What Happened To Jake Nickless: The Mascot Who Pranked Steven Gerrard In The Tunnel

But for the millions watching at home, this clash will forever be remembered as the day a cheeky blue-haired mascot mugged off one of the world's best players.

It all began in the tunnel ahead of kick-off.

Gerrard soon followed and, as he walked down the famous stairs, Chelsea fan Jake Nickless extended his arm to greet the player.

But moments later, in a soon-to-be viral moment, a 5-year-old Nickless left the England international hanging in mid-air.

Gerrard laughed off the incident and later claimed that Chelsea captain Terry wasn't happy with what happened in the tunnel that day, but what about Jake's side of the story?

"I remember my dad putting me up to it," former Chelsea mascot Jake told SPORTbible, 16 years after the incident.

"I kept saying I wasn't going to do it and I think he eventually believed it, so he stopped.

"But in the moment I was just excited and thought why not. I knew the game was also on TV and loads of people were watching, so I just provided a bit of entertainment."

The Liverpool captain later revealed he saw the funny side of it in his autobiography, and so did a number of other Chelsea players, according to Jake, who is now 20-years-old.

"Me and Gerrard actually didn't speak at all, All I said was "Gerrard!" to get his attention.

"I remember Claude Makelele and Michael Essien laughing as it happened, and John Terry gave me a pat on the head afterwards, when I walked back to hold his hand.

"I think everyone found it funny...apart from Stevie G."

Footage of Jake pranking Gerrard would eventually make its way into the mainstream media and because of all the attention, he was forced to leave school early the following afternoon.

"The next day the school and my mum were getting phone calls asking for interviews