Alabama-native Chris Richards hailed his unlikely journey to becoming just the second American to play in and win an FA Cup final on Saturday.
Chris Richards hailed his unlikely journey to becoming just the second American to play in and win an FA Cup final on Saturday, after the Alabama-native helped Crystal Palace stun Manchester City 1-0 at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Richards joins Tim Howard, who lifted the trophy with Manchester United in 2004, as Americans to have won the world’s oldest national soccer competition. Richards’ Palace and United States teammate Matt Turner was an unused substitute but becomes the third American overall to taste FA Cup glory.
“It means a lot”, he told ESPN. “I mean, I think growing up, I never watched the FA Cup. I’m from Alabama, so we definitely didn’t have that on TV.
“So being able to not just do it for Americans, but also do for the kids back home who have a dream of playing over here.
