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| Chelsea again defied all the odds last night to win the European Cup for the first time |
Chelsea defied all logic and expectation last night by winning the European Cup in Munich, but the way their season has gone, nobody should have been surprised.
They have been on an unstoppable path to glory, coming back from the brink on numerous occasions with their name seemingly destined to be added to the trophy.
Chelsea were doubted all the way through yet have somehow come away with club football's biggest prize and the greatest achievement in the club's history.
Didier Drogba has epitomised their spirit not just this season but over the last eight years, and it was fitting he had such a massive say in their Champions League triumph.
His bullet header which forced extra-time two minutes before the 90 were up was magnificent, while it just seemed right that he scored the winning penalty in the dramatic shoot-out.
Drogba will go down as a Chelsea legend and this was his defining moment, and if that penalty does turn out to be his final kick for the club, what a way to go out it was.
Roman Abramovich and co would be crazy to let Drogba leave on a free transfer this summer as he has proved time and time again he is the man for the big occasion - he also scored the winner in Chelsea's recent FA Cup win and has scored nine goals in nine finals for the club - despite what many think about him.
Drogba's theatrics are not great but to concentrate on that ignores all the brilliance he has brought to the game over the years.
He is the ultimate 'number nine' and still offers so much at the age of 34.
Some say Chelsea should let him go now as he is only going to decline, but Drogba could have years left in him due to the fact he was a late bloomer and only started playing top-flight football in France at the age of 23.
He is a powerhouse who scores goals, provides so much for his team-mates and always gives his all, and he deserves to be remembered for this rather than his infamous play-acting.
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| Drogba should go down as the greatest player of his type in his generation |
John Terry, watching from the stands in Munich, was unable to right his wrongs from Moscow due to his suspension, but he will feel some sense of redemption with his beloved club finally adding the European Cup to their roll of honour.
Roberto Di Matteo deserves so much praise for Chelsea's incredible triumph as he inherited a squad in crisis after the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in March.
At that time, Chelsea were flattering to deceive in the league and looked set to go out of the Champions League at the hands of Napoli, who held a 3-1 lead from the first leg.
At that point, if anybody had suggested Chelsea were just a couple of months away from being European champions, they would have been ridiculed.
However, Di Matteo, with the help of Chelsea stalwarts Drogba, Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and others, somehow turned the tie around with a 4-1 win over the Italians at Stamford Bridge after extra-time.
They had almost been eliminated in the group stages and had to beat Valencia at home to qualify for the knockouts, so they have had to come through several high-pressure matches to get their hands on the ultimate prize.
Their quarter-final against Benfica nearly went wrong as Chelsea failed to impress in the second leg and almost went out on away goals.
Then came the unbelievable semi-final with Barcelona, as Chelsea withstood a barrage of Spanish pressure in both legs to somehow emerge victorious.
Nobody gave them a chance of defeating the European champions and their chances were even more slim when, with the tie level at 1-1 and the half-time whistle in the second leg looming, Terry ridiculously got himself sent off.
All logic pointed towards a landslide victory for Barcelona but Chelsea rode their luck and incredibly came away with a 3-2 aggregate victory - with Lionel Messi missing a penalty - with goals from Ramires and Fernando Torres leaving the Catalans floored.
After all they had gone through to reach the final, we shouldn't really be surprised that Chelsea eventually came away with the trophy.
However, they still went into the tie as outsiders due to the fact their opponents were Bayern Munich, who were irrepressible on their route to the final and had the advantage of playing at the Allianz Arena, their home stadium.
Everything pointed towards a Bayern victory and the balance of play in the final also suggested there would only be one winner.
Chelsea sat back and defended, while Mario Gomez missed a clutch of great chances.
It seemed that if Bayern were to score, the floodgates would open and the Germans would go on to win two or three-nil.
Thomas Muller provided the breakthrough on 83 minutes with a header past Petr Cech. Bayern's pressure had finally told and there was no way back for Chelsea.
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| Muller must have thought he had won the cup for Bayern with his late header |
We should have known better given the odds Chelsea have overcome this season, and sure enough Drogba came good with a superb header to force extra-time.
Even then, Chelsea were second favourites. Written off throughout their journey to Munich, it just seemed their luck had to change somewhere along the line.
Three minutes into extra-time, Drogba fouled Franck Ribery in the box for a Bayern penalty. Surely this was the moment Chelsea's resistance was set to end.
But no. Cech kept out Arjen Robben's spot-kick and the dream was back on.
Chelsea survived the rest of the extra-time period and forced a penalty shoot-out.
Again they were doubted by some, but others were finally coming round to the idea that the London side's name was destined to be added to the trophy.
Juan Mata's penalty was saved by Manuel Neuer, but Cech went on to deny Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger to hand Chelsea the advantage.
Drogba then stepped up to strike home the winning penalty and realise the Chelsea dream.
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| Could this be Drogba's last ever kick for Chelsea? |
Perhaps it was that Chelsea fought back despite conceding the opener just seven minutes before the end.
Or that Bayern scored just once from 35 attempts.
Or that Chelsea scored from their first and only corner of the game.
Or that Ryan Bertrand was handed his Champions League debut in the final.
Or that Chelsea survived the extra-time period unscathed despite conceding a penalty.
Or that Drogba scored the winning penalty with what could be his last kick for Chelsea.
Or that a German team lost on penalties to an English one!
This triumph was Chelsea's destiny but they still needed some outstanding performances to deliver it.
Gary Cahill and David Luiz were colossal at the back and proved John Terry is perhaps not as important to Chelsea as many think, while Ashley Cole showed why he is still the best left-back in the world.
Lampard was excellent in midfield and then there was Drogba, Chelsea's talisman who provided the defining moments.
There will be some who criticise Chelsea and Di Matteo for their tactics, but anyone doing so is a fool.
If Di Matteo had continued in the same cavalier style as Villas-Boas, Chelsea would have been eliminated by Napoli and humiliated by Barcelona and Bayern.
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| Di Matteo has done an incredible job at Stamford Bridge |
Di Matteo - if he is not to get the permanent manager's job this summer - will go down as the greatest interim boss in history.
He will also go down as one of the luckiest in history but that doesn't matter. All that matters is whose name ended up on the cup.
Abramovich ought to give the job to Di Matteo as he has brought the winning mentality back to Stamford Bridge and got all the fans behind him.
He deserves at least a season to prove his worth as he has delivered the Champions League and the FA Cup.
Di Matteo could have done little more and it would be extremely harsh if he was not given the job on a permanent basis.
The spirit and determination is back at Stamford Bridge and Di Matteo deserves much of the credit for that.
The players and fans surely want him to stay on, so there should be little debate.
Some may say Chelsea have been backed into a corner because of Di Matteo's achievements as interim manager, much like Liverpool were with Kenny Dalglish, but he has surely earned a contract.
He has been calm and dignified throughout his short spell in charge so far, and deserves the chance to capatalise on his hard work next season.
This Champions League final may not go down as one of the greatest, but it will in terms of the way all the odds were overcome and the plucky underdogs somehow emerged victorious amid incredible drama.
It seems strange to refer to Chelsea - bankrolled by Abramovich's billions - as underdogs but that is exactly what they have been this season and this remains a remarkable achievement, regardless of how much money they have spent.
Bayern deserve commiserations as they were undoubtedly the better team over the 120 minutes, and this heartache will take some recovering from.
Robben will feel awful - much like Terry did after his penalty miss in 2008 - as his spot-kick would have surely sealed the trophy for Bayern and he was forced to eventually watch his former team-mates celebrate the greatest moment of their careers.
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| Robben did not take a penalty in the shoot-out as he was not in the right frame of mind |
It was a match full of drama and Chelsea certainly rode their luck, as they did throughout their Champions League adventure this season.
Their triumph was simply meant to be.
Chelsea are not the best team in Europe but they currently hold that title. That is all that matters.
They needed luck - much like Liverpool in 2005 - but earned it through their determination, spirit and never-say-die attitude.
Chelsea will never have a season quite like this again.
In the future, they will hope to be the team dominating matches of this magnitude rather than defending for their lives, but for the time being, this is the way they have to play to win.
Di Matteo, Drogba, Cole et al deserved their moment. Surely the greatest moment they will ever have in their careers.
Their name was on the cup. This was their destiny.
Now Abramovich needs to reward the men who delivered it.
Di Matteo and Drogba have surely earned at least another season.
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