2008 UEFA Champions League Final
Encyclopedia
The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 21 May 2008 at 20:45 CEST (22:45 MSD
Moscow Time
Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second westernmost of the nine time zones of Russia. Moscow Time has been UTC+4 year-round since 27 March 2011....

). The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...

, in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, making it an all-English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 club final for the first time in the history of the competition. This was only the third time that two clubs from the same country had contested the final; the others being the 2000
2000 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia...

 and 2003
2003 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams in the shape of Juventus and Milan. The match made history as the...

 finals. The game was won by Manchester United 6–5 on penalties
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...

, after a 1–1 draw following extra time.

This was the first European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 final staged in Russia, and hence the easternmost final in the tournament's history. It was also Chelsea's first European Cup final in their history. The significance for United was that 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of their first league triumph, the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...

, and the 40th anniversary of United's first European Cup triumph in 1968
1968 European Cup Final
The 1968 European Cup Final was the 13th European Cup Final and the culmination of the 1967–68 European Cup, a club football tournament for the champions of European leagues. The match was held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 29 May 1968, between Manchester United of England and Benfica of Portugal...

.

In recent years, the Champions League final has been given an identity of its own with a unique logo, a design concept, and an overall theme. The objective is to help promote the final and enhance the prestige of one of the world's biggest sporting events. The initial idea that inspired the creation of a new identity for each final was to develop a design with a distinctive flavour of the host city. On 31 October, in Moscow, the Final's new design was presented to public. The ceremony was held in the press conference room at the Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...

 and the design was unveiled in presence of the ambassador for the final, former Russian goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev.

Background

Manchester United went into the Champions League final as champions of England for the 17th time and undefeated in the 2007–08 Champions League. Chelsea came second in the league, finishing with two fewer points than United, and had lost just one Champions League game, the quarter-final first leg away to Fenerbahçe. In the Premier League games between the two sides in the 2007–08 season, United won 2–0 at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 in Avram Grant's first game in charge of Chelsea on 23 September 2007, while Chelsea won 2–1 at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...

 in the return game on 26 April 2008. Chelsea also won the last cup game between the two – a 1–0 extra time win in the FA Cup Final
2007 FA Cup Final
The 2007 FA Cup Final was played on Saturday, 19 May 2007 between Chelsea and Manchester United, who had come up against Premier League opposition in every round. It was the 126th FA Cup Final and the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium...

 in May 2007 – although United got their own back in the Community Shield
2007 FA Community Shield
The 2007 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 5 August 2007 between 2006–07 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2006–07 FA Cup winners Chelsea. Manchester United won the game 3–0 on penalties, after the match finished 1–1 after 90 minutes; the Community Shield...

 the following August, winning 3–0 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in normal time.

Route to the final

Manchester United Round Chelsea
Team
  Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

6 5 1 0 13 4 +9 16
  Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

6 3 2 1 11 6
5
11
  Sporting CP 6 2 1 3 9 8
1
7
  Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...

6 0 0 6 4 19 −15 0
Group stage
Team
  Chelsea 6 3 3 0 9 2 +7 12
  Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

6 2 2 2 5 4
1
8
  Rosenborg 6 2 1 3 6 10 −4 7
  Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...

6 1 2 3 2 6 −4 5
Opponent Result Legs Knockout phase Opponent Result Legs
  Lyon
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...

2-1 1-0 home; 1–1 away First knockout round   Olympiacos 3–0 3–0 home; 0–0 away
  Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

3-0 1-0 home; 2–0 away Quarter-finals   Fenerbahçe 3-2 2–0 home; 1–2 away
  Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

1–0 1–0 home; 0–0 away Semi-finals   Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

4-3 3–2 home(a.e.t.); 1–1 away

Manchester United

Manchester United were drawn in Group F along with Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

, Sporting and Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...

. United won their first five group games before securing a 1–1 draw away against Roma, in a game where both teams were already guaranteed to progress from the group, United as group winners and with the most number of points out of all the group winners, 16.

In the first knockout round, United were drawn against Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...

, against whom they drew the away leg 1–1, thanks to a late equaliser from Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...

. The Red Devils then won the second leg 1–0 – Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 scoring the only goal – to ensure a 2–1 aggregate win and a place in the quarter-finals, where they were again drawn against Roma.

The quarter-final matches represented the fifth and sixth times these two clubs had met in Europe in just over 12 months. United went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and secured a very creditable 2–0 win, before securing the tie with a record 11th consecutive home Champions League win, winning 1–0.

The semi-final pitted United against Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

; the teams had not met since the group stage of the 1998–99 tournament, the last time United won it. The teams also had identical records going into the semi-final, each having won eight and drawn two of their ten games, scoring 18 goals and conceding just five. The first leg at the Nou Camp was a drab affair, with United spending most of the game defending, whilst Barcelona tried to pass the ball around them. United were awarded a penalty in the first minute, but Cristiano Ronaldo sent the ball wide, hitting the stanchion behind the goal. That was about as exciting as the first leg got for either team and it ended 0–0. The second leg at Old Trafford was a game of higher tempo, which United won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

 after 14 minutes. This result increased United's consecutive home win record in the Champions League to 12 and ensured that United reached the final unbeaten.

En-route to the final 2008, United won nine and drew three of their 12 matches, dwarfing their record of four wins and six draws in the ten games they took to reach the final in 1999 (in 1999 there was no first knockout round and teams advanced from the group stage directly into the quarter-finals). United scored 19 goals en-route to the final, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring seven of them, more than any other player.

Chelsea

Chelsea were placed in Group B, along with Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

, Rosenborg and Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...

. Chelsea's first match in the group was against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home ground, where they were held to a 1–1 draw. Two days later manager José Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....

 left Chelsea by mutual consent. Mourinho's replacement was former Israeli national team
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...

 coach Avram Grant. Chelsea's second match was against Spanish
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 club Valencia, whom they beat 2–1, leaving Chelsea with four points from their two matches. Chelsea's next two matches were against Schalke 04 of Germany
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

. The first match was played at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won the match 2–0. The return match against Schalke 04 ended in a 0–0 draw. Chelsea's final two matches in their group resulted in a 4–0 demolition of Rosenborg and a 0–0 draw with Valencia. Chelsea progressed as group winners with 12 points out of six games.

Chelsea faced Olympiacos in the first knockout round. The first leg in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 ended in a 0–0 draw. The second leg saw Chelsea run out 3–0 winners with goals from Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...

, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

 and Salomon Kalou
Salomon Kalou
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

 to send Chelsea into the quarter-finals.

Chelsea were drawn against Fenerbahçe of Turkey
Turkcell Super League
The Süper Lig is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system. It is one of the top leagues in the UEFA confederation and the winner of the competition automatically qualifies for the UEFA Champions League...

 in the quarter-finals. The first leg was held at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium
Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is a football stadium in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahçe S.K.. It was inaugurated in 1908 and renovated between 1999 and 2006...

, and ended in a 2–1 loss. Chelsea had opened the scoring when Deivid
Deivid de Souza
Deivid de Souza, commonly known as Deivid , is a Brazilian football striker who plays for Flamengo.-Early career:...

 deflected the ball into his own net, but Fenerbahçe equalised on 65 minutes, when Colin Kazim-Richards
Colin Kazim-Richards
Colin Kazim-Richards , commonly known as Colin Kâzım, Kâzım or Kâzım Kâzım, is an English-born Turkish footballer who plays for Galatasaray, and internationally for Turkey having qualified for Turkish nationality through his mother's ethnicity...

 scored. Deivid won the match for Fenerbahçe with a strike from outside the penalty area in the 81st minute. The second leg at Stamford Bridge was won 2–0 by Chelsea, to claim a 3–2 aggregate victory over the Turkish side.

Chelsea faced fellow English opposition Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 in the semi-final. This was the fourth year in succession that these teams had met in the Champions League. The first leg at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

 was drawn 1–1. The game looked to be heading for a Liverpool win but an own goal by John Arne Riise
John Arne Riise
John Arne Semundseth Riise is a Norwegian footballer who currently plays as a left wing-back for Fulham and the Norwegian national team. Riise spent seven years playing for Premier League side Liverpool before moving to Roma in 2008...

 in the 95th minute gave Chelsea advantage. Chelsea won the second leg 3–2 after extra time, with goals from Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

 on 33 minutes, Lampard on 98 minutes and Drogba again on 105 minutes sending the Blues through to the first Champions League final in their history.

Pre-match

The artificial pitch had also been relaid with turf shipped from Slovakia just days before the final. Thus, there were concerns over the players' safety on the pitch.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill
David Gill (executive)
David Alan Gill is British football executive, currently Chief Executive of Manchester United F.C. and a board member of the Football Association...

 had expressed disappointment that the club had only been allocated 21,000 tickets for their supporters, claiming that the club could potentially sell up to 100,000 tickets for their fans.

Hotels in Moscow were fully booked, and, on the day, bars and pubs were packed. One holiday company gave an alternative to hotels: a cruise ship. Fans could sleep in the cabins, as well as travelling to and returning from Moscow just for the final. A study by Sainsbury's Finance reveals that fans would need spending money of around £624 each to cover hotels, taxis, food and drink etc. British media widely but incorrectly reported that the average price of one pint of beer in Moscow was £7.50. The actual price was between £2.00 and £5.00. Sainsbury's Finance estimated that Chelsea and Manchester United fans could take a combined total of £40 million spending money with them. However, some fans spent far less money, using indirect routes such as low-cost flights to Riga followed by a train or bus journey to Moscow. The match was expected to generate £200 million spending, prize money and TV income, with the two teams sharing £115 million.

A flight to Moscow, which was meant to leave Gatwick Airport for Domodedovo International Airport
Domodedovo International Airport
Moscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...

 at 0555 BST to arrive just in time for the match, was cancelled after six hours of delay. Supporters waited nearly six hours after being told the plane would leave at 1300 BST. A spokesperson for the airport said it was a 'hydraulic fault' with the plane, and the plane would not be able to arrive at 1945 BST. 224 Chelsea supporters were left stranded, each of whom had paid near £1,000 for the day trip. By the time they were told, it was too late to make alternative plans to travel to Moscow.

Team news

Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 guaranteed a place in the starting line-up for Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

, after the midfielder had missed the 1999 final
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...

 through suspension. He stuck with his regular formation that had won the team the league title only a few days earlier, with his only real decision being whether to play Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...

 or Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....

 in midfield. He decided to start Hargreaves on the right wing instead of his regular role as a defensive midfielder, and deployed Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 on the left wing, pitting him against Michael Essien
Michael Essien
Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...

.

Avram Grant decided to start with Florent Malouda
Florent Malouda
Florent Johan Malouda is a French footballer who plays as a left winger for Chelsea and the French national team.-Châteauroux:A street footballer in his teen years, Malouda gradually developed into an interesting, new football talent, able to penetrate defenses with his technical skills and...

 on the left-wing instead of Salomon Kalou
Salomon Kalou
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

. He also chose to deploy Michael Essien at right-back ahead of Paulo Ferreira
Paulo Ferreira
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Chelsea as a defender. However, in his recent years, Ferreira has been noted to play as an attacking forward, in which he is famous for his through balls out to the wingers and/or striker-Early career:He started his career in...

 and Juliano Belletti
Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A...

, rather than in his preferred midfield position. The rest of Chelsea's team was fairly predictable, with their spine of John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

 and Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

 being the key players.

First half

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 opened the scoring after a fairly cagey 26 minutes. An interchange of passes between Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

 and Wes Brown
Wes Brown
Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...

 after a throw-in on the right flank gave Brown time to pick out a cross for Ronaldo, who directed his header past Petr Čech
Petr Cech
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...

. Chelsea almost equalised in the 33rd minute when Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

's cross was headed back into the six-yard box by Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

. United's Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

, under pressure from Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...

, was forced to head the ball towards his own goal and Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

 pulled off a save to deny Chelsea a goal. United spent the rest of the first half pressing for a second goal, and had two good opportunities to extend their lead, but were denied by a double-save from Čech. Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

 delivered a long ball into the path of Ronaldo and the United goalscorer placed his cross on the head of the diving Tévez, only for Čech to deny him. Chelsea's failure to clear the loose ball gave Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...

 the chance to extend their lead but again Čech was equal to the task with yet another save.

Chelsea survived the pressure and equalised in the dying minutes of the first half. The goal followed from a long range shot by Michael Essien
Michael Essien
Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...

, being deflected first off Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

 and then Rio Ferdinand. The ball's change in direction caused Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

 to lose his footing, leaving Lampard, who had made the run from deep, with a simple finish. At the end of the first half Manchester Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson confronted match referee Ľuboš Micheľ
Luboš Michel
Ľuboš Micheľ is a former top-level Slovak football referee.Micheľ became a FIFA referee at the age of 25. One big milestone in his career was refereeing the 2003 UEFA Cup Final between Porto and Celtic...

, "jabbing out an angry finger and spitting out a few choice words".

Second half

Lampard's equaliser coming at the end of the first half led to a transformed Chelsea in the second half. Chelsea kept United on the back foot for long periods. Nevertheless, the Red Devils managed to contain most of Chelsea's attacks. Chelsea had a few opportunities to take the lead, with Essien breaking free of United's defence in the 54th minute, only to blast his shot too high. Michael Ballack also sent a long shot just off target. Chelsea's closest opportunity to take the lead came in the 77th minute when a Didier Drogba shot struck the post from 20 yards (18.3 m) out. Drogba came very close to turning Joe Cole's low cross home for the winner four minutes from time, but fired wide. Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 was then introduced in place of Scholes, making a record 759th appearance for Manchester United. Ryan Giggs was presented with a chance to win the game but opted to shoot with his right foot which allowed John Terry to make a game saving clearance.

Extra time

The game moved into extra time, and the thrilling pace was maintained throughout. Both teams had chances to score a vital second goal, with a Lampard left-footer hitting the underside of the crossbar and Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 having a shot headed off the line by Terry. Following a fracas involving most of the 22 players and the match officials, Didier Drogba received a red card for a slap on Nemanja Vidić, becoming only the second player in history to be sent off in a European Cup Final – the first being Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 goalkeeper Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...

 in 2006
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...

.

Penalty shootout

Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

 won the toss of the coin, and opted for United to go first in the shootout. Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...

 stepped up first and sent Čech the wrong way. Ballack was next up, shooting powerfully past Van der Sar. Carrick buried his spot-kick, as did Juliano Belletti
Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A...

 with his first touch of the game. The first miss of the shootout came from Cristiano Ronaldo, who characteristically stuttered in his run-up in order to put Čech off, but the goalkeeper dived to his right to save. Lampard then put Chelsea 3–2 ahead. Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....

 levelled things up with a shot into the top corner. Ashley Cole was the next up, and Van der Sar got a strong hand to the ball but couldn't keep the ball out. Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...

 then knew that he had to score to keep United in it, and he did it just. Thus, it was all up to John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

 to win the cup for Chelsea. However, Terry lost his footing when planting his standing foot by the ball, and, even though Edwin van der Sar was sent the wrong way, Terry's mis-hit effort hit the outside of the right post and went wide.

Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....

 scored the first penalty in sudden death. Salomon Kalou
Salomon Kalou
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

 then sent Van der Sar the wrong way to make it 5–5. Giggs was next up and he was also successful. Van der Sar then pulled off the crucial save for United by distracting Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...

 when he pointed to his left but correctly dived to his right to deny Anelka, securing United European football's top prize for the third time in their history.

Match details


|
style="font-size:90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> MANCHESTER UNITED:
GK 1   Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

RB 6   Wes Brown
Wes Brown
Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...

 
CB 5   Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

 (c)
CB 15 Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

 
LB 3   Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra
Patrice Latyr Evra is a French international footballer who currently plays for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back and is described as "the classic example of a modern full-back" who is...

RM 4   Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....

CM 18   Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

 
CM 16   Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...

LM 7   Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

CF 10   Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

 
CF 32   Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...

 
Substitutes:
GK 29   Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Kuszczak
Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak is a Polish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Manchester United and the Polish national team.Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak has previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC Uerdingen 05 and Hertha BSC, before...

DF 22   John O'Shea
John O'Shea
John O'Shea can refer to:*John O'Shea, Irish footballer with Sunderland*John O'Shea , New Zealand film director*John O'Shea *John O'Shea , Wales international rugby union footballer*John O'Shea...

DF 27   Mikaël Silvestre
Mikael Silvestre
Mikaël Samy Silvestre is a French international footballer. He plays as defender and is currently signed with Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga. He has also played for the French national team...

MF 8   Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....

 
MF 11   Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 
MF 17   Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...

 
MF 24   Darren Fletcher
Darren Fletcher
Darren Barr Fletcher is a Scottish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester United. He is the current captain of Scottish national team...

Manager:
  Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

style="font-size:90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> CHELSEA: | GK 1   Petr Čech
Petr Cech
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...

RB 5   Michael Essien
Michael Essien
Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...

  CB 6   Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho OIH , is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid.Carvalho was born in Amarante where he played for the local team, Amarante Futebol Clube. By his great performance as a youngster, he was spotted by the Portuguese powerhouse,...

  CB 26   John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

 (c) LB 3   Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....

DM 4   Claude Makélélé
Claude Makélélé
Claude Makélelé Sinda is a retired football player who used to play as a defensive midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Prior to joining Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé played for Nantes, Olympique de Marseille, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Chelsea...

  CM 13   Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...

  CM 8   Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

RW 10   Joe Cole
Joe Cole
Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...

  LW 15   Florent Malouda
Florent Malouda
Florent Johan Malouda is a French footballer who plays as a left winger for Chelsea and the French national team.-Châteauroux:A street footballer in his teen years, Malouda gradually developed into an interesting, new football talent, able to penetrate defenses with his technical skills and...

  CF 11   Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

  Substitutes: GK 23   Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini
Carlo Cudicini is an Italian goalkeeper who currently plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. In his 10 years at Chelsea he established himself as one of England's best goalkeepers before injury and the arrival of Petr Cech displaced him as first-choice...

DF 33   Alex
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, better known as Alex , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chelsea FC and the Brazil national team. His nickname is "Vinny" amongst fans for his close similarities to actor Vin Diesel....

DF 35   Juliano Belletti
Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A...

  MF 12   Mikel John Obi
Mikel John Obi
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna , commonly known as Mikel John Obi, John Obi Mikel or John Mikel Obi, is a Nigerian footballer, who plays as a midfielder for English club Chelsea and the Nigeria national team.-Club career:...

FW 7   Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...

FW 21   Salomon Kalou
Salomon Kalou
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

  FW 39   Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...

  Manager:   Avram Grant

UEFA Man of the Match:

  Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...

 (Manchester United)

Fans' Man of the Match:

  Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 (Manchester United)

Assistant referees:

Roman Slyško (Slovakia
Slovak Football Association
The Slovak Football Association is the governing body of football in Slovakia. It organises the Slovak football league and the Slovakia national football team. It is based in Bratislava...

)

Martin Balko (Slovakia
Slovak Football Association
The Slovak Football Association is the governing body of football in Slovakia. It organises the Slovak football league and the Slovakia national football team. It is based in Bratislava...

)

Fourth official:

Vladimir Hriňák (Slovakia
Slovak Football Association
The Slovak Football Association is the governing body of football in Slovakia. It organises the Slovak football league and the Slovakia national football team. It is based in Bratislava...

)

Statistics


After the match

John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

 had to be consoled by his manager Avram Grant, who after receiving both his own medal and red-carded striker Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

's medal, tossed his own into the crowd. The Manchester United players formed a guard of honour for Chelsea, lining up in two opposite rows and applauding as the Chelsea team walked through. Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...

 survivor Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...

, who had captained United to the European Cup title in 1968
1968 European Cup Final
The 1968 European Cup Final was the 13th European Cup Final and the culmination of the 1967–68 European Cup, a club football tournament for the champions of European leagues. The match was held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 29 May 1968, between Manchester United of England and Benfica of Portugal...

, led the team up to collect their medals. Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...

 and Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 lifted the trophy together.

Following the match, riots escalated outside of Fulham Broadway Station.

Later

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

 later apologised to Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...

 for not including him in the matchday squad, while Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

 attempted to quash further speculation about his future, telling press after the game, "I stay."

Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho OIH , is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid.Carvalho was born in Amarante where he played for the local team, Amarante Futebol Clube. By his great performance as a youngster, he was spotted by the Portuguese powerhouse,...

, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

 and Avram Grant all refused to point the finger of blame at Terry, but assistant manager Henk Ten Cate
Henk ten Cate
Henk ten Cate is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player.In the 2005–06 season, he was the assistant of Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona that guided the team to a Champions League Trophy and La Liga title...

 showed annoyance both with Drogba's sending-off (if Drogba had not been sent off, he would have taken the fifth penalty) and Terry's miss. Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...

, who took the decisive penalty, already branded "Le Sulk", revealed he did not actually want to take a penalty, citing lack of warm-up time as the reason. John Terry underwent psychological counselling to help him overcome his distress at losing in the final and missing his penalty. Terry was later accused of spitting at Manchester United striker Carlos Tévez, but a UEFA report into the video evidence cleared him of any wrongdoing. Terry also wrote an open letter, published on Chelsea's official website, apologising for missing the penalty and costing Chelsea the trophy.

As a result of the loss, Chelsea quartet Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

 (who was sent off for slapping United defender Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....

), Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...

, Alex
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa
Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, better known as Alex , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chelsea FC and the Brazil national team. His nickname is "Vinny" amongst fans for his close similarities to actor Vin Diesel....

 and Petr Čech
Petr Cech
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...

 were linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge, before eventually remaining with the club (Shevchenko spent the 2008–09 season with former club Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

 before returning to Chelsea for the 2009–10 season under Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...

 who had joined from Milan in July 2009). The question over Avram Grant's future also remained unsure, with owner Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...

 (who witnessed the penalty shootout heartbreak), chief executive Peter Kenyon
Peter Kenyon
Peter Kenyon is a British businessman who has served as the chief executive of English Premier League clubs Manchester United Football Club and Chelsea Football Club, where he has been involved in contentious transfer dealings.-Early life:Kenyon was educated in Tameside at West Hill...

, director Eugene Tenenbaum
Eugene Tenenbaum
Eugene Tenenbaum is currently the Managing Director of MHC-Services Ltd., in London and serves on the board of directors of Chelsea Football Club, Evraz Group SA and Highland Gold Mining Limited....

 and chairman Bruce Buck
Bruce Buck
Bruce M. Buck is an American attorney and founding managing partner of the London office of U.S. law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom . He is also Chairman of Chelsea Football Club...

 reportedly deciding over Grant's job within four days after the final. Grant was officially sacked three days after the match.

Rewards

In addition to the €3 million participation bonus, €5.7 million won from the group stages and €7.7 million from the three rounds prior to the final, Manchester United also received €7 million for winning the final and becoming champions. Chelsea also received €3 million for participation and €7.7 million for the first three knockout rounds, but received only €5.1 million from the group stage, having drawn two more games and won two less than Manchester United. Chelsea also received €4 million for becoming the runners-up.

The two clubs benefited greatly from reaching the final. In addition to the €23.4 million and €19.8 million earned respectively by the champions and runners-up as prize money, the clubs received money from the UEFA market pool share. The market pool share is estimated to have a total value of €280 million, shared between the 32 clubs who qualified for the group stage. The pool was split in proportion to each national association's strength in the television market, with the Premier League receiving around €50 million from the pool. The money is then split in a 4:3:2:1 ratio to the four teams who qualified for the Champions League from the 2007–08 Premier League. This means that Manchester United received around €20 million and Chelsea around €15 million. The strong presence of the English clubs in the final stages of the competition – three of the four clubs in the semi-final were English – will undoubtedly increase the league's pool share, with possibly more than €50 million being distributed among the clubs.

In addition, Manchester United qualified for two further competitions:
  • A place in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup
    2008 UEFA Super Cup
    The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit St....

     in August versus UEFA Cup
    UEFA Cup
    The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

     winners
    2008 UEFA Cup Final
    The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...

    , Zenit St. Petersburg, in which €2.8 million was shared between the two teams.
  • A place as Europe's representatives in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup
    2008 FIFA Club World Cup
    -Play-off for Quarter-finals:-Quarter-finals:-----Semi-finals:-----Match for fifth place:-Match for third place:-Final:-Scorers:3 goals Wayne Rooney...

     in Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

     against clubs from other confederations.

See also

  • 2007–08 UEFA Champions League
  • 2008 UEFA Cup Final
    2008 UEFA Cup Final
    The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...

  • 2008 UEFA Super Cup
    2008 UEFA Super Cup
    The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit St....

  • 2008 FIFA Club World Cup
    2008 FIFA Club World Cup
    -Play-off for Quarter-finals:-Quarter-finals:-----Semi-finals:-----Match for fifth place:-Match for third place:-Final:-Scorers:3 goals Wayne Rooney...



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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