Former Manchester United midfielder Anderson reveals penalty nerves during 2008 Champions League final

Anderson, the former Manchester United midfielder, has revealed how he thought he was “f*****” when he stepped up to take his penalty against Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final shoot-out.

The Brazilian was brought on as a substitute for Wes Brown at the end of extra time with the score at 1-1 after 120 minutes of regulation play had failed to separate the two Moscow finalists.

Anderson went on to score United’s penultimate spot-kick as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men triumphed 6-5 in the shoot-out and lifted the club’s third European Cup.

The midfielder, however, has now claimed that he did not put himself forward for a penalty and was not confident when staring down then-Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

“I came on to take the penalty. I hadn’t touched the ball,” Anderson said, in an interview with Brazil’s Radio Granal.

“I was sitting on the bench, [Ryan] Giggs looked and said like this: ‘Get Anderson to take one’. I said ‘Oh my’…

He added: “I took the ball, it was the longest walk of my life. Even when I came from Azenha [Anderson’s home neighbourhood in Porto Alegre] to Gremio, it was the longest walk I ever saw…

“I went to the ball, I got the ball, I looked at that goalkeeper, who is a giant. Cech opened his arms, I said: ‘Oh, I’m f*****’.

“I’ll kick it hard, close my eyes and pray for the ball to go in… then I took three, four steps, I closed my eyes and the ball passed just by his hand.”

Anderson’s kick was the shoot-out’s first ‘sudden death’ penalty and came with the score at 4-4, with Cristiano Ronaldo and John Terry having failed to score from their respective attempts.

Giggs scored United’s next ‘sudden death’ kick and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar then denied Nicolas Anelka, securing Ferguson’s second Champions League final victory in nine years.

Anderson left Old Trafford for Internacional in 2015, bringing a mixed seven-year spell in Manchester to an end.

The former Porto midfielder, signed as a 19-year-old in 2007, made a total of 181 appearances for United, scoring nine goals.