• 'They never give up until the end. This team is amazing'
• Lampard wants Drogba to stay after Bayern victory
Didier Drogba hailed his side's never-say-die spirit after helping Chelsea claim the Champions League for the first time in their history.
The Blues beat Bayern Munich 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after tonight's final at the Allianz Arena had finished 1-1 after extra-time. Drogba struck the winning penalty, having also headed home an 88th-minute equaliser to cancel out Thomas Müller's opener for Bayern five minutes previously.
Drogba said of his team-mates: "They never give up until the end. This team is amazing."
The Ivory Coast international added: "It was written, I think, a long time ago. I want to dedicate this cup to all the managers we've had before, all the players I've played with before."
Drogba also hailed the performance of the goalkeeper Petr Cech, who saved a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra-time and then also played a key part as Bayern missed twice in the shoot-out. "When we have this guy in goal you have to believe," Drogba said.
Frank Lampard hit one of Chelsea's four successful penalties and the 33-year-old, who joined from West Ham in 2001 and captained the team tonight in John Terry's absence, savoured the club's glory night. He said: "I can't believe it. The determination we've shown... we didn't play fantastic but the main man Didier dug us out of trouble there. He's a hero. Without him we're not here. He scores the goals in the big games."
Lampard said of Drogba, who is out of contract this summer: "I'd love him to stay. What he did tonight he's been doing all his career."
Of the club's triumph, Lampard said: "It means everything. We've been so many years trying to do this. This is the one we really wanted and we've got it."
Asked whether the win should lead to interim manager Roberto Di Matteo being given the job permanently, Lampard said: "It's not a question for this moment. He took us from a struggling team maybe going out of the Champions League and we won it, so look at that."
Di Matteo refused to discuss his future after Chelsea were handed the trophy. "I'm enjoying this moment and I'd just like to go out and celebrate with the players. I won't talk about it now. I just want to enjoy the moment."
The Italian hailed his team's spirit, saying: "We have a group of players that have a big heart, passion, motivation and desire. That was the only way to be able to achieve this trophy. It's been an immense effort by the whole group - staff, players - and we are very happy tonight."
As for Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille eight years ago, Di Matteo said: "He's been incredible for this club. He scored a fantastic goal tonight to keep us in the game, then the winning penalty as well."
Di Matteo took over from Andre Villas-Boas at the start of March, and said: "It's been an incredible three months, demanding and challenging for everybody."
Cech believes Di Matteo has staked a strong claim to be manager on a permanent basis. Cech said on ITV1: "Whatever happens to him he's got two fantastic cups and he's deserved that. I think he's done enough to get the job but now it's up to the board to decide."
Looking back to Chelsea's last Champions League final four years ago, Cech said: "When we lost the penalty shoot-out against Manchester United in Moscow maybe it was not meant to be our moment. But as a player you hope you will have the same opportunity to play the final. It was a rollercoaster road, we all enjoyed it, and we got there in the end. I faced six penalties and six times I went the right way, four times I touched the ball."
Absent skipper Terry still got to lift the trophy, sharing the duties with Lampard, and afterwards he called for Di Matteo to be given the job on a full-time basis. "Robbie has been fantastic since he came in," he said. "You look at that trophy. That's certainly what we've been waiting for, what the owner's been waiting for, what the owner was in tears for.
"He's strived for this, he's pumped an awful lot of money into this football club trying top achieve that. Tonight we've done that and Robbie deserves a lot of credit for that."
On the Italian's chances of becoming manager permanently, he added: "We hope so. He's been fantastic. He can't do any more than he's done. To win the FA Cup and the Champions League, he can't do more than that."
The England international also added on Sky Sports 1, that he was grateful to UEFA for allowing him to carry the cup. "It means the world to me," he said. "It was a great touch from Frank and a really nice gesture from UEFA. It was a really unfortunate situation I put myself in, but on nights like this you have to be involved." Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
