Bayern Munich 1 Chelsea 1: It is in our DNA to fight like this, says Drogba

aet: Chelsea won 4-3 on pensChampions League matchwinner Didier Drogba believes it was destiny that Chelsea should finally scoop the prize in Munich on Saturday night.

Despite playing the final on their opponents’ home ground, conceding the opening goal with just eight minutes remaining, then giving away a penalty at the start of extra-time, and being forced into a shootout in front of the Bayern fans, Chelsea emerged victorious.

It was Drogba who kept his nerve to seal the triumph, just as it was the Ivorian whose near-post header a minute from time levelled Thomas Muller’s goal for the hosts.

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“It was written a long time ago that Chelsea were going to win,” said Drogba.

“I have been here for eight years and we were always so close, and yet so far at the same time.

“Now we have the cup. The cup is going back to Stamford Bridge and it is the best feeling ever.”

It took a large degree of nerve for Drogba to take Chelsea’s decisive final penalty.

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After all, it is only just over three months ago that he missed a spot-kick that proved to be a key moment in the Ivory Coast’s shock defeat by Zambia in the African Nations Cup final.

Yet, if anything, Drogba drew confidence from that setback.

“I still had in my head what happened in the African Nations Cup when I could have won the game for my team,” he said.

“But at the same time I was confident.

“I was just saying to myself ‘Today, we don’t cry’.

“And at the end, when the boss jumped on me I said it again, ‘Today, we don’t cry’.”

Once the dust has finally settled – and Drogba gave every impression of wanting to enjoy all the celebrations – the 33-year-old will have to make a decision about his future.

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The two-year contract he was hoping for from Chelsea has not materialised and there has been speculation for months now that he would leave in the summer for a new life in China.

If Saturday did represent the final game for the most significant member of Chelsea’s ‘old guard’ to leave Stamford Bridge, it was some ending.

And Drogba was quick to pay tribute to two of his long-time team-mates, Petr Cech and Ashley Cole, who, both on Saturday night and earlier in the competition, made glory possible at the Allianz Arena.

“It is in our DNA to fight,” he said.

“For me the change of the season was the block Ashley Cole made when we lost in Napoli.

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“Nobody has really spoken about it but if Ashley hadn’t stopped that shot, it would have been 4-1 and the tie would have been over.

“Petr (against Bayern) proved himself to be the best goalkeeper in the world.

“All the saves he did on Saturday and before, in the other games, took us to where we ended up.”

Cech, for his part, hailed Chelsea’s triumph as a “revolt” against their doubters following his penalty shootout heroics.

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Cech admitted he was in tears after helping the Blues end their agonising wait for European Cup glory in the dramatic final victory as he enjoyed the perfect early 30th birthday present.

Chelsea becoming kings of Europe looked a laughable prospect three months ago after they lost their last-16 first leg against Napoli 3-1.

But they repeatedly defied the doom-mongers before stunning Bayern on penalties.

“It was a kind of revolt against everybody,” said Cech.

“Because everything was going against us and we didn’t have results.

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“Andre Villas-Boas had to leave, he was sacked, and everybody was saying, ‘You have no chance against Napoli, second leg’.

“Everybody wrote us off against Barcelona, everybody said that Bayern is playing at home, that we have missing players, and we have no chance.

“So, we kept proving everybody wrong.”

Cech insisted the manner in which Chelsea achieved Champions League glory meant it had to be their destiny.

“It must have been because, all those years, we’ve been really doing well in the league,” said the Czech Republic star, who joined the club eight years ago.

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“And throughout all the years, we were so unlucky in the Champions League.

“This year, everything was going wrong in the league. We finished in sixth place, where we had never finished since I joined the club, and it was the moment where we won the Champions League.

“So many times this season, people wrote us off, and we said, ‘Okay, everybody keeps writing us off, but we will do it’.

“Finally. It’s been eight years.

“The chance came and in a moment when nobody expected it, we grabbed the chance.

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“I said prior to the game that if we win the cup, I don’t want a cake, and this is the best present I can get. It’s a dream come true.”

Cech wrote his name forever in Chelsea folklore with three penalty saves, the first from Arjen Robben in extra-time and two more in the shootout.

“It was fantastic and when I saved the first one in extra-time, obviously it gave me confidence for the penalty shootout,” said Cech, who suffered shootout agony in the final in Moscow four years ago against Manchester United after John Terry missed a penalty that would have sealed victory.

He added of Saturday night: “I saw Didier (Drogba) step up for the fifth one and thought, ‘This was the moment that should have happened in Moscow’.

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“When he scored, for the first time in my life I didn’t know what to do. I heard him crying. I was crying, shouting. It was unbelievable.”

Fernando Torres put his “big disappointment” at not starting Chelsea’s Champions League triumph to one side after helping them become kings of Europe.

“I was expecting to start,” said Torres, the £50m signing 16 months ago who came off the bench to win the corner that saw Didier Drogba send the game to extra-time.

“It was a big surprise for me, a big disappointment.

“But, in the final, the main thing is to win – it doesn’t matter who plays.”