‘I thought we’d win the Champions League when I saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in Moscow – I jumped up, but it took me a few seconds to realise John Terry missed’: Chelsea legend Petr Cech recalls 2008 heartbreak
Petr Cech's save was the difference between Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions League final going into the tenth kick...
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Petr Cech has admitted that he momentarily thought Chelsea had triumphed in their 2008 Champions League final penalty shootout against Manchester United... only to realise with horror that John Terry's decisive spot kick had gone the wrong side of the post.
The performances of both goalkeepers in that final have been studied ever since, with Edwin van der Sar's mind games against Nicolas Anelka before he saved the final, decisive strike in sudden death particularly fascinating.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United eventually triumphed, but it would all have been different had skipper Terry not slipped and hit the post, and instead maintained Chelsea's faultless record - Cech having made the only prior save.
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Petr Cech thought John Terry had scored crucial 2008 Champions League final penalty
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Cech admitted he thought the trophy was on its way to Stamford Bridge when he saved Cristiano Ronaldo's strike - the fifth penalty in the shootout, and United's third.
Yeah, when I saved that penalty and we were scoring ours with confidence,
I was thinking, ‘We’re going to do it’.
"But the worst thing about it was this: as a goalkeeper, you’re on the side of the goal. You have to be outside the box, on that left side of the post.
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Terry's penalty narrowly missed the post (Image credit: Getty Images)
"When we got to the last penalty and JT took the ball, I was just thinking, ‘Don’t cross the keeper with your shot’. I was sure Edwin der Sar would dive, expecting JT to shoot across him, so I was thinking, ‘Shoot my side and let’s see what happens’.
"When I saw Edwin dive the other way and the ball coming to my side, I jumped up, as I thought that was it. Then I saw the ball pass the post, which looked very strange from my angle. It took me a couple of seconds to realise what had happened. Then I had to quickly deal with all of the emotion and get back to business.
"We ended up on the wrong end of that final, but that’s part of football, or any top-level sport. Sometimes you come close and have to deal with the disappointment. It wasn’t meant to be."
Cech did eventually get his hands on the trophy after a penalty shootout four years later, doing the right way for all five of Bayern Munich's spot kicks and saving from Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Manchester United ended up winning the game (Image credit: PA)
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
