Ivorian attacker Salomon Kalou was in the Chelsea squad that recovered from an inconsistent form to finish the 2008/09 season with the FA Cup title under the guidance of Dutchman GuusHiddink. The FA Cup title win was made possible by the 2-1 win over Merseyside side Everton.
Salomon Kalou was in the Chelsea squad that saw off the Toffees on the way to winning their fifth FA Cup title.
Chelsea beat London rivals Arsenal 2-1 in their last four the to book their place in the final, while Merseyside opponents Everton needed penalties to eliminate Manchester United in the other semi-final tie. Everton and Manchester United failed to score in 120 minutes thus leading to penalties. The Toffees won the penalty shootout 4-2 to secure a welcomed FA Cup final slot.
West London giants Chelsea were favourites in the final and they lived up to that status via a slim win over an Everton side depleted with injuries. Everton stars such as YakubuAiyegbeni, Phil Jagielka, Victor Anichebe, Nuno Valente and Mikel Artetamissed the final due to injury, while Brazilian striker Jo was cup-tied. On his part, Andy van der Meyde had been released by Everton at the time of the final despite contributing to the FA Cup fourth round win over Liverpool.
Ivorian player Salomon was left on the bench for the entire duration of the FA Cup final clash with the Toffees in 2009 as Dutch manager Hiddink preferred the trio of FlorentMalouda, Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelkain attack.
Frenchman Louis Saha scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history to give Everton the lead. Saha scored after 25 seconds to give his team the lead. Chelsea then scored twice either side of the interval to win the game and bag the FA Cup title in the process. Didier Drogba scored the Chelsea leveller on 21 minutes, while Frank Lampard scored the winner with eighteen (18) minutes left on the clock.