Our reporters choose their Legendary Moments
Friday, March 13, 2015
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UEFA.com asked a selection of its correspondents to choose their favourite European Cup highlight – relive their picks and join the debate using #LegendaryMoments.
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Vote for your favourite of UEFA's 60 Legendary Moments and you could be in with a chance of going to this season's UEFA Champions League final in Berlin.
Domenic Aquilina in Malta
25/05/67: Celtic first British winners
I was nearly ten years old and already obsessed with the game of football. I remember tuning into our huge black-and-white television set at home – one of very few in my home town of Senglea at the time. Inter Milan had huge support on the island, but I've always been behind the British clubs so I was delighted to see Celtic prevail!
Mark Chaplin in Nyon
26/05/99: United back from the dead
An astonishing finish worthy of a showpiece occasion, an unbelievable climax that you wouldn't even read about. "Can Manchester United score? United always score," an English television commentator said, thinking aloud just ahead of the equaliser. So, extra time, then. No one in their wildest dreams imagined that United would then grab a winner. How utterly, thrillingly wrong we all were. Indescribable drama that reflected a team's determination not to accept their fate.
Stoyan Georgiev in Sofia
20/05/92: Koeman's Wembley blockbuster
I had only ever listened on BBC radio to FA Cup finals, but then in 1992 I managed to watch events from Wembley on television – only it was not a football match, but Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses performing Bohemian Rhapsody with Sir Elton John. A month later, Hristo Stoichkov became the only Bulgarian to win the European Cup, playing a key role before Ronald Koeman's free-kick did for UC Sampdoria. Then came Stoichkov's very own 'Axl Rose' moment, as he took the trophy out of Koeman's hands and sat on the desk of the royal box. Typical Hristo.
Andrew Haslam in London
06/05/09: Iniesta breaks Chelsea hearts
I was looking forward to seeing Pep Guardiola's side in the flesh for the first time, but this was not a vintage Barcelona display. Trailing to Michael Essien's early goal and a man down after Éric Abidal's red card, they kept patiently probing. Reward came three minutes into added time; I was right behind Andrés Iniesta as his shot sliced into the roof of the Chelsea net, and watched amazed as Guardiola sprinted along the touch line to join in the celebrations.
Alex O'Henley in Glasgow
26/05/99: United back from the dead
My first UEFA Champions League final and one I will never forget. For late drama this match at the Camp Nou had it all, but there are two images in particular that will remain with me forever. Firstly, Samuel Kuffour, the FC Bayern München defender, sobbing inconsolably and beating the team bus with his fists; secondly, the unbridled joy of Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose first few words at the post-match press conference summed it all up: "Football eh? Bloody hell!"
Paolo Menicucci in Milan
23/05/07: Milan take revenge
Having covered AC Milan since 2002, I attended three UEFA Champions League finals in the last decade. With due respect to Liverpool FC and their 'Miracle of Istanbul', I couldn't avoid the fact Milan deserved the title that night. The football gods clearly thought similarly, for they gave the Rossoneri the chance for revenge two years later. Watching the 38-year-old Paolo Maldini – who scored the opener in Istanbul – lifting that cup in Athens just felt right.
Vassiliki Papantonopoulou in Athens
15/05/02: Zidane's crowning moment
I was never choosy about goals – keep them coming, I would say. Drives, chips, lobs, back-heels, clips, headers: they all meant something in the context of a match. Until that Wednesday evening, in May 2002. A ball fell from the sky and Zinédine Zidane slammed it home with a left-footed volley. A rare mixture of unrivalled skill, class, aesthetics and ... geometry deciding a UEFA Champions League final. I can still hear the 'wows' and crazy cheering from every office of the newspaper. We all watched mesmerised, asking for the replay of that beauty again and again.
Eugene Ravdin in Riga
07/04/04: Deportivo's record comeback
It is not because I remember every detail that this game sticks in my head. What I do recall is the feeling of the impossible coming true as Milan conceded one goal after another. These were the holders, the Milan of Shevchenko, Maldini and Kaká. I could scarcely believe what I was watching.
Berend Scholten in Diest
24/05/95: Teenage Kluivert Ajax's hero
At a time when people thought the gap between Dutch clubs and the big-money sides had become too wide, Louis van Gaal reckoned differently. He built an Ajax team around home-grown Dutch players, leavened by experienced veterans Frank Rijkaard and Danny Blind. With the tense Vienna final seemingly set for stalemate, Van Gaal pulled another trick from his sleeve, bringing on 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert whose late goal brought an explosion of joy. Youth development and a good plan could beat the rich elite after all.
Ondřej Zlámal in Prague
25/05/05: The Miracle of Istanbul
I remember how stunned I was when watching. When I saw Vladimír Šmicer, whose career I followed closely after it had started in Prague, I got even more excited. Three goals within six minutes for Liverpool in the second half was just unbelievable. When Šmicer was taking his penalty, I could feel the beat of my own heart. What a game! It should teach us never to give up and to always believe in victory.