Fate favours triumphant Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson said "fate had played its hand" after his Manchester United side had defeated Chelsea FC on penalties to win the UEFA Champions League.

Munich remembered
Fifty years on from the Munich air crash Edwin van der Sar blocked Nicolas Anelka's spot-kick to clinch a third European Champion Clubs' Cup for United and the second of Sir Alex's reign. Sir Bobby Charlton, who survived the Munich crash and went on to score twice in the 1968 European Cup final win against SL Benfica, led the United players up the stairs at the Luzhniki Stadium to lift the cup on the evening that Ryan Giggs broke his appearance record with his 759th club game.

Memory
"I said yesterday we wouldn't let the memory of the Busby Babes down," Sir Alex said. "Fate played its hand today. Even John Terry slipping [before missing in the shoot-out] is a bit of fate. I just felt it was on our side this season, with Giggs scoring the goal against Wigan [Athletic FC to seal the Premier League title]. We had a cause which is important and people with causes become very difficult people to fight against."

'Outstanding'
Had Terry scored the European Cup would have gone to Chelsea. Instead United seized the initiative with Van der Sar emerging as the hero. "One of the most difficult jobs was replacing [Peter] Schmeichel and three years ago when we did that with Van der Sar you could see the marked improvement in our defensive record," Sir Alex said. "It's absolutely outstanding. Tonight wasn't an accident. When it comes to the last game it requires experience and patience to wait that fraction."

'Very, very proud'
Rather than rest on his laurels the 66-year-old is already looking forward to defending the trophy next season. "I feel very, very proud. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself, but we won't get carried away with it. Tomorrow morning I'll be thinking of next season. It drains away quickly for me. The euphoria evaporates almost immediately. The moment of that final penalty kick save from van der sar, that was my moment, my euphoria and excitement, then you just carry on."

Veterans of '99
The United manager also had words of praise for veterans Giggs, a winner in 1999, and Paul Scholes who missed that final through suspension. "The disappointment of '99 has gone for [Scholes] now," Sir Alex said. "He has achieved what he should have achieved in '99, a winners' medal. He broke his nose in that clash with [Claude] Makelele in the first half. He did well to play on. I'm delighted for the boy. He's an absolutely fantastic person. It is not by accident that Scholes, Giggs and [Gary] Neville have stayed so long at the club. They know what professional football means and they know what Manchester United means. When you have achieved what they have you have to be very, very proud of them."

'Great captain'
Chelsea manager Avram Grant felt his side did not deserve to lose and had words of encouragement for his devastated captain. "It's very hard to lose on penalties," he said. "Apart from the first 30 minutes we dominated the game. We hit the post and bar, but we lost. Penalties are penalties. John Terry was very sad, he cried but he is the main reason we are here. He was there whenever we needed him as a captain. He took responsibility even today to take the last penalty. It happens unfortunately but he is still a great captain and a great player and he was fantastic today. I'm very, very proud of the way we played. The spirit of the team was great, the quality was good."