One of the greatest football teams we have ever seen is Manchester United’s 2007/08 side, who won the Premier League and Champions League.
The 2008 Champions League final in Moscow is one of our all-time favourite games. The match was played on a knife-edge, and had a bit of everything. It went right down to sudden death penalty shootout.
Sickeningly, Chelsea were one kick away from winning it, from Avram Grant defeating Sir Alex Ferguson in the Champions League final. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
When John Terry walked up to take the spot-kick, Manchester United fans feared what was to come, the defender scoring the goal to win the final and celebrate with the trophy. Thankfully, we were spared all that, with events far more joyous, and humorous.
Terry slipped and hit the post, and was left left in tears after the game. Edwin van der Sar made a later save from Nicolas Anelka as United’s players held their nerve, and history was made, with Sir Alex Ferguson winning the Champions League for a second time, and the club’s third.
John Terry breaks silence on Champions League agony
As far as slips go, John Terry’s slip ranks at number one, even ahead of Steven Gerrard’s infamous mis-step in 2014.
We would not blame him if he never wanted to speak about the final ever again, and to be fair, he has taken his time.
Now 16 years on, he has broken his silence on the 2008 shootout, and says he will never ever get over it.
Speaking on the Up Front Podcast, Terry said: “As a player you have so many highs, but it’s the lows that stay with you longer.
“That night we lost we went back to the hotel and the manager was asking us all to go down for a drink, but I stayed in my room because I couldn’t face the lads. Eventually I went down and had a beer with the rest of the group.
“”I just remember standing in my hotel room on the 25 floor, looking over Moscow and asking myself, ‘why then, why did it start raining then, why did I slip?’
“The hardest thing for me was that three days later we had a friendly for England against USA at Wembley and I scored a header from 18 yards out. If I could swap any two goals in my career it’d be those two.”
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Manchester United won an epic final
Manchester United had taken an early lead in the final when Cristiano Ronaldo rose highest to head in a cross from Wes Brown.
Chelsea tied it level with a deflected goal from Frank Lampard, and despite Manchester United creating the better chances, the Londoners were able to hold on.
Tension grew in extra-time, which saw Didier Drogba sent off. The Ivorian’s red card would have changed Chelsea’s ordering for their penalty takers, and it all could have worked out differently.
Ronaldo missed in the shootout for United to give Chelsea an advantage, before Terry’s slip and miss levelled the tie.
Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick, Nani, Owen Hargreaves and Ryan Giggs scored for United in the shootout, before Anderson netted in sudden death, and Anelka saw his effort saved by giant Dutchman Van der Sar.
