Winning the Champions League in 1999 was a great accomplishment, an experience which Ryan Giggs has been lucky enough to have enjoyed twice throughout his career. The second triumph came in 2008, and if his scuffed shot in '99 was a pivotal moment in that final, he had a much more telling contribution here. United took on their league rivals Chelsea on a rain-soaked Moscow pitch and with the game ending 1-1 after extra time, penalty kicks were required to separate these two heavyweights. Carlos Tevez opened the scoring for United, before Michael Ballack pulled one back. Michael Carrick converted his kick and Juliano Belletti made it two each. Nails were being shredded among both sets of fans and Chelsea took the advantage when Cristiano Ronaldo fluffed his spotkick, with Frank Lampard giving the Blues a 3-2 advantage. Fortunately for United, John Terry missed what would have been a match-winning penalty when he slipped and hit the woodwork, and with the game tied at 5-5, up stepped Ryan Giggs. He had to score, the whole world was watching, waiting with bated breath. They need not have worried, the Welshman was the coolest man on the pitch as he sent Petr Cech the wrong way for 6-5. Nicolas Anelka had to score the following penalty to keep his side in it, but Edwin van der Sar pulled off a save and United were crowned champions of Europe for the third time in their history.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
