Etched into the minds of those old enough to remember it, the 1997 FA Cup final stands as a defining moment in the club’s history. Ending the Blues' wait for a major silverware, victory over Middlesbrough is a cherished memory, one still spoken about fondly in all four corners of Stamford Bridge.

Yet, ahead of kick-off on that May day at Wembley, the sense of the occasion brought its own pressures. We had not lifted the FA Cup for a generation, and the squad were well aware of the expectations that lay on their broad shoulders.

But club captain Wise went into the game with one thing on his mind: win and end our silverware drought. And we were well on our way after just 43 seconds.

‘It was a long time since we’d last won something, so we were very conscious of it, the whole situation,’ Wise reminisces about that day in 1997.

‘Middlesbrough had Juninho, (Fabrizio)Ravanelli, Nigel Pearson, good players at the back; they were quite a decent outfit. But everyone talks and remembers that first goal.

‘But everyone talks and remembers that first goal [struck by Robbie Di Matteo]. When you score so early, it does calm you down – and the pressure was on us because of the team that we had. Walking into the dressing room in 1997, I looked at the players sitting there and knew we were the favourites.

'We knew we had a fantastic opportunity to win a trophy.’

That lightning-fast opener, courtesy of Di Matteo’s thunderous 30-yard finish that clipped the crossbar on its way in, put the Blues in control of the contest. Our grip did not loosen in the time that remained and Eddie Newton’s late strike sealed a famous Wembley victory.

Almost 30 years on, Wise believes our FA Cup triumph that season laid the foundation for the sustained period of success, one the Blues continue to enjoy today.

‘That trophy in 1997 started what has become a habit – and a really good habit,' he says with a smile. 'The habit of winning trophies is important, and next year was very important as we won the Cup Winners' Cup.

‘People believed Chelsea had a good enough squad, and there was something built to continue winning trophies. The expectations went up, stayed up and continued into the new millennium. And it went to another level last year when Chelsea won the Club World Cup.’

The former Blues midfielder, who made 446 appearances for Chelsea and also lifted the FA Cup at Wembley in 2000, remains in contact with several members of the squad from that era – a true testament to their team spirit and togetherness that was crucial in delivering silverware.

He adds: ‘Just the other day I spoke to Gus [Poyet]. I speak to Robbie [Di Matteo], I speak to Franco [Zola], I speak to all of them. We are very close because we won trophies, and I think we had a good rapport. We had an enjoyable time, but worked really hard for the success we had.’