Juliano Belletti: ‘That goal made me experience something unimaginable’

That match in Paris is never far from my thoughts. In the 34th minute of the second half, I passed the ball to Henrik Larsson, who took a touch towards the corner flag. His marker, Sol Campbell, followed him. So did other Arsenal defenders, who were covering behind Campbell.

That left a huge space, and one of football’s magical moments took place: two players thought the same thing at the same time. I ran into that space, imagining that Larsson might think to control the ball and play me in. That’s exactly what happened. It was raining a lot at that moment of the match. The ball picked up speed, but I could still control it with my left foot.

The ball went a little too far forward. I had practically no angle left and Mathieu Flamini was hot on my tail, ready to make a sweeping tackle. There was no other option. I had to shoot.

I fell to the ground after finishing. When I realised the ball had gone in, I stood up to celebrate, but it didn’t work. I got overwhelmed with emotion. In disbelief, I brought my hands to my face and collapsed again, trying to take it all in. Suddenly, a mountain of humans piled on top of me. Those were unforgettable moments.

I played in six Champions League campaigns. That goal in the 2006 final, which Barcelona won 2-1 against Arsenal, was my only one in the competition. I had the privilege of playing for Barcelona for three seasons. That was my only official goal for the club.

Arsenal had Jens Lehmann sent off in that final, but we had still gone 1-0 down. It didn’t cross my mind that I would play such an important role in the match. After all, until the 60th minute, the coaching staff hadn’t even asked me to start warming up. But then Oleguer, who had started at right-back, got a yellow card.