Manchester United won the Champions League by beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo headed United in front after 26 minutes but Frank Lampard equalised before the interval.
Lampard and Didier Drogba hit the woodwork before the striker saw red in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic.
Ronaldo missed his penalty, but John Terry hit the post with a kick that would have won it for Chelsea and Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka.
It sparked wild celebrations for Sir Alex Ferguson and his players in the Moscow rain as United won Europe's elite trophy for the third time, a triumph made more poignant as it came 50 years on from the Munich air crash.
Ferguson had made it his mission to take the trophy back to Manchester this year in memory of those who died, and those who survived, in the tragedy in Munich in February 1958.
And it gave the 66-year-old Scot his second Champions League triumph, repeating the success against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.
Chelsea captain Terry had to be consoled by boss Avram Grant as he broke down in tears after missing the penalty that would have given his side the trophy.
He slipped in his run-up on turf made treacherous by a torrential downpour and sent his kick against the upright.
The penalty shoot-out capped a thrilling game with passages of play of the highest calibre, with United dominating the first half but Chelsea showing huge reserves of character, resilience and ability to dominate after the break.
United may have been fuelled by the fates, however, and they rode their luck before Sir Bobby Charlton - a survivor of the Munich disaster - joined the players in the ceremony as they went up to collect their medals.
The opening exchanges amounted to little more than sparring, but the game burst into life after 20 minutes following an aerial collision between Paul Scholes and Claude Makelele that left both players with a yellow card and the Manchester United veteran with a bloody nose.
Ronaldo had been giving Michael Essien a torrid time, and his threat was transformed into tangible results after 26 minutes when he soared above the Chelsea defender to meet Wes Brown's cross and head his 42nd goal of the season.
Chelsea were almost gifted an equaliser in bizarre circumstances seven minutes later when Van der Sar was forced to claw away a header from his own defender, Rio Ferdinand, after Drogba forced Lampard's cross into the six-yard box.
Petr Cech somehow denied Manchester United a second in the 34th minute after a stunning move that swept from one end of the field to the other in an instant and left Chelsea exposed.
Wayne Rooney found Ronaldo with a raking pass, and his cross was delivered to perfection for Tevez, whose header was blocked by Cech - who then recovered to make a magnificent one-handed save from Michael Carrick's follow-up effort.
Tevez was denied again four minutes before the interval when he escaped the attentions of Makelele but could not slide in Rooney's low cross.
United were left to regret their missed chances when Chelsea took advantage of several slices of good fortune to equalise on the stroke of half-time.
News conference: Chelsea boss Avram Grant
Essien's shot was speculative at best, but two crucial deflections off Vidic and Ferdinand saw the ball fall kindly for Lampard, who slotted in a neat finish - and his celebration demonstrated that the goal was dedicated to the memory of his late mother Pat, who died in April.
Chelsea were transformed by the equaliser, passing with purpose and looking the more likely side.
And the much-debated Luzhniki Stadium pitch was suddenly starting to exert an influence, with both Ferdinand and Lampard suffering from cramp.
Drogba had been a peripheral figure for much of the game, but he produced a moment of brilliance with 13 minutes left when he curled a right-foot shot against the post from 25 yards.
There was a moment of history three minutes from the end of normal time when Ryan Giggs replaced Scholes to make his 759th appearance for United, beating the previous club record held by United legend Charlton, who was watching from the stands.
Terry slipped at the vital moment in the shoot-out
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Chelsea boss Grant bizarrely left it until two minutes into extra-time to make his first change, sending on Salomon Kalou for the disappointing Florent Malouda.
The woodwork denied Chelsea again seconds later when a superbly disguised pass from Michael Ballack set up Lampard, but his shot rebounded to safety off the bar with Van der Sar beaten.
United were left cursing 10 minutes into extra time when Chelsea captain Terry headed off the line miraculously from Giggs after Patrice Evra had shown pace and strength to fashion the opening.
Rooney had suffered a frustrating evening, and he looked less than satisfied when he was hauled off as United introduced the pace and unpredictability of Nani.
Drogba was sent off four minutes from the end of extra time by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel for slapping Vidic after an ugly melee developed when Chelsea felt Tevez had been unsporting in returning the ball after a break for players to be treated for cramp.
Tevez and Carrick were on target for United as the shoot-out started, with Ballack and Juliano Belletti following suit for Chelsea.
Ronaldo then made a hash of his effort, stopping in his run-up before seeing his kick saved by Cech.
Scenes in Manchester as United win
Lampard was successful from the spot and Owen Hargreaves scored under pressure before Ashley Cole's penalty took Chelsea to the brink of victory.
Nani scored to prolong the tension, but with defeat staring United in the face, Terry threw them a lifeline with his miss.
Substitutes Anderson and Kalou traded successful kicks before Giggs threw all the responsibility on Anelka as the shoot-out reached sudden death - and it proved too much for the striker, who saw his penalty palmed away by Van der Sar to crown United as kings of European football once again.
EURO 2008: Ronaldo with a chance to cap superb season, clinch FIFA's top award
2008-05-18 15:23:49 -
Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the European Championship with a chance to prove that he is indeed the best player in the world.
After a sensational season with Manchester United, a good performance in next month's tournament in Switzerland and Austria will move Ronaldo even closer to FIFA's World Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo led the league
with 31 goals, helping United win the Premier League title.
If he can also lead Portugal to its first major title, he will all-but-secure the coveted FIFA award.
«It will culminate with the Euro,» Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. «If he plays the way he has been playing with Manchester, probably there won't be anybody in equal conditions to be chosen the best in the world.
Ronaldo will be one of the main stars at Euro 2008, and Scolari is counting on the winger to help Portugal repeat its successful campaign of four years ago, when it finished runner-up to Greece on home soil.
«Right now, with his physical and technical form, Cristiano has everything we like to see in an athlete,» Scolari said. «If I could, I would vote for him as the best player in the world for sure. I just can't because I'm Portugal's coach.
The 23-year-old Ronaldo, who also was crucial when Portugal reached the semifinals in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, was a finalist in last year's player of the year award, finishing third to AC Milan midfielder Kaka and FC Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi.
Already chosen English soccer's player of the year for the second season in a row, Ronaldo is trying to become the first Portuguese to win FIFA's international award since Luis Figo in 2001.
«This season has been a great one for me,» Ronaldo said. «I've scored a lot of goals, the team played very well and we're champions. It's amazing.
The winger became only the third Manchester United player to score more than 40 goals in a season, along with all-time greats Denis Law and Ruud van Nistelrooy. He obliterated George Best's 40-year-old record of 32 goals by a non-striker.
«His season has been out of this world, 41 goals (in all competitions) for a winger is sensational,» Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said recently.
The last of Ronaldo's 31 goals in the Premier League came in United's decisive last-round win over Wigan, which sealed the team's second-consecutive English title.
With Portugal, Ronaldo scored eight times in European qualifying, a third of the team's goals in the tournament.
«It's amazing. To be that consistent throughout the season and score so many goals,» Man United teammate Ryan Giggs said recently. «It is unbelievable really _ and he just keeps getting better and better.
At Euro 2008, Ronaldo and his teammates will go up against co-host Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Turkey in Group A.
And although the expectations are high for Ronaldo, whose full name is Cristiano Ronaldo Santos Aveiro, it's up to him to show whether he is indeed the best player out there.
«The way he's been playing in England and in the national team, and with some help from his teammates at Euro 2008, yes, he will be chosen the best in the world,» Scolari said.
 RONALDINHO`S TRANSFER
the two time fifa world best player is currently without a club although he still has 2 years to go according to his contract.there has been a rift lately with barcelona`s most priced asset as the playmaker`s dip in form has been attributed to his late night clubbing and missing of training sessions.
the player was said to have been made to warm the bench until his form improves..the case was delt a further blow when fans started booing at him when he could not dribble as he used to.
the player is said to be nursing an injury but close sources has it that the player has vowed never to play for the bacelona team again
teams like international milan ,chelsea and manchester city were said to be after him with ac milan leading the pack
ac milan president said after beating inter milan 2 goals to 1 that watching the strengh of the team he feel ronaldinho is no longer needed at san siro.
he went further to say that personal agreements had been finalised with the player and that it was the management of bacelona that had stalled the transfer process with their asking price.he said they were not ready to pay the 40million euros but just a little over half that price which is 25million euros.
other teams that showed interest ealier had also backed off because of the asking price
 
Luis Fabiano high on Manchester United transfer hit-list
Luis Fabiano is reportedly a target of Manchester United (Reuters/Javier Barbancho)
Sir Alex Ferguson has been promised whatever funds he needs in the transfer market this summer to maintain Manchester United as the dominant force in the Barclays Premier League. United won a second successive league title on Sunday and hope to add the Champions League crown by beating Chelsea in Moscow next week, but David Gill, the chief executive, has assured Ferguson that he will be given the money to buy reinforcements, such as Luís Fabiano, the prolific Seville and Brazil forward.
Ferguson’s main priority is to sign a centre forward to share the goalscoring burden with Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tévez and Cristiano Ronaldo. The United manager has lost patience with Louis Saha, who started only six Premier League games this season, and is considering players such as Dimitar Berbatov, the Tottenham Hotspur forward, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, of Ajax, but the name emanating from Old Trafford yesterday was that of Fabiano, who has scored 33 goals in Spain’s La Liga for Seville this season.
United are not yet thought to have spoken to Seville about Fabiano, 27, but they have been informed of his availability by a third party and have scouted him extensively in recent weeks, with Ferguson having sought reports from his brother, Martin, who is the club’s chief European scout, Jim Lawlor, the chief scout, and Mike Phelan, the first-team coach. Their interest will hinge on a dispute with Seville, with Fabiano and his representatives convinced that he can be bought for £8.6 million. The Spanish club are standing by a prohibitive £46.8 million valuation that they claim is in his contract.
If Fabiano is available at a cut-price fee, United will make their move, but, if not, they will consider other targets. Ferguson admires Berbatov, who is eager to leave Tottenham, but he is said to be unsure about the Bulgarian’s workrate and his ability to perform against top-class opponents.
With doubts over the future of Gary Neville, who did not make a league appearance this season, and with Gerard Piqué angling for a move to Barcelona, defensive reinforcements are another priority. United remain keen on Philipp Lahm, the Bayern Munich full back, who is also interesting Barcelona, and are monitoring the situation of Micah Richards, the England defender, at Manchester City.
Wilson Palacios and Luis Antonio Valencia, the Wigan Athletic pair, and Miguel Veloso, the Sporting Lisbon midfield player, have also been linked with moves to Old Trafford, with Gill making clear last night that United are “in a position where, if we can improve it, we will.”
The other priorities are to secure a long-term contract for Patrice Evra and a permanent deal to sign Tévez.
Chelsea Football Club sack Avram Grant
 Chelsea Football Club have sacked their boss Avram Grant after he has only been in the position for eight months.
Two days of discussions between 53-year-old Grant and the club's owner and chief executive Peter Kenyon have led to the announcement, although his position had been in doubt after Chelsea came runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.
Chelsea are now beginning their search for a replacement for Avram Grant and the club says it is making no further comment apart from that left in their website which says:"Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Avram Grant has had his contract as manager terminated today. This follows meetings over the last two days.
"Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September."
Guus Hiddink, who coaches Russia, his compatriot from the Netherlands Frank Rijkaard and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson are tipped as favourites to take over as new Chelsea boss.
SIR ALEX FURGERSON WANTS MICHEAL OWEN AND OTHERS
The current best coach in the premiership has expressed interest in buying the english and new castle striker Micheal Owen.He was full of praise when he said he has been a fan of the player since he was in Real Madrid and has followed his progress to new castle united and believes that it is about time the player jonied manchester united.he went further to say that man u needed a new striker to replace Saha next season and he was looking for a player that has great pace and knows what to do with the ball in the 18yard box
JOSE MORINHO: Drogba not a target for now!
Internazionale technical director Marco Branca has disclosed that new manager Jose Mourinho is not in search of a new forward, as he already has many big names competing in the frontline.
Mourinho, who took charge at Inter earlier this week, had asserted that he may pick players from his former club Chelsea.
The Portuguese tactician will have a tough time deciding who will be his first choice strikers as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli, Hernan Crespo, Adriano and Julio Cruz are all upbeat to shine under their new manager. Hence, Drogba seems to be an uncertain target for Inter.
"Mourinho has not asked us for any strikers," Branca said in the Daily Mirror.
"There will only be a few arrivals, we already have an excellent squad.
"Mourinho hasn't asked for many players - two or three players at the most."
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