‘I scored for Chelsea at Wembley - but I want Leeds to win FA Cup semi-final’

Dorigo scored a decisive long-range free-kick at Wembley in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the now-defunct Full Members Cup in 1990, a “special memory" for the 60-year-old.

The former left-back and England international played 164 times for the Blues before joining Leeds in 1991, going on to win the First Division title in his debut season at Elland Road. He would leave for Torino six years later a double centurion, with 202 Whites appearances.

Dorigo by then had represented Leeds at Wembley, featuring in the 1992 Charity Shield final win over Liverpool, in which Eric Cantona scored a hat-trick - the last time Leeds scored at the national stadium.

Reflecting on that experience, he offered advice to the current Leeds squad, who have reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 39 years. “You've got to be really careful not to play the occasion, just play the opposition,” he said.

“That is easy to say, because there's so much build-up with so many things going on… I grew up in Australia, and I dreamed of Wembley as well.

“A lot of the boys haven't played there before. It's something to enjoy. But it always comes down to the football pitch. The opposition is just 11 players. It's a game of football.”

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Dorigo was an honorary guest at Chelsea for during their 7-0 quarter-final rout of League Two-bound Port Vale and had predicted that his two former clubs would be drawn together, should Leeds have beaten West Ham United in the last-eight as they did.

The rivalry between both Chelsea and Leeds goes back a number of generations, one which reached its climax in the 1970 FA Cup final - described as the most violent games of football of such magnitude.

Times have moved on but the animosity between the two sets of supporters remains - which sets up a riveting atmosphere at Wembley, says Dorigo. “The rivalry, obviously, is huge,” he underscored.

“To get back in the Premier League, it's brilliant, but to actually play Chelsea at Wembley - all those [historic] memories will come back. So I think it's a great draw for me. It's a brilliant draw.

“I always want Leeds to win that. There's no doubt. But it's great that we can play Chelsea.”