The FA Cup final isn't Jose Mourinho vs Antonio Conte - it's about so much more than that

There’s nothing in football like winning trophies for making everything feel right - both teams will know that acutely at Wembley

It is still English football's great showpiece, but not quite this year's grand showdown that it might have been. It is instead indicative of how this season is coming to close, given how fired it was at one point, that very little build-up to the FA Cup final has dwelt on the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

That is partly because figures at both Manchester United and Chelsea brokered a peace before their February match at Old Trafford, and partly because the managers’ relationship with the players now feels much more relevant. Other elements and storylines have taken over.

Among the big questions ahead of the Wembley showpiece is whether Conte can still get a response out of the Chelsea players, before likely leaving. There is then the issue of whether Mourinho’s mere involvement will get a different type of response out of those same Chelsea players, after what happened in 2015-16. There is finally the United manager’s “edgy” relationship with his own players.

The two rivals buried the hatchet back in February (Getty)

That in itself speaks to the curious feeling around this game, and the entire season. For whoever wins, victory at Wembley will only make that season satisfactory, rather than a success.

Manchester City rampantly running away with the title apart, United have on the surface performed fine this season, and certainly better than Chelsea.

They’ve been the next best side after City by league position, and had their best season since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, with their points haul of 81 enough to win the title once in that time - in 2015-16. Yet that progress in terms of results hasn’t quite been matched by a sense of progress in terms of performance, and the feeling is that Mourinho is still some way off a team that he would be completely happy with. There is then the mood of some of the players - not least Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford - who aren’t all that happy themselves. There just feels a surliness at United going into the game, and that despite this season offering some joyous big moments.

Chelsea haven’t had anything like that level of happiness. It has been another one of those seasons. To fail to get back into the Champions League automatically means it’s a bad one, and that’s before getting to anything else.

All the talk at Chelsea’s media day on Tuesday was over whether an FA Cup win could “save the season”, with many players agreeing. That wasn’t quite being asked at United, but the vibe is similar, and it’s a question that goes deeper than the recurring and by-now tedious existential question about the meaning of the FA Cup itself.

The bottom line is that, rather than a showdown that brings either club’s season to a peak, it is a match where a lift is required.

Chelsea haven't enjoyed the best run up to the final (AFP/Getty Images)

The very curious seasons they have had also complicate the question of who is better prepared for that lift, as was exactly the case with Arsenal and Chelsea last season.

United’s league position indicates they are a better team, and should be favourites, but there is also the feeling they have been on the wind-down since the April derby win over City.

Chelsea suffered a meltdown in that 3-0 final-day defeat to Newcastle United, but that felt more a specific in-competition response to the real ending of their Champions League chances with the 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town, rather than anything greater. Far greater a factor is likely personal pride, as was the case with Arsenal last year, too.

There has been an element of embarrassment to Chelsea’s campaign, and the mood around their training ground this week has been that they very much want to rectify that on Saturday. They want to put it right.

Mourinho won the battle last time the two met (Manchester United)

Even accounting for the many problems of this season, that is a mindset very agreeable to Conte and something he can hone and successfully work with, maybe for one last win.

Any disquiet or dip in form at United should not be overplayed, though. Such talk has underscored the entire campaign, and yet that is still a campaign that has seen them get so many wins in big games - including the last five against the rest of the big six. One of those was of course that match against Chelsea at Old Trafford. It came in the midst of a difficult period in between the Champions League games against Sevilla, and saw them go behind - but still win. Mourinho still roused. He still has that response.

The other argument is that maybe they are due a defeat, just as Eden Hazard thinks Chelsea are due an FA Cup final win. “We played the same game last year, we lost, so I think this year is for Chelsea.”

Both will know the importance of a win on Saturday evening (Getty)

Conte is just as capable of getting that one-game response out of his players, and it's difficult to pick between the managers in terms of who selects the best tactics for these one-off games.

It does feel like the readiness of the coaches and players will also dictate whether this is anything close to a classic final, despite the grandiose history of the clubs involved.

Its circumstances mean it could well be a tense and testing match. Both managers have it in them to sit back, Conte to lean on five defenders and try and counter, Mourinho to refuse to cede space.

It’s just that there is also a feeling their seasons warrants more.

These are also two managers who really know - and have so fully enjoyed - the true value of trophies. They know what it takes. They know what it feels like.

There’s nothing like winning, and there’s nothing in football like winning trophies for making everything feel right.

It’s just up to them to properly show up, to lift themselves up, and make this the showdown it should be.