Legendary Moments: Ricken on 1997 final goal
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
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Lars Ricken says he "cannot remember" the last 20 minutes of the 1997 UEFA Champions League final after clinching the title for Borussia Dortmund with his first touch.
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Lars Ricken had barely been on the field a minute when he lofted the ball over Angelo Peruzzi to all but seal the 1997 UEFA Champions League title for Borussia Dortmund.
With Ottmar Hitzfeld's team leading 2-1, Ricken came on for Stéphane Chapuisat on 70 minutes. Sixty seconds later, he was wheeling away in delight after racing on to Andreas Möller's through pass and – first time – clipping beyond Peruzzi. It was some introduction.
"I watched the first 70 minutes of the match from the bench, and I noticed that Peruzzi often stood too far off his line," Ricken recalls. "When I came on, I had that in my mind, thinking: 'Peruzzi is too far off his line, Peruzzi is too far off his line.'" Ricken duly used that information to his advantage.
