“At the time I didn’t understand how big an occasion it was,” says Curtis Weston. “Looking back now, it was a massive moment in my life even though it only lasted a few minutes.”
In 2004 Weston made history when he became the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final aged 17 years and 119 days.
It is a record that remains to this day.
Millwall trailed Manchester United 3-0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when Weston came on for player-manager Dennis Wise in the 89th minute.
It was only the second senior appearance of his career.
Twenty years on and the veteran of 300-plus Football League appearances is getting ready to play for non-league Derbyshire side Mickleover against Anstey Nomads in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday (15:00 BST).
“The second qualifying round is a long, long way from the final,” midfielder Weston, 37, tells BBC Sport.
“But playing in the FA Cup still brings me an awful lot of pleasure.”
‘Ronaldo was doing all his tricks’
London-born Weston grew up a Manchester United fan and joined Millwall at the age of 14.
Twenty years ago he had not even made his senior debut when they booked their first FA Cup final appearance by defeating First Division rivals Sunderland 1-0 in the semi-final at Old Trafford.
Thirteen days before the final, Weston came on as a second-half substitute in the final league match of the season, a 1-0 home win over Bradford City.
He remembers the elation he felt after discovering soon after that he had made the cup final squad and would be travelling to the showpiece with the likes of Tim Cahill, Neil Harris and Wise.
“Don’t forget I was 17, a kid, and I was going to the FA Cup final,” he says. “It was a great achievement in itself to be named in the squad.
“It was only on the day of the final I was told I was going to be on the bench. I was surprised, shocked, so excited.”
Manchester United’s team that day included a 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
“I spent as much time as possible warming up on the side of the pitch to soak up the atmosphere, getting close to the action because Ronaldo was doing all his tricks,” recalls Weston.
United, the hot favourites, were in complete control thanks to goals by Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy (2) when Weston’s big moment arrived.
“Dennis shouted towards Ray Wilkins [his assistant] that he was coming off and the kid should come on. So Ray called me over and told me to get ready.
“I was nervous even though there were only a few minutes left.”
As Wise came off he embraced Weston and told the youngster to “go and enjoy yourself”.
“I will never forget it,” says Weston. “I sneaked into the squad at the end of Millwall’s FA Cup journey having not played a minute of the other ties.”
‘Crazy how time flies’
Weston went on to spend a further two years at Millwall before following Wise to Swindon Town and then Leeds United.
In 2009, he won promotion with Gillingham at Wembley in the League Two play-off final. More recently, Weston captained Chesterfield against Chelsea in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge.
Weston will celebrate his 38th birthday in January with no thoughts of retirement.
Around 12 years ago he changed his nutrition and made some lifestyle changes to prolong his career.
“Had I carried on doing what I was doing I probably would have been forced to retire years ago,” adds Weston, who lives in Derby with wife Hannah and three children Tabitha, 17, Zachariah, 5, and Marcy, 2.
“I didn’t always do everything I was supposed to do in terms of giving myself the best possible chance of playing at the highest level.
“If you give yourself a chance in terms of eating the right things, staying fit and being disciplined, not going out as much… I do the right things now.
“Those changes have enabled me to play this long and feel this good.”
It was only in the summer of 2023 that Weston dropped into part-time football when he signed for Buxton before joining Mickleover, who play in the seventh tier Northern Premier League Premier Division, in July.
“Every year I have a chat with Hannah [about whether to carry on playing]. I always say ‘this could be my last season’ and she just rolls her eyes,” he laughs.
Weston combines playing with a full-time job in audit recruitment.
“This is my 21st season as a player. Until I lose that drive, I want to keep on playing.”
Weston has Mikael Silvestre‘s shirt from the 2004 final framed on a wall at his home in Derby, along with his own blue and white number 11 shirt from that day.
They serve as reminders of the day Weston made FA Cup history.
“It’s funny because Dennis [Wise] contacted me recently on social media to see how I was doing,” he adds.
“It’s crazy how time flies. I know it’s 20 years ago but I remember it all like it was yesterday.”
