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| NEWCASTLE UNITED S1 Newcastle United were the very first winners of the GI Cup, so their success has a very special place in history. On their GI Cup run, they were relentless, scoring 14 goals, conceding just 2. The first round saw the 5-0 mauling of Cardiff City before the 3-0 destruction of Aston Villa in round two. Sheffield United were then disposed of before 2-1 victories over both Man City and then Chelsea in the final, handed them the GI Cup. Ironically, it was a player on loan from Chelsea that proved to be the star, Michael Ballack hit six goals during the campaign. |
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| BLACKBURN ROVERS S4 Blackburn Rovers came through as winners of an action packed GI Cup competition, full of incident and plenty of cup shocks. It took a late winner against Middlesbrough from Elano in the first round to allow Rovers to progress to hammer Liverpool 4-0 in the second round. In what was billed as the biggest match of the competition, Blackburn saw off holders Newcastle in extra-time and then defeated Reading in the semis. West Ham, who had been so dominant in their cup run, fell victim to Blackburn in a cup final which ended 3-2. |
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| WIGAN ATHLETIC S5 Wigan Athletic were the GI Cup champions in S5, beating rivals Chelsea in a cagey final. The journey that the Latics went through to get to the final is legend. Along the way they disposed of Coventry City, former GI Cup champions Newcastle United, former finalists West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers before disposing of former GI Premiership and D1 champions Chelsea in the final. While Paul Jewell will be remembered for his wonderful achievement, Ronaldinho was the hero in the final, scoring both goals that killed off Chelsea at the GI Dome. |
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| WEST HAM UNITED S7 Marcello Lippi led West Ham United to their first piece of silverware in S7, as they won the coveted GI Cup competition. They didn't have an easy route to the final either. They beat Wolves 2-1 at Molineux before knocking out Manchester United at Old Trafford. Then they produced the shock of the competition, seeing off Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. The semi-finals saw them outgun Liverpool before producing a slick display to to edge out former winners Newcastle United in the final in February 2009. |
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| NEWCASTLE UNITED Newcastle United were the very first winners of the GI Cup, so their success has a very special place in history. On their GI Cup run, they were relentless, scoring 14 goals, conceding just 2. The first round saw the 5-0 mauling of Cardiff City before the 3-0 destruction of Aston Villa in round two. Sheffield United were then disposed of before 2-1 victories over both Man City and then Chelsea in the final, handed them the GI Cup. Ironically, it was a player on loan from Chelsea that proved to be the star, Michael Ballack hit six goals during the campaign. |