From a professional career that spanned two decades and hundreds of matches, it is understandable that Michael Duberry can instantly recall only a handful. When the former centre-half is asked to place himself back in the afternoon of 26 October 1996, he can do so immediately. “I was man of the match that day and still have the glass decanter in my house; when I see it I know exactly what game that was from,” Duberry says. “I actually watched an old VHS of it not long ago after my mum found it when clearing out a loft. It was a game we just wanted to win that little bit more than usual.”

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In circumstances not dissimilar to what Leicester City will encounter at Cardiff City on Saturday, Duberry and his Chelsea teammates hosted Tottenham Hotspur with tragedy as a backdrop. Four days earlier Matthew Harding, Chelsea’s colourful vice-chairman, was killed in a helicopter crash when returning from a League Cup tie in Bolton. Harding’s man of the people reputation despite huge wealth, which seemed to be enhanced during a high-profile dispute with Ken Bates, meant supporters were heavily affected by his death. Harding was accustomed to joining them, rather than directors, for matches.

“It was obviously a massive shock at the time,” Duberry says. “I was just a young lad in the team so I didn’t know Matthew as well as some of the senior players – Dennis Wise, Steve Clarke, these guys would have been in talks with him behind the scenes regularly – but I still knew him to speak to. We all did. He was always around the place, he was so popular. Money was no object yet he was seen as one of the fans; probably equivalent to Roman Abramovich sitting in the Shed End nowadays. So Matthew’s death sent a shock and disbelief through the whole club.”

Harding’s financial support had been crucial to Chelsea’s revived fortunes. Duberry is unsure whether there was ever a realistic chance of the Spurs fixture being postponed – such discussions were the domain of Wise and company – but is candid about the difficulties of wrestling professional responsibility and heartbreak. Chelsea’s players were perfectly aware that victory over a rival would carry added significance, even if the notion of somehow offsetting Harding’s loss was fanciful.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michael Duberry says that what the Leicester players are experiencing will be ‘more difficult’ because of social media. Photograph: Paul Mcfegan/Allstar Picture Library

“The buildup to the game was strange, eerie,” Duberry says. “I was a young player so going out and doing my job well was important. I’m a north London boy so playing Spurs was also always important to me. I had to try and stay focused but you couldn’t ignore what was going on.

“At that time, we would be reading all about it in newspapers lying about the training ground but the Leicester players have to live through what happened with social media, which will be even more difficult. They have more eye witness accounts, videos, audio clips to deal with.

I was wearing a black armband for someone I knew. It was a weird feeling Michael Duberry

That was my first time with a black armband for someone I knew, someone I spoke with, and that was a weird feeling.“Whereas we knew Matthew from the club, the more you read you realised about the person, about his life away from football. That seemed to make things feel even more sad, the more you read and heard about the man beyond Chelsea.”

Ruud Gullit, David Lee and Roberto Di Matteo would score the goals to see off Spurs at Stamford Bridge. Raw emotion, Duberry believes, played a key part in Chelsea’s success. The team would claim the FA Cup at the conclusion of the 1996-97 season, with a stand at the west London venue now bearing Harding’s name.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tributes to Matthew Harding at Stamford Bridge on the day of the Tottenham game. Photograph: Paul Mcfegan/Allstar Picture Library

“The minute’s silence felt like for ever,” Duberry says. “You just wanted the game to start; by that point I think football was an escape. It was also something to unite so many people. I remember how respectful everyone from Spurs was as well.

“I’d had minute’s silences before but when it’s for someone born in 1927 versus someone you know, it’s very different. That was my first time with a black armband for someone I knew, someone I spoke with, and that was a weird feeling.

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“There was no way Spurs were going to win that game. So many people were willing you to win, you felt that with every run, every tackle. Everyone loved that guy, his death pulled so many people together and brought love out.”