicked off the 2004 FA Cup final in trademark style
Dennis Wise gave his Millwall players a drop of champagne before the FA Cup final in 2004 - then smashed into Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.
Wise, player-manager at the time of the fixture, dived into a tackle on the future five-time Ballon d'Or winner after just 18 minutes as United began to dominate, a rare joint-tackle with team-mate David Livermore which left Ronaldo in a heap - before rubbing his face for good measure.
In attendance that day at the Principality Stadium was then Everton youngster Nick Chadwick, who had spent the season on loan at Millwall, but was not involved as a player for the final because the loan had expired.
Speaking on the I Had Trials Once podcast 19 years later, Chadwick explained how Wise managed his players - and even gave them a drop of booze.
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He said: "Millwall invited me back for the final, so I had to get a cup final suit and I went down to the Millennium. A couple of days earlier.
"I was with the injured and suspended boys so we were out two nights before the final, out the night before the final so come the cup final I was sat on the bed (out of it) after six hours sleep.
"Dennis Wise gave a great speech before the final and we had a little half a glass of champagne and he made a toast to everyone. If you wanted to drink it you drank it if you wanted to chuck it over your shoulder you did."
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He added: "(The speech) was just around no one expecting us to get here, what an achievement it is to be here and playing Man Utd in the FA Cup final.
"In typically Wisey fashion, I remember him going out after a couple of minutes and smashing into Ronaldo or someone like that and that was a little message to our team more so than Man Utd. Saying we're here to win, let's just have a go."
United went on to win 3-0 thanks to Ronaldo's opener and two from Ruud van Nistelrooy, with Wise failing to win the competition with a third different club after triumphs with Wimbledon and Chelsea.
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Wise went on to play for Southampton, Coventry City and Swindon then managing Leeds for two years.
Ronaldo became Real Madrid's record goalscorer before spending time with Juventus and then returning to United before joining Al-Nassr.
After three goals in 14 Premier League games for Everton, striker Chadwick had spells with Plymouth, Hereford and Barrow among others, calling time on his career in 2014 to move into coaching.