IT has been 20 years since Arsenal lost the Champions League final to Barcelona, but Emmanuel Eboue still thinks about the heartbreak every time he watches European football.
Eboue, 42, started at right-back that night in Paris and recalls “crying like a baby” after Barcelona snatched a 2-1 victory against the 10-man Gunners.
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Emmanuel Eboue still thinks about losing the Champions League final 20 years ago Credit: AFP
Eboue recalled crying ‘like a baby’ after the Gunners lost 2-1 to Barcelona Credit: AFP
Now, with Arsenal returning to Europe’s biggest stage this weekend against Paris Saint-Germain, Eboue hopes Mikel Arteta’s side can lift the trophy for both the current crop and the heartbroken 2006 squad.
Arsenal went into the final at the Parc des Princes riding a high, unbeaten and conceding just TWO goals in their entire European campaign.
Arsene Wenger’s team had toppled Real Madrid’s Galacticos and a star-studded Juventus side on their route to the final and were confident they could sweep aside Barcelona to win the Champions League for the first time in club history.
Eboue told JattvibeSport with BetMGM: “I still think about it. When I watch Champions League games, I say to my friends that I played the final. I played the final and I was so close to winning that cup.
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“I ask myself, why not me? Why not Arsenal? Because, at the time, we were the best team. We were the best team and everybody was scared to play against us.
“But when we came back into the dressing room full-time, we had done our best. We did our best.
“Even though we played with 10 players, we did our best, and then at the end, it was a small thing that changed the game.
“When you play a final and then you don’t win, you feel sad. So all of us, we didn’t even talk.
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Arsenal were just 13 minutes away from winning the Champions League for the first time in club history Credit: AFP
“Everybody was crying. Even me. I was crying like a baby. I was crying like a baby because I wanted to win the title.”
One moment flipped the game on its head: a split-second decision that made victory nearly impossible, regardless of how much Arsenal gave.
Jens Lehmann was sent off for bringing down Samuel Eto’o just outside the box, receiving his marching orders just 18 minutes into the biggest game in Arsenal history.
Eto’o had rounded the German stopper, and Ludovic Giuly had tucked home the resulting loose ball.
However, referee Terje Hauge blew his whistle before Giuly put Barca ahead and the goal was subsequently chalked off with Lehmann dismissed instead.
Eboue recalls begging the officials to allow the goal to stand, knowing that it would have given his side a far better chance of lifting the trophy.
He said: “We all told the referee, let it play like this, let the goal stand and then let Lehmann play.
“He told us he was sorry because he had already blown the whistle before he scored. So, that’s why he gave the red card.
“But as a player when you play the final you want to play until the end. When you get the red card, you pray first for the team to win.
“Jens was very, very sad because he knew that if he didn’t get that red card, we would have won the game. Let’s be honest.”
Samuel Eto’o equalised in the 76th minute before Juliano Belletti netted a winner on the 80-minute mark Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Jens Lehmann brought Eto’o down on the edge of the area in the 18th minute Credit: Alamy
Unfortunately, that moment proved to be the difference.
Despite Arsenal fighting with 10 men to go 1-0 up through Sol Campbell before half-time, their tired legs proved costly.
Barcelona grabbed two goals in just four minutes late in the second half as Eto’o and Juliano Belletti both netted to sink the Gunners.
Arsenal weren’t just without Lehmann for 72 minutes, but also Robert Pires.
Wenger had made the unbelievable decision to hook Pires over some of the more inexperienced stars in the squad in order to bring on backup keeper Maunel Almunia.
Eboue will never forget the look on Pires’ face when the Frenchman was told his shot at European glory was over.
The retired defender said: “When we got the red card, I saw Pires’ face when Wenger asked him to come off.
“We were playing in his country. So you invite your friends, your whole family. They have all come to watch the game and then after 15 minutes they take you out of the game.
“Even if you are the strongest in your head, you would be nearly crying. So, that image is still in my head now.
“Even when I speak to him, sometimes we talk about that. It is the only thing that I will never, never forget about that final.”
Lehmann was sent off after the referee blew the whistle before Barcelona scored from the resulting loose ball Credit: AFP
Robert Pires was hooked after Lehmann was sent off Credit: AFP
But, 20 years on from that heartache, Arsenal have a second chance to hoist the Champions League trophy aloft and consign those nightmares to the history books.
Arteta’s team can go one step further than Wenger’s 2006 squad managed if they navigate a tough test against holders PSG on Saturday.
And Eboue has urged the current crop to get it over the line for both sets of players.
He said: “In the end we lost the final and we were so disappointed, because people didn’t know we were the best team on that pitch and still lost at the end.
“But it’s a football club, it is life. So now I pass it back to you [the current squad].
Adding: “If they win, they will win it for them and also for us.”
