JOHN TERRY should NOT have taken the penalty which cost Chelsea the European Cup.
Assistant boss Henk Ten Cate revealed Didier Drogba was due to take the crunch fifth spot-kick in the shootout.
But the striker was sent off with six minutes left of extra-time after he slapped Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic.
- The opening extravaganza
- Dancers at the pre-match ceremony
- Performers before the match
- Man Utd fans remember the Munich disaster
- Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and his companion
- Chelsea boss Avram Grant greets Man Utd counterpart Alex Ferguson before the match
- Cristiano Ronaldo is tripped by Chelsea's Michael Essien
- Man Utd's Nemanja Vidic outjumps Didier Drogba
- Owen Hargreaves fends off Florent Malouda
- Man Utd's Rio Ferdinand battles with Frank Lampard
- Man Utd's Cristiano Ronaldo evades Frank Lampard and Michael Essien
- Cristiano Ronaldo brilliantly heads Man Utd ahead
- Cristiano Ronaldo rises high to score
- Cristiano Ronaldo revels in scoring the opener
- Cristiano Ronaldo is mobbed
- Chelsea chief Avram Grant after Man Utd's opener
- Chelsea's Joe Cole turns away from Man Utd's Wayne Rooney
- Frank Lampard slots Chelsea's first-half leveller
- Frank Lampard beats Edwin van der Sar to make it 1-1
- Frank Lampard celebrates his equaliser
- Didier Drogba helps scorer Frank Lampard celebrate
- Man Utd's Wes Brown leaps with Florent Malouda
- Ashley Cole raises his boot to Owen Hargreaves
- Trouble flares, with Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole centre stage
- Nemanja Vidic (left) and Rio Ferdinand close in on Chelsea's Didier Drogba
- Michael Essien fires high from 20 yards
- Rio Ferdinand suffers cramp
- Chelsea's Frank Lampard slides in on Owen Hargreaves
- Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard get tough
- Owen Hargreaves tumbles as Chelsea's Florent Malouda challenges
- Wayne Rooney cools down
- Didier Drogba flashes his shot off the post in the second half
- Utd keeper Edwin Van Der Sar sees Didider Drogba's shot hit the post
- Didier Drogba can't believe he has hit the woodwork
- Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson gives his orders before extra time
- Joe Cole falls under a challenge from Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra
- Man Utd and Chelsea players tussle for the ball
- Man Utd's Carlos Tevez fights to keep possession
- Nemanja Vidic clears from Chelsea's Salomon Kalou
- Man Utd's Wayne Rooney is taken off
- Cristiano Ronaldo plunges over as Ricardo Carvalho steps in
- Chelsea's John Terry reacts after missing his penalty
- Frank Lampard tries to console John Terry after his penalty miss
- Edwin Van Der Sar saves Nicolas Anelka's penalty to win the Champions League for Utd
- Edwin Van Der Sar after his decisive shoot-out save
- Nicolas Anelka after his penalty miss sealed United's win
- Man Utd let the victory party begin
- Man Utd players revel with the trophy
- Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Rio Ferdinand lead celebrations
- Cristiano Ronaldo kisses the Champions League trophy
- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson with the trophy
- Utd's shoot-out hero Ryan Giggs with the trophy
- United's Anderson and Cristiano Ronaldo rejoice
- Nemanja Vidic enjoys victory
- Wayne Rooney carries team-mate Paul Scholes
And that forced Terry to step into the breach — and with the score at 4-4, the Blues skipper had the chance to win the Champions League.
But the England defender slipped on his run-up, scuffed his shot and hit the outside of the post.
That left the door open for United and they came back from the brink of defeat to lift their third European Cup.
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Blues No2 Ten Cate said: “John was not in the first five to take a kick but things change during a game.
“Some people feel sick and the sending off of Drogba made us change it.
“It’s unbelievable this should happen to him though.
“We practised penalties so much all last week and he was very confident. We were all very confident.”
Terry left Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium a broken man. He wept bitterly at the end of a dramatic contest and was still inconsolable as he walked on to the team bus.
His superb headed clearance to deny Ryan Giggs in extra-time helped take the final to penalties.
But JT missed the chance to pick up a trophy for the third time this season after losing out to Tottenham in the Carling Cup final and United in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard knows all about playing through personal pain and he backed his team-mate to bounce back.
Lamps, whose mum Pat died last month, said: “John Terry is a man’s man.
“He is Mr Chelsea and not many centre-halves would step up and take the last penalty in a Champions League final. mpu
“No one will criticise John Terry for missing — no one at this club, that’s for sure.
“It’s been a very hard time for me. It’s unfortunate that the Champions League final has come around for me this season when it’s been so hard for me.
"But football has been so important during this time. Along with my family, it’s the only thing I’ve been able to focus on.
“This result is hard to take but Chelsea will come back stronger because we’ve got a team of giants in that dressing room.
“It’s a small, small detail that has cost us the game.
“If John hadn’t slipped when he was taking the penalty we’d have won the game.
“We deserved to win. Nobody could deny we didn’t. We completely dominated the game and created countless chances.
“The best team didn’t win. But that’s football, it’s not being bitter. Losing like that is very hard to take.”
Avram Grant, who admitted he did not know if he will be Blues boss next season, was also full of praise for JT.
He said: “John Terry is the reason we are here — he has been great all season.
“I feel sorry for him and the team. We had great chances to win but unfortunately we didn’t.
“It’s not the last time for Chelsea in the final. We will be there and we will take it.”
Chelsea are 2/1 with SunBET to bounce back by winning next season's Premier League title.
