Football? Bloody Hell!

There was a sense of inevitability about 2008 and the Champion's League for Manchester United. The tributes and remembrances poured in to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Munich air crash, in so many ways the defining moment of the club and their involvement in Europe. Then one remembers that this marked the fortieth anniversary of Busby finally achieving the holy grail of the European cup triumph, the phoenix rising a decade later from the ashes to claim Europe's greatest prize.

But so it was with Chelsea, who finally overcame their Liverpool Champions' League hoodoo to reach the final of the competition that had been cherished by their owner for so long. There was definitely poetic license in the fact that the final was to be played in Russia at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium (dodgy pitch notwithstanding), whose oil and gas fields had provided the millions that Abramovich used to purchase Chelsea's success.

The script then, couldn't have been better written for the showdown between the two English titans, first and second in the Premier League this year and champions of England over the past four seasons. It was the first time two English clubs had met in the Champions League final, and crowned the return to dominance of English teams in Europe after the tragedy of Heysel and the subsequent five year ban. Moscow 2008 marks the fourth consecutive year that there has been English participation in the final (Liverpool won in 2005, Arsenal and Liverpool runners-up in 2006 and 2007) which stands in sharp contrast to the 1990s following the end of the 5 year Heysel ban. In the 1990s, an English club only made it to the final on one occasion - Manchester United in 1999 - but with rather spectacular results.

The last time two teams from the same league met the results were disastrous. AC Milan and Juventus fought each other to a standstill. That was partly due to the defensive nature of Italian football, but also due to two great rivals with an intimate knowledge of each other canceling each other out in 120 minutes of cautious and cagey football. Alex Ferguson put paid to any notion of a cautious approach when he named an attacking line-up featuring the trinity of Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo, with Scholes and Carrick orchestrating the midfield and Hargreaves on the right flank.

United started the stronger team and deservedly took the lead after Cristiano Ronaldo put a bullet header past Cech from a Wes Brown cross (with his left foot no less). United continued to pressure Chelseaby playing a brand of exciting attacking football, and narrowly missed doubling their lead after what was probably the move of the match. Rooney picked up the ball near his own corner flag and carried it up the touchline before launching a magnificent cross-field ball from ten yards behind the half way line to Ronaldo on the left wing. Ronaldo's first touch and pace took him to the bye-line where he clipped a cross into the box right where Tevez's diving header was somehow palmed away by Cech. Terry's desperation clearance found Carrick at the edge of the box and his curled shot was thwarted by Cech's brilliant save.

Football is a cruel game though and Chelsea were very lucky to equalize at the cusp of half time against the run of play, and despite United's domination of the half. Essien made one of his typical powerful bursts forward (one of the rare few in this match given that he was deployed at right back instead of his usual midfield role) and fired in a shot which cannoned off Vidic and then Ferdinand before falling kindly for Frank Lampard, who gleefully tucked the ball into the back of the net past a wrong footed Van Der Sar. It was a poignant moment for Lampard given his very personal grief at the loss of his mother just a few weeks prior to the final. So the teams went into the half level, with United probably feeling that they should be as many as two goals ahead, especially when Tevez narrowly missed tapping in Roony's raking cross just before Lampard's goal.

The second half was rather different as Chelsea controlled play, denying Scholes and Carrick the time on the ball that had been the source of much of United's attacking impetus in the first half. United's free flowing football began to wilt under the Chelsea pressure. The dominance did not necessarily translate into clear cut chances, however, as United's rearguard held firm. In last year's FA Cup, Didier Drogba broke a stalemate when he made one telling contribution from a largely anonymous performance, slotting home a 116th minute winner when penalties loomed large. He almost won this one before full time, narrowly escaping the attentions of his marker and curling a peach of shot against the United upright from 25 yards out in what was probably his only meaningful action of the match till then. Still, a Chelsea winner would have been hard on United. If the match was not quite a tale of two halves, then both teams ended the ninety minutes deservedly equal.

Extra time was defined for me by two moments, when two men could have wrapped themselves in glory. Ryan Giggs had earlier made history by coming on as a substitute for Paul Scholes. This marked his 759th appearance for United, breaking 1968 European Cup final captain Bobby Charlton's long standing record. He had secured three points - and the league title - for United the previous week in his record tying appearance by coming off the bench to score. In Moscow, he had the chance to win the match for United after Patrice Evra made a trademark burst down the left flank and cut the ball back to Giggs. With Cech beaten, Giggs' shot was headed off the line by John Terry. It was then Lampard's chance to be the hero. The marauding midfielder made one of his typical runs into the box when the ball was knocked on to him. He instinctively turned and shot only to see the ball canon off the crossbar.

In the end, the match was to be decided by the lottery of the penalty shootout. This too was fitting in its own way. At the start of the season, Man Utd had defeated Chelsea in a penalty shootout to win the Charity Shield following a one all draw with Chelsea. Pizarro, Lampard and Wright-Phillips having their spot kicks saved on that occasion. So, both these clubs would see their seasons end after a similar shootout folllowing a one-all draw. The stakes, in this case though, could not have been any higher.

The shootout was to prove tremendously dramatic. After Tevez, Carrick, Ballack and Belleti (with his first kick of the game) had tucked away their spot kicks, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up. United's regular penalty taker and scorer of their goal in the final, wonderkid and footballing genius touted as probably the best player in the world, surely, given the immense stage, he could handle the pressure. Of course, he missed. Lampard didn't, nor did Ashley Cole - barely - Van Der Sar got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out. Thankfully, United were still in the hunt as Hargreaves showed nerves of steel to hammer in a penalty, and Nani showed guile to send Cech the wrong way.

The moment was written for Mr Chelsea, for their captain fantastic, for John Terry to ultimately deliver the great prize which the club had been yearning for. Chelsea would be champions of Europe if his spot kick found the net. He stepped up, Van Der Sar went the wrong way and the ball hit the post. Terry's standing foot had slipped during his run up to the ball, and he buried his head in the Moscow turf. Man United and Cristiano Ronaldo had been given a huge reprieve.

It was now sudden death. Anderson and Kalou nervessly dispatched their kicks. That left Ryan Giggs, United's record setter, to step up to the spot in the pouring rain. Surely he would rise to the occasion? He did, placing a precise penalty in the corner. Nicholas Anelka was next up for Chelsea. Something in his body language was not suggestive of the greatest confidence, neither was his short run up to the ball. Van Der Sar guessed went right, guessed right, and pandemonium ensued.

Chelsea were hard down by. They dominated the second half, and hit the post and later the crossbar in extra time. But in truth, there was a certain justice that two fantastic teams, contrasting in styles but evenly matched nonetheless, would be separated by the lottery of penalties. It was truly Russian roulette on a rainy Russian night, and nobody was hit harder than poor John Terry. He was a giant of man, but was inconsolable, weeping copiously onto his manager and assistant manager's shoulders. Even the referee's attempts at consolation failed. Amidst the United celebration one player too lay prone weeping tears of joy, but also relief. Cristiano Ronaldo will be the first to emphatise with Terry at the cruelty of penalties. It might well have been him distraught at letting his teammates, his club and the fans down.

So history had come full circle. Sir Bobby Charlton led the United team up to collect the commemorative plaque for their participation in the final forty years after he had led a different generation of players up to collect the trophy as the triumphant captain. Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs jointly lifted the trophy and United were finally Champions of Europe once again.

With the defeat, question marks were raised first and foremost about Avram Grant's future as Chelsea manager. His days are probably numbered, a harsh fate for a man who led Chelsea to two cup finals and brought them to the brink of a league victory. The fate of a number of their players also remain uncertain, including Didier Drogba and goalscorer Frank Lampard. As for United, the scary thing is the core of the team remains relatively young. If they can keep hold of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, there would be few who would doubt their capacity to challenge for this title again.