LIVERPOOL, April 8 – Chelsea captain John Terry has revealed he is still haunted by his penalty miss in last season's Champions League final and is unsure whether he will ever truly get over the experience.
The England defender has been in excellent form as Guus Hiddink’s team chase domestic and European success this term.
But Terry said he was still hurting inside after his miss from the spot helped Manchester United be crowned champions of Europe last May in Moscow.
Ahead of the first leg of Chelsea’s all-England Champions League quarter-final with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, Terry said: "I’m very determined to go the extra step this year and win the trophy.
"That burning (disappointment) I suffered last year will live with me forever. The one way I can make that pain ease a little bit is to win this trophy," Terry also told reporters at Anfield here on Tuesday.
"I can do that with the manager we have in charge this year. It’s not just about me. It’s a team game. Everybody has felt the pain I’ve felt. My personal memories will never go away, but it’s about the team. We, as a squad, can go on and do great things in the competition."
This is the fifth successive season that Liverpool and Chelsea, who are second and third in the Premier League table respectively, have met in Europe.
Despite defeating Liverpool at the last four stage last time, Rafa Benitez’s side have bounced back to beat Chelsea twice in the Premier League this season.
Terry is expecting another tough contest against their title rivals, but he insisted that Chelsea were no longer intimidated at playing at Anfield on a European night – because the clubs have met so often recently.
"Their fans will play a big part, but we’ve learnt to deal with that," Terry explained. "Coming up against them in the biggest stages of the competition – it was intimidating the first few times – but now we know what to expect and we know how to go out and do the business.
"We’re not going to come here and sit back. That’s not the manager’s way, or the players’ way."
"But, in all honesty, that (a draw) would be a good result. That hoodoo we broke last year, we got that out of the way because we’d had so many bad moments before against Liverpool."
Hiddink comfirmed that Didier Drogba, who scored twice in last season’s semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, was fit to start after recovering from a toe injury.
The Chelsea manager said: "The players know each other very well, so there are no secrets.
"The players have to deliver. We prepare, we have prepared for these beautiful end-of-season games – these games are finals, watched by the whole world," Hiddink said.
"We won’t sit back and let Liverpool come at us."
