One of the greatest players to have ever played for Chelsea, John Terry won five Premier League titles with the Blues, the Champions League, and numerous other individual and team accolades. However, like Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, Terry has a notorious slip to deal with whenever he thinks back on his career at Stamford Bridge. In the 2008 Champions League final shootout against Manchester United, the English defender stepped up to the spot to take Chelsea’s fifth penalty, but he slipped and saw his attempt hit the post, causing the shootout to end abruptly. The Red Devils won the tournament at Chelsea’s expense after Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s attempt.
Claude Makelele has now made the startling admission that he has no pity for the Chelsea captain. According to him, Terry wanted to “be the hero” and alter the penalty shooters’ sequence in order to score the game-winning goal.
Before Terry took over, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Juliano Belletti, and Michael Ballack had all scored. The more apparent choices would have been Anelka and Salomon Kalou, but Terry seems to have pulled rank to take the fifth penalty. In an interview with talkSPORT’s The LineUp, Makelele described the events that transpired:
“After the game, the dressing room was on fire. It was a depressing place to be; there was absolutely no happiness there.
“We committed a serious error prior to the penalties. We had an order that was finalised at the last minute after consulting with the manager and the players.
“John [Terry] stole the opportunity from Salomon Kalou, who was meant to take the final penalty.
We lost this match, in my opinion, because football can be a very cruel sport at times and punishment is meted out for improper behaviour.
“When he missed the penalty, I was furious because I knew many of the younger players wouldn’t have the opportunity.
“I had previously won the Champions League, but John needed to take charge and act in the team’s best interests at this time.
“He attempted to be a hero, but he didn’t ensure that we took home the trophy. He would have been a hero for lifting the prize if he had known this.
Considered by many to be among the greatest midfielders in Premier League history, Makelele started all but one of Chelsea’s 13 games on their way to Moscow, helping the team get to the 2008 Champions League final.
The Frenchman played the entire 120 minutes in the final, which was his last game for the team, but he was content to let other, more seasoned finishers take penalties before him. The same could not be said for Terry, who failed to deliver the goods despite burning himself with the burden.
Finding out that at least one Chelsea player was upset with their captain following the loss is very intriguing.
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