Roberto Di Matteo spoke about how important unity and trust within the squad were during their Champions League journey: “It never crossed my mind that we were out of the running. Even when we were in huge trouble, like in the second leg against Napoli or in the matches against Barcelona, I always felt there was still hope. That group had something special. So many personalities, so many players who truly deserved to experience victory and lift the famous trophy. The trust I had in the team was absolutely limitless,” he told Petr Čech.
Chelsea, despite ongoing difficulties, managed to reach the final and ultimately secured the coveted trophy.
“The whole week before the final was unusual - four players were out, and right up until the last moment, we didn’t know if Gary Cahill and David Luiz would be fit in time. We knew we couldn’t improvise on match day, so we had two different lineups prepared. In the end, both of them made it, played the full match, and I think it was mainly down to the team’s desire to succeed. In fact, it was the easiest lineup I’ve ever put together for a final,” Di Matteo recalled.
The full TV version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, Myanmar, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.