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Claude Makelele has claimed that John Terry was not supposed to take the infamous penalty for Chelsea against Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final. He revealed that Salomon Kalou was the designated player, but the captain went ahead.
Speaking on 'Rio Ferdinand Presents,' Makelele said Kalou was the best penalty shooter at Chelsea in 2008 and should have gone ahead of Terry, as planned. He added that it was good to see Terry take charge despite the miss and said (via Daily Mail):
"It's [Kalou's] turn, but Johnny took [his] ball. Exactly, but it's in a good way. It's in a good way. But the way I see it, Johnny [doesn't] have two Champions Leagues now. Because Kalou was the best penalty [taker] at that time at Chelsea."
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"I didn't know [that Kalou was Chelsea's best penalty taker] until later. Because in the game, if I knew this, of course, I would tell John: 'No John, [let him take the penalty].' But of course, he's my teammate also, no? He [Terry] was crying because we lost this game," he added.
The Blues drew 1-1 with United in regular time and were one penalty away from winning the shootout. However, Terry slipped and missed. Manchester United managed to come back and win 6-5 on penalties, with Van der Sar saving Nicolas Anelka's effort.
John Terry is still haunted by the Chelsea penalty miss against Manchester United
Speaking on the 'Up Front' podcast in 2024, John Terry said the missed penalty against Manchester United in the 2008 UCL final haunts him to this day. The Chelsea legend said (via Daily Mail):
"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."
He added:
"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?'"
John Terry managed to get his hands on the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2012, though he missed out on the final. He was sent off in the semifinal after kneeing Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez off the ball.
