The Magic Of The FA Cup - An Interview With Gary Lineker

'The magic of the FA Cup' has become a throwaway cliché over the years, but this competition still has a certain charm about it. Although many believe the sparkle has somewhat evaporated, the truth is, nothing compares to this unique competition and former England international Gary Lineker knows this more than most.

As well as being an integral part of broadcasting in this country, Lineker is known as one of England's greatest strikers. For many, his performances for the national side are a stand out but the FA Cup was the ultimate platform to showcase his talent. There was no bigger stage at the time.

The competition was, and still is, a real rollercoaster of emotions. Lineker lifted the FA Cup with Tottenham Hotspur back in 1991 after missing out on the trophy with Everton five years previous. He may have had a "perfectly good" goal disallowed and a penalty saved, but the feeling of lifting the FA Cup trophy was iconic for Lineker.

Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley became only the second goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup Final but Spurs had done it for a then-record eighth time. It was a moment Lineker would never forget.

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Ahead of this weekend's third round, we spoke to the Match of the Day presenter about his favourite FA Cup moments, the biggest competition upsets as well as the importance of Leicester's cup run. Lineker lifted the FA Cup back in 1991 with that famous Spurs side, and his love for the competition is still prevalent 26 years later:

In the documentary 'On the Road to FA Cup Glory', he discussed whether fans still care about the competition. "Do the chairmen still pray for a lucrative draw at Anfield or Old Trafford? Is the cup still about glory and romance, and carving your name in history?" `Lineker asked.

After speaking to the former Barcelona forward about the FA Cup, it was clear to me that his feelings are stronger than ever towards this historic and distinguished competition:

"It's been a special competition in this country for a long time. It may not be the power it once was but it used to be the new kid on the block in terms of televised events" Lineker said.

"The FA Cup final was something we'd really look forward to, but nowadays obviously we have dozens of games on TV. It really is a special competition, and is certainly one of the most important domestic cup competitions in the country.

"I do believe that The FA Cup is still one of the most revered and famous trophies in club football."

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Lineker scored five hat-tricks for England, as well as netting 192 goals during his career spells with Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and Nagoya Grampus but the 56-year-old still holds the belief that the winning the FA Cup was "really special":

"It has to be winning it back in 1991, even though it was a game that I didn't score in. I had a perfectly good goal disallowed and I missed a penalty, so I did have mixed emotions at the time, but what counted was lifting that trophy. I did win a lot of trophies in my career but that one was special - really special."

In terms of FA Cup upsets, we've seen our fair share over the years. Lineker recalls that infamous Wimbledon win over Liverpool in the 1988 Cup Final as a real shock. Lawrie Sanchez's 38th minute winner will forever go down in the competition's history as a real upset:

"People often talk about Wimbledon beating Liverpool, but having said that, there has been a huge amount of upsets in the past."

"Hereford also deserve a mention as do Sunderland who beat Leeds. That game really sticks out for me - the heroics of Montgomery and his teammates during the FA Cup final was something special."

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Chelsea are currently favourites with many to lift the trophy on May 27th, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United among the early contenders, but Lineker believes that Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham have all the right attributes to go and challenge for the FA Cup:

"It would be obviously nice to see Leicester go all the way. Perhaps Tottenham to go on and win a trophy. They are playing great football at present and are getting stronger and stronger. They may not have the budget compared to some of the big clubs but he (Pochettino) is doing a great job."

Leicester, on the other hand, have struggled to build on last season's title winning form in 2016 but the question remains, can they progress in the FA Cup this season? "It's not going to be easy for Leicester. They don't have the squad compared to the big heavyweights" said Lineker. "But i do expect Ranieri to mix up the squad a little for the weekend's tie against Everton."

"Obviously Leicester have the Champions League to think about, and must ensure they stay in the Premier League. They have a lot going on, so I doubt the FA Cup will be a major priority this season."

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Away from the cup, a huge talking point in the media of late is the treatment of Lineker's former teammate Paul Gascoigne.

Many papers have decided to publish images of Gascoigne as he battles illness, which has sparked real controversy on social media:

"I kind of understand that there's an interest around Gazza because he was a superstar and a great player but he's got an illness and he's in a tough place. I just don't think the media attention helps him. I don't understand the necessity of sticking a zoom lense in his face to try and show someone's suffering." said Lineker.

"I don't think that helps anyone. There was a piece on Wednesday morning that i tweeted about but I don't want to keep on giving the journalists publicity. Again they were writing a piece about him. It was nasty, but it's the hypocrisy around it. They are doing exactly the same to try and get people to read their stuff."

"I just think it would be nice if people could leave him alone. It doesn't help."

Gazza

Who will win the FA Cup this year? Have you got a memorable FA Cup moment?

Let us know in the comments.

Gary Lineker presents live FA Cup 3^rd round coverage of West Ham v Manchester City on Friday 6 January (19:55, BBC One) and Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa on Sunday 8 January (16:00, BBC One)