Both of the Champions League finalists were from the Premier League, and Arsenal also made it to the semi-finals. And right next to the Moskva River, both teams did their part in a night that fans will never forget.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Red Devils the lead in the first half with a crαzy leap to meet a cross from Wes Brown and put the ball past Petr Cech.
But Avram Grant’s Blues didn’t give up, and Frank Lampard tied the game right before halftime.
As the game went into overtime and then penalties, the tension grew, but not before Didier Drogba was sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic late in the game.
This took away one of Chelsea’s best penalty takers, but since Ronaldo missed, things were looking up for the Blues, and John Terry would step up to win the game for the Blues.
His subsequent slip and miss, followed by tears of pαin, would go down in football history… and cost United the game, as they went on to win 6-5 in the shootout.
Fans have chosen Sir Alex Ferguson’s incredible Double-winning team from 2007–2008 as the best team in Premier League history.
But what happened to the Moscow heroes of the Red Devils? SunSport is here to take a look 14 years later.
EDWIN VAN DER SAR
The legendary Dutch keeper, who crucially saved Nicolas Anelka’s penalty that night, played on for three further years at United.
He retired after another Champions League final in 2011, but this time he couldn’t do anything as Messi and the rest of the team dominated at Wembley in one of the best games ever.
At age 51, he has returned to his first professional club, Ajax, where he has been CEO since 2016.
WES BROWN
Like van der Sar, Brown, who is 43, left Old Trafford in 2011. However, he was hurt for the rest of his career.
In five years at Sunderland, he only played in 76 league games, and most of them were at center back instead of right back.
After short stints with Blackburn Rovers and Kerala Blasters in India, he called it quits in 2018. He is now mostly seen doing punditry work, such as for MUTV.
Brown has also worked for the Irish Football Association, which gave him a Uefa “A” coaching license.
RIO FERDINAND
Along with Vidic, Ferdinand was a legendary figure at the back. After this historic night, he would become captain of both United and England.
The tall defender, who is now 43, scored Sir Alex Ferguson’s last winning goal against Swansea in 2013. He then left Manchester United for Queens Park Rangers a year later.
He couldn’t save West London from getting kicked out of the league, so he retired in 2015. He is now a regular commentator for BT Sport.
Ferdinand also has his own podcast and talk show on YouTube called “Vibe with Five,” where he talks about football.
NEMANJA VIDIC
The Serbian became a true legend at Old Trafford, but like Rio Ferdinand, he ended his career with United after David Moyes’ disαstrous time in charge.
He then played for Inter Milan for one season, but his best days were over and he retired in January 2016.
Vidic stayed in Milan even though he was 41 years old and had three children.
But he still does some ambassadorial work for the Red Devils and has finished his coaching badges in preparation for a possible return to the game every day.
Last year, United said that Vidic is now taking UEFA’s Executive Master for International Players course in Nyon, Switzerland. This is a 20-month course.
PATRICE EVRA
Even though the defense started to get weaker under Moyes, Evra still had a few years left in the game when he left this team in 2014.
He won titles with Juventus before Marseille fired him for getting into a fιght with a fan.
Evra then spent a short time at West Ham in 2018 before retiring. At age 41, he is most often seen shouting “I love this game” to anyone who will listen or working on his coaching badges.
And Evra almost started a surprιsing new career as a boxer against Adam Saleh, but the fιght was canceled at the last minute.
OWEN HARGREAVES
Hargreaves had a great first year at Old Trafford, which culminated in this game. Unfortunately, he was hurt a lot for the rest of his career, and he only played five more times for United in the next three years.
Later, Ferguson wrote about him in a bad way in his book. He said, “When I signed him, there was something about him I didn’t like. It ended up being a mess.”
In a strange move, he played four times for City in the 2011-12 season, after which he retired. Now 41 years old, he regularly covers the Bundesliga for BT Sport.
PAUL SCHOLES
Another legend of the Red Devils, he became even more famous at the end of his career after Andrea Pirlo made the role of the deep-lying playmaker popular.
He first retired in 2011, but changed his mind and went back to work in January 2012. He finally retired for good in 2013, the same year Ferguson did.
Now that he is 47 years old, he is in business with Gary Neville, including at Salford City FC. He also managed his old team, Oldham Athletic, for a short time. Scholes is another person who often gives BT Sport analysis.
But last year, Scholes made him look bad when a strange video showed him chewing on his daughter’s toenails.
MICHAEL CARRICK
Carrick was always quiet, but as his career came to an end, he seemed to get more and more respect. He finally retired in 2018.
The Englishman, who was 41 at the end of his Old Trafford career, was made captain of United, but he only played five games in his last season because he needed a heart procedure.
He then became Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s right-hand man on United’s coaching staff. After Solskjaer left in November, he even took over as caretaker manager for a few games.
But Carrick left United when Ralf Rangnick was named interim manager until the end of the season. Rangnick has just been named manager of Middlesbrough.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Ronaldo had an unbeatable season, and this match was the last game of it.
Later in 2008, the 37-year-old player won his first Ballon d’Or. The next year, he broke the hearts of United fans by moving to Real Madrid.
In 438 games over nine amazing seasons at the Bernabeu, he scored 450 goals. In 2018, he moved to Juventus.
Then, in 2021, he shocked everyone by coming back to Old Trafford. Since then, he has played 24 games and scored 14 goals.
But it looks like he doesn’t have much longer with the new manager Erik ten Hag, since he reportedly refused to play as a substitute in the 2-0 loss to Tottenham.
CARLOS TEVEZ
Carlos Tevez, who is 38, was a fan favorite at Old Trafford because of how hard he worked and how skilled he was. However, he would turn on them a year later.
In 2009, it was a big deal when he left the red team for the blue team, Manchester City. This led to the famous “Welcome to Manchester” billboard.
In 2013, he left English football for a successful time at Juventus. After a terrible time at Shanghai Shenhua, he went back to Boca Juniors for a third time and helped them win the league title last year.
But in the summer of 2021, he quit the team and is now the manager of Rosario Central.
WAYNE ROONEY
Rooney is one of the best players to ever wear the red shirt for Manchester United. He has become a legend at the club.
There were some bumps along the way, though, as he seemed to push for moves to City and Chelsea before becoming United’s all-time leading scorer.
He left in 2017 and went back to his old team, Everton, before moving to the United States to play for DC United. Wazza then took over as manager of Derby County in the Championship when he was 36.
He is back in the MLS this season as the coach of DC United.
