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It's special because it's such a difficult task to win against the best teams in the world
Any small detail can knock you out, just like we were this season.
I think that to win a Champions League you need, of course, to have a great team, to have great players,
to go on your side because if not, it's very difficult because you are competing against the top teams.
to be on top of your form, but a moment along the way you need a bit of luck and you need the small details
to go on your side because if not it's very difficult you are competing against the top teams.
I always say that the one who makes the fewest mistakes has a great advantage to win the Champions League.
I think that's what happened to Real Madrid in the finals I was involved.
We made very few mistakes and won three titles.
It's enough to say that no team has ever won it two times in a row. That shows how hard it is to win.
Barcelona, despite Messi being young, already had experience in the Champions League.
Iniesta was young, but had a lot of experience in the Champions League.
All of them had played in the Champions League since they were young.
So I think that the great leaders were Puyol, during the season, who was the team captain
Abidal himself, had a lot of experience. Valdés, was a huge leader within the group too, as was Xavi.
Those players had lived through that a couple of times and they conveyed calmness to everyone.
Back then, Mourinho was quite ahead of the other managers, including his understanding of mentality.
He brought a mentality to the Portuguese players that did not exist, making them believe they
could win important things. On top of this he had the training sessions, the vision,
the game analysis and the analysis of our opponents.
We see such a cool guy (Jupp Heynckes), a great coach and a friendly guy.
You have that feeling, that those were his last few months and to him that raised the percentage of his motivation.
He made it very clear for us: "Those are my last games. Each day I'm prouder of being here with you guys."
That motivated the whole group, which made a difference during the final.
Actually, it was my first professional penalty. Rafa said in the teamtalk that I was the chosen, so the referee
gave the penalty and I said, "Oh this is my chance, let's try it." Each time I see the images I still feel the
tension and the responsibility of such a big moment. You know probably, my history, the Liverpool history
would be different if had not scored that third goal, but you know... I am still feeling nervous when I see...
... goosebumps... when I see the goal.
I was shooting penalties when I was in Bordeaux and with the French national team always in 96
I was shooting and I lost my penalty in the quarter-final against Italy, it was 98 and after that I
said, "Okay, I will never shoot any penalty." But this final came 2001 and after the shoot of five player
we were the same and we had to decide five other players and so at this time, you know, I decide to go
and this penalty, I think I shoot his penalty for Bayern and also I shoot for the penalty I missed in the
quarter-final in the World Cup, you know. I shoot like, with full power.
The crowd thought that with one more man Barcelona would dominate the game.
During the break, Rijkaard ended up making a very intelligent substitution, in my opinion.
We were in the midfield - me, Deco and Van Bommel and he ended up bringing on Iniesta for me
since he is a more offensive player, who gets closer to the attack. Van Bommel was a little bit
behind with Deco. Then there was another change - Van Bommel for Larsson, then Belletti for Oleguer.
I think Rijkaard did a great job with the substitutions and it resulted in more opportunities.
Sometimes, you don't want to be taken out of a game during a Champions League Final,
But it was an audacious and clever change that Rijkaard made and it was really good for the team
and we managed to dominate nearly the whole game after the opportunity that Henry had.
It was an incredible experience to play a Champions League Final in your home town, in your own stadium.
We were favourites and we played like that. We dominated the game, our performance was good
and we did not have much luck with deadball situations. Chelsea scored the equaliser and then it was extra-time.
We missed a penalty in extra-time and finally lost the final after penalties.
Then there was the question: Is the team falling apart after that or would it help the team to grow closer?
The loss in the 2012 final made us grow together - yes, it was the kick-off for the following year.
It was a strong motivation and had an impressive effect. We won the treble in 2013.
The battle of the first leg was that you knew you were coming up against the best team in the world,
who you knew had the players who could destabilise you at any moment.
They had players of great experience, who were well accustomed to playing this type of
fixture in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
I remember that in the first game we went 1-0 down, but we were sure that we could get something out it.
We won the first leg 3-1 and we could even have scored another.
In that moment I imagined the goal, I could see it coming. I went for it and thank God that it happened.
It was such an important goal in every sense. For me, for the team.
For the way the final was turning in our favour. It was one of my favourite goals.
I was really happy, not because I had won one with Porto, but for some players that... The time when I came
to Chelsea and they were already here and we were like nine years fighting to win this competition. It was really
important for us, but for some players like Petr Cech, John Terry, Lampard, Didier Drogba - these kind of
players that had been together for so many years and we were almost there, almost there and at the same time
you're getting old as well and start thinking that you might not win this competition again, but then when
Didier scored it was an amazing feeling and then you start believing again that we could win this competition.
It's very hard being on the bench for such an important game, such a decisive game
When you are on the field, you forget everything, the adrenaline controls you.
Now, when you are off the field, the expectation is always high, the nervousness,
the expectation of entering the game and I entered when the game was 2-0,
but at the same time Valencia were pressing a little and if Valencia did make 2-1, it could have changed the
game. I had an opportunity at an important moment, it came from a corner for Valencia,
an attacking moment for them with ball ending up at my feet and then you have just a few seconds to decide
what to do and the only thing I saw at that moment
was a situation in which Raul was in a good moment, well placed, but it required great pass precision.
You have to think really quickly and you are being pressured by the opponent.
I was able to make the pass to Raul, who reached it and scored the goal after dribbling past Canizares.
Actually the game had three phases. In the beginning, when we had one more player,
We were controlling the game it looked like the game was going to be easy,
I even think that the referee was wrong, he should have played the advantage rule and let us score.
Then, they ended up scoring a goal from a free-kick and the game was a lot more complicated
because they retreated and started to play on the counter-attack.
But for me the decisive moment of the final was when Henry was face-to-face with Victor Valdes,
Victor made a spectacular save, nearly impossible because I think that if they had made it 2-0 at that point
it would have been over. I don't believe if we were 2-0 down in the second half, we could have made a comeback.
You never know, but considering how the game was going I think that it would have been really hard.
So I think it was a key moment in that final.
It was the union we created within the group. We created a union. It was like something really cool.
I was playing during my first season, always playing and there was a defender that was not always playing.
"Come on, come, let's work!" So helping each other made it cool.
It transmitted a positive energy. Not only me, but also Philipp Lahm, Schweinsteiger,
everyone was helping each other, we would give our hearts even during training sessions.
When someone made a mistake we were all like, "Great, let's go, get up, let's go!"
Yeah, we did have a very, very tough group because ultimately we had to go through the qualifiers at the start
of the season so we did it the tough way. We ended up going to Juventus. I mean no team had ever won in Turin
or British team. Mentality. We had a great mentality. The manager believed in us, he believed in us as players,
individuals, he believed in the old team ethic, I just thought we believed in ourselves, we believed we were
more than strong enough to beat any team and I think every team that season feared Manchester United in Europe.
I think we had a very strong team, very strong character, we were really fighting team. You know when you play
against Oliver Kahn, Stefan Effenberg, Jens Jeremies or Sammy Kuffour or player like this it's not fun to play
against and we were a very difficult team to play.
That team showed great commitment and personality.
To be honest, we all got along and understood each other so well to achieve that objective.
The team was made up of great players, but above all else, great people too, with great courage and human
spirit. I think you could see that reflected every time we went onto the pitch.
I remember that before I joined Porto they finished in third place, then I moved to Porto and that was the
season we won the UEFA Cup and he (Jose Mourinho) just said, "This season I didn't win, but next season I will
win", so you could see already his belief and strong mentality and he gave that to the players.
There is a huge expectation, especially at a club the size of Real Madrid.
When I got to Real Madrid, the club had gone 32 years without winning that competition.
It was a huge pressure. That had to be the year for us to win it.
I can't possibly explain it because when we won it, when we got to Madrid, the celebrations were huge.
Thousands of people, the crowd on the street. It seems like you achieved the maximum,
when it comes to club level, a personal level, as an athlete.
I always wished that one day I'd have the opportunity to play in it, so to win it, to lift the trophy... words can't
explain just how special it is because we all came from different backgrounds and we all appreciate how hard it
has been for us to get to that level. But to win in and to lift the trophy - I can remember it like it was yesterday
because growing up as a kid I watched it, always wanted to play in it, to play in it, to win it, to celebrate it after, going
back to Manchester to celebrate it... It's just... that feeling or that memory will never, ever leave me until the day I die.
It gives me a lot of pride, a huge mark on my career, my passage through football.
I think there are many great players who deserve to have won it and never could.
I will tell you the name of an exceptional guy, Ibrahimovic. Correct me if I'm wrong, he's never won it.
He is a guy that has to win it, because he deserves it, he is an exceptional guy, an enormous player.
So that's how it is, for me it means a lot.
I didn't sleep after any of the three finals. You get a lot of adrenaline from the game.
You get a much bigger surge of adrenaline for a Champions League game and even bigger when you
play a final. Everything is surrounded by a huge expectation, from you, the club, the media, the fans
and when you win, you only want to enjoy it, to celebrate. You don't even have the conditions to sleep.
I remember the two kit men for Barcelona, one of them still works for the club. They went mad when we scored.
When Belletti scored the goal, I didn't see the celebrations.
I was just looking at both of them, hugging and spinning on the Saint Denis pitch, like two kids.
I think that sensation of actually being able to understand how important that Champions League was
for the Catalan people, for the people of Barcelona... It was an incredible sensation, you know?
I had fulfilled my dream. More than anything, from a personal point of view,
it was my best football moment because that game was my 700th for Inter.
Above all, it was special for how much the fans fought for us over the years.
What the supporters had done for us... For me, it was very emotional.
When we arrived back here in Milan, at 6am, the San Siro was packed, waiting for us with the trophy.
I treasure those memories in my hear. They're unforgettable.