Lampard: “The memory of Moscow was of defeat. We remember that feeling after the loss. That disappointment. And we’ll use that to inspire us to win this time round. It’s taken us a long time to get back, and we wouldn’t have believed we could be here two or three months ago. But [new manager] Roberto Di Matteo has been very clever in how he’s managed the situation since stepping up. Rather than come in and make drastic changes, he just spoke with everyone individually and generated confidence within the group.
“The Napoli game changed everything and, from then on, he’s quietly done a perfect job. If anyone deserves to win this game, it’s him. And as for them having home advantage, the atmosphere here in the city has been amazing. There’s such a great vibe. We felt it even in the hotel. We went up to the roof terrace and had a little stretch up there and you could hear the noise, see the people drinking beers below, and sense the friendly atmosphere. And to be underdogs gives you a determination. Bring it on.”
Di Matteo gathered his players in a private conference room at the team hotel on the evening before the final for what they anticipated would be a routine tactical team-talk. Yet, unbeknown to the squad, the interim manager had actually got the club’s video analysis team to compile messages from members of each player’s family with their words intercut with YouTube clips from games or footage of them as kids. The presentation lasted around half an hour, with those present lurching from fits of hysterics to tears.
Ryan Bertrand: “We were called into the meeting and there they were, for every single player. First it was my mum and brother saying, ‘Well done and good luck to the whole team,’ and then it went to all the rabble, all the family, which was a little bit embarrassing. The manager pulled me to one side afterwards and asked me who all the people in the video had been. There could have been some tears, but there was a bit of laughter and banter too, and the whole thing really spurred us on.”
Terry: “He organised all the wives and kids to speak and say how proud they were of their dads. Even the younger players in the dressing room had their parents speaking, wishing them good luck. It was such a good touch. One thing that will stay with me for ever.”
Di Matteo: “We spend a lot of time away from our families in our jobs, but they’re important people in our lives. It was important that they were somehow part of it, this journey. I needed something personal to touch the players, and I wanted to take a bit of pressure away from them. It did exactly that.”