| Chelsea FC has clinched its first ever European Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. Veteran striker Didier Drogba scored the decisive spot kick to beat Bayern Munich and deliver the one trophy that Chelsea had never won. In regular time, Drogba's 88th-minute equalising header had cancelled out Thomas Muller's opener for Bayern just five minutes previously. After the match Drogba said of his team-mates: "The never give up until the end. This team is amazing." But Chelsea team mate Frank Lampard poured praise on the Ivory Coast international. Lampard, who scored one of the penalties, said: "He's a hero. Without him we're not here. "The determination we've shown... we didn't play fantastic but the main man Didier dug us out of trouble there. The final played in Bayern's home Allianz Arena Stadium saw over one million fans out across Munich to watch the game. The 30000 Chelsea fans were heavily outnumbered but partied long into the night. The Park Cafe beer garden was a sea of Bayern fans but amongst them was a small group wearing Chelsea blue. They erupted in unbridled joy at the end of the penalty shoot-out as the nightmare of their 2008 final defeat to Manchester United evaporated. David Pearce was in tears as he told Sky News: "I cannot describe what this means to me, we have waited so long. "They were so strong but we did it." Gill Welch said it was "absolutely amazing". "I think we just had a real belief in ourselves. I think the team just knew they could do it," she ... |
