I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
I have a friend who I’ve been going to games with for many years and, just before Rodri scored, she said, “I need to go to the bathroom – I promise you we’re going to score now.” And we did! She wasn’t even disappointed she missed it because it was such an important moment.
You always become more nervous once you take the lead because you’ve got more to lose; the Champions League was now in our hands. You knew at some stage that Inter were going to throw everything at it. They pushed hard, created some great chances and, if not for Ederson, we’d have headed to extra time.
I was certainly relieved when the referee blew the whistle. It was the strangest feeling: I didn’t know whether I was celebrating the Champions League, celebrating the treble or something else. In my 50 years as a season-ticket holder, it was something I never thought we’d achieve. I slept well that night, that’s for sure.
I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
I have a friend who I’ve been going to games with for many years and, just before Rodri scored, she said, “I need to go to the bathroom – I promise you we’re going to score now.” And we did! She wasn’t even disappointed she missed it because it was such an important moment.
You always become more nervous once you take the lead because you’ve got more to lose; the Champions League was now in our hands. You knew at some stage that Inter were going to throw everything at it. They pushed hard, created some great chances and, if not for Ederson, we’d have headed to extra time.
I was certainly relieved when the referee blew the whistle. It was the strangest feeling: I didn’t know whether I was celebrating the Champions League, celebrating the treble or something else. In my 50 years as a season-ticket holder, it was something I never thought we’d achieve. I slept well that night, that’s for sure.
I’m normally a very superstitious person with my football. That includes crazy things like wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer and making sure I wear the correct scarf, cologne and what have you. But I was very relaxed before the Champions League final. Sometimes you just feel that destiny is written, and I felt it was our time.
Once you’re in the stadium, the whole thing hits you: how big it could be for us. I remember reading that the majority of teams who lost their first Champions League final went on to win it the second time around. I was trying to find all the silver linings to distract me from what could’ve been a very dark cloud.
Pep Guardiola got it tactically spot on. We were all surprised when he didn’t play Kyle Walker, but Manuel Akanji’s vital pass through to Bernardo Silva led to the goal, so as usual the genius that is Pep got it right.
