‘My whole life flashed through my mind when I went up to take my penalty in the Champions League final. There was no margin for error’ Nani on what it meant step up during the 2008 Champions League final shootout

Champions League 2008 — Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final

The 2008 Champions League final marked the first-ever time that Europe’s biggest match was contested by two English sides.

Fittingly, the clash between Manchester United and Chelsea would be played in the pouring rain and would be tense, gritty affair that was settled on penalties.

Nani on his role in the penalty shootout win

Cristiano Ronaldo 2008 Champions League Final — Ronaldo had missed his penalty before Nani stepped up

When Nani stepped up to take his side’s fifth penalty, he knew there was no margin for error.

His compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo had missed his spot kick, meaning that if Nani failed to find the back of the net, Chelsea would celebrate their first-ever European Cup win.

“It was a delicate moment,” Nani recalls to FourFourTwo. “Your whole life flashes through your mind during those few metres from the halfway line to the penalty spot. The pressure is obvious, especially when you know there’s no margin for error.

“I knew I had to make a decision, not hesitate, and hit the ball with confidence. Petr Cech was a huge goalkeeper – he even guessed which way I’d shoot and got a touch, but thankfully it went in, and the story had a happy ending.”

Ronaldo’s blushes were spared following his miss, as John Terry and Nicolas Anelka would then fail to convert, so did Nani’s compatriot thank him for dispatching his spot kick?

“No, no, because we didn’t win thanks to me,” Nani continues. “We won because of the team, because of Edwin van der Sar, who saved Nicolas Anelka’s penalty, and because of all the others who took their penalties and scored.

“That season we were very united as a group. Anyone could miss, but there were always others ready to lift you up. That’s what made that moment so special.”

John Terry Chelsea 2008 — John Terry slipped and missed his spot kick in the shootout

Nani added four Premier League titles to his Champions League winners’ medal during his time at Old Trafford, but which trophy meant the most?

“The Champions League is incomparable – it stands in a category of its own,” he admits. “We went through the streets of Manchester on an open-top bus, touring the city, which was overflowing with joy.

“Seeing the fans celebrating like that – singing, thanking us – was genuinely beautiful.”

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For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

With contributions from

Dani Gil

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