'I don't think I'll ever get over it': John Terry opens up on his 2008 Champions League final penalty miss - as former Chelsea captain admits he still 'wakes up and can see it'
Terry took what could have been the decisive penalty at the end of a 1-1 draw in the first-ever final between two English clubs, but slipped on the run-up and hit the post to send the shootout into sudden death.
Nicolas Anelka went on to miss Chelsea's seventh spot-kick to hand Man United a domestic and European double, but Terry's miss is still seen as the decisive and iconic moment at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Over 17 years on from that portentous night, Terry has revealed that his costly mistake still plays on his mind.
'It's the hardest trophy to win and being in the final meant the world to everyone,' Terry told FourFourTwo.
'Playing in a Champions League final against a team from your own country was strange, but they were a great side and it was a tough slog of a game.
'I wasn't actually supposed to take one of the first five penalties, but Didier Drogba had been sent off. I still think about my miss to this day. Honestly - not as often as I used to, but I still wake up and it's there. I can see it.
'When you look back on your career, the trophies mean a lot but the ones you missed out on can haunt you and I won't forget that one. I don't think I'll ever get over it.'
Despite his heartbreak in 2008, Terry did go on to win a Champions League title later down the line.
Although he was suspended for the final, Terry took home a winners' medal when Chelsea overcame Bayern Munich to win Europe's elite club competition in 2012.
The defender explained that that success makes his blunder in Moscow a lot easier to come to terms with.
Terry added: 'I was broken by it. I'm just so thankful we won it in 2012. That helps me massively.'
Last year, Terry revealed on the Up Front Podcast that it was 'probably the worst moment in my footballing career'.
He said: 'I'm still not over it today. I don't think I ever will be. It's interesting because as a player you have so many highs, but it's the lows that stay with you longer.
'That night we lost we went back to the hotel and the manager was asking us all to go down for a drink, but I stayed in my room because I couldn't face the lads. Eventually I went down and had a beer with the rest of the group.
'I just remember standing in my hotel room on the 25th floor, looking over Moscow and asking myself, 'why then, why did it start raining then, why did I slip?
'The hardest thing for me was that three days later we had a friendly for England against USA at Wembley and we drew 1-1 I scored a header from outside of the box. If I could swap any two goals in my career it'd be those two.'
He also previously told Sky in the months after the miss: 'Every morning I wake up, that's the first thing I think about. I am still so desperately disappointed about it.
'But I am a big man with a big character and it is now down to me to deal with that.'
Speaking ahead of the 2008-09 season, he added: 'I'm certainly looking forward to the new season so I can wipe away that bitter disappointment for the club, and especially for me.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
McLaren must also deal with disappointment amid runaway success
LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - McLaren boss Zak Brown is preparing to deal with disappointment at the end of the Formula One season, even as the team enjoy one of their most dominant years and a 200th grand prix win at the weekend. As the title battle between Oscar Piastri and teammate Lando Norris heats up, the McLaren pair separated by just nine points after Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, the American conceded he was thinking also about how to handle the aftermath. Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen, the McLaren drivers' closest rival, is now 97 points off the pace and told reporters at the weekend that he may not win again this year given his car's issues. Even before the weekend, both Piastri and Norris cast caution aside and called it a two-horse race. One of them will surely end the year celebrating a dream come true. The other will rue what might have been, with a new engine era next season shaking everything up again and chances potentially disappearing. Losing always hurts, doubly so when it is to a teammate with the same car, and Brown said McLaren would have to deal with the situation sensitively when -- although he still insisted on saying if -- the time came. "Eventually... we'll just sit down and actually have a conversation and go 'right, one of you is going to win and it's going to be the best day of your life. One of you is going to lose. How do you want us to handle that?'," he told a select group of reporters. "We'll actually sit down and go 'Right, you want us to jump up and down and celebrate? This guy won'. So we're fully aware and sensitive to 'how do you celebrate that situation?'." Australian Piastri has won six races to Norris's five but the Briton has momentum going into the August break, with three wins from his last four starts. The pair have had seven one-two finishes from 14 races, including the last four, and have left rivals trailing. McLaren are so far ahead in the constructors' standings -- 299 points over Ferrari -- that the crown is a given. Much has been made of the potential for a falling out between friends, for clashes on track given what is at stake, but Brown was sanguine and said the relationship was only growing stronger. When Norris ran into the back of Piastri as he challenged for the lead in Canada in June, the Briton defused the situation by immediately taking responsibility. Piastri locked up behind Norris in Hungary on Sunday, in what could have been a repeat of that Montreal accident, but no contact was made. Brown said there was no 'elephant in the room' at McLaren, with the drivers having complete transparency on strategy and how the team go about racing, and he expected more close calls in future. "There's competitiveness brewing... as the championship builds, I'm sure that tension will grow," said the boss. "We're fully anticipating them 'swapping paint' again at some point, I'm very confident it won't be deliberate, which is where you then get into the problems. "They will have racing incidents in their further time here at McLaren, we know that and they know that, so we're not afraid of that. "I'm positive they're never going to run each other off the track, and that's where you get into bad blood. So they're free to race... there are rules around our racing, which is respect your teammate, they know that."
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Russell Martin's Rangers criticism came from ‘love and care'
The Gers boss hit out following the William Hill Premiership opener at Fir Park, questioning mentality, speaking about 'egos' and accusing some of 'self-preservation'. Martin was speaking again at the club's training ground ahead of the first leg of the Champions League third qualifier against Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday night, where a play-off tie against Austrian outfit Salzburg or Club Brugge of Belgium awaits the winners. 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaches that it all comes from a place of love and care for them,' said the Gers boss, who replied 'hopefully he will be in it, we will wait and see', when asked if new signing Oliver Antman, the Finland winger who joined from Go Ahead Eagles on Monday, will be included in the squad. 'We are here, myself, Gilly (Matt Gill, assistant), the coaches, ultimately for the players. 🎙️ Russell Martin spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday's match against Viktoria Plzeň. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 'We're here to win football matches, but as coaches day to day, we are here to help the players. 'That's our job, to help them win, to help them develop, to help them improve and understand why, to help them enjoy playing for a club like this, because I don't think too many of them have enjoyed it enough to play for this amazing football club, because it's not always easy. 'I don't come out and say that because I want to be ruthless and all that stuff. 'If they know me as a person, the people who do know me, they know it comes from a place of love and to help them and to want them to be better. 'So I think when it comes from that place, whatever is said and if they understand that, then we'll always have a really honest and good conversation about it. 'I hope they understand who we are by now and what we're here to do, and I really believe they're really trying. 'So they're good people, but the default to try and protect yourself when it gets tough, we need to just shed that a little bit.' ✍️ We are today delighted to announce the signing of Finnish international Oliver Antman on a four-year-deal. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 4, 2025 Martin confirmed that Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane will again miss out through fitness issues while it is not clear if Mikey Moore, the 17-year-old attacker who has signed on loan from Tottenham, will receive international clearance in time to be part of the squad. On the task facing his side, Martin said: 'The game is going to be tough. 'They are really powerful, really strong, play forward quickly, run forward quickly. 'It's a really different test to the Panathinaikos one and it is a really interesting and exciting one for us. 'They have strength in certain areas, but we have to try and turn the game, especially at Ibrox, into the game that we want, move the ball quickly, better than we did the other day. 'We have to really be up for the fight against these guys but I am looking forward to it.'
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
The reason Mikey Moore won't feature for Rangers against Viktoria Plzen but club trying for Oliver Antman inclusion
Gers face the Czechs in the first leg of their third round qualifier on Tuesday night Rangers will be without Mikey Moore for their crunch Champions League qualifier with Viktoria Plzen - but latest recruit Oliver Antman could line-up for the first leg showdown at Ibrox. Russell Martin 's men take on the Czech side in the third round of qualifying tomorrow night - with the winner going onto face the victor of the tie between Club Brugge and and FC Salzburg in the play-off round. Should Rangers fall, Martin's side are still guaranteed European football, with the loser of the tie dropping into the revamped group stage of the Europa League. The former Southampton boss has sealed a deal worth around £4million to bring in Finland international Antman from Go Ahead Eagles, taking his summer signing tally to nine. And while Gers are hopeful to get him registered in time ahead of UEFA's 11pm deadline tonight, Moore won't make the cut. The 17-year-old arrived on a season-long loan from Tottenham on Friday but Record Sport understands his clearance from UEFA to get the green light has suffered a delay due to his U18 status. Moore was at Fir Park on Saturday as Gers played out a 1-1 draw with Motherwell. The rest of the Light Blues new recruits are all expected to make the squad, with Thelo Aasgaard still unable to make his competitive debut with an injury picked up in pre-season. Another man who won't be in action in the first leg clash with Plzen is Hamza Igamane who is yet to get up to speed under his new boss. Djeidi Gassama netted in both legs of the 3-1 aggregate victory against Panathinaikos and will hope to continue his fine start to life at Ibrox following his £2.2million switch from Sheffield Wednesday. Gers have been left reeling from Saturday's draw at Fir Park in their Premiership opener, with Martin letting his rip at his new-look squad after watching them fail to collect three points on matchday one for the third season running. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers page and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here.
