A lot has been written about the miracle of Istanbul already but with Liverpool travelling to Seville to play Real Betis next week, now seems as good a time as any to thank the supporters for making all my dreams come true.
I've spoken to lots of fans and they rush up to me to thank me for making those saves in the final but it's me and the rest of the players who should be thanking them, the fans.
Don't get me wrong, I walk through the city and it is fantastic when you meet the people and you get the adulation. I think most of the people in the city were in Istanbul that night and it was the night of their lives. It was just fantastic to be a part of it and it is nice when you see the smiles on people's faces. In fact, I think I need to spend more time in the city centre because every time I go there I come home so happy.
Dudek on Istanbul
At half-time, the fans had a lot more faith than I did. Sitting in that dressing room, if I'm honest, I wasn't thinking this could turn out to be the greatest night of my life. I was thinking no more goals, please. You have to believe in something but it was 3-0!
My friends always ask me what the fans say to me when I meet them in the street and to be honest a lot of the things I can't repeat here! They talk about the Dudek dance and my shaky legs, they ask me about my saves and the atmosphere in the stadium. Most importantly to me though, they speak about themselves as well. One moment in particular stands out for me and that was when we were 3-0 down at half-time and as we walked back to the dressing room down the tunnel, the fans were on their feet singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. We were 3-0 down and still they were singing songs. It was just fantastic! At the end we won it because of them. They lifted us up and helped us tobelieve that we could achieve it.
At half-time, the fans had a lot more faith than I did. Sitting in that dressing room, if I'm honest, I wasn't thinking this could turn out to be the greatest night of my life. I was thinking no more goals, please. You have to believe in something but it was 3-0!
The manager told me to keep my head up but it was very hard. I was angry but I knew I had to be focussed for the second half. I remember a final from three or four years ago that ended up 5-0 and that was on my mind. You can never give up though and you always have to believe in yourself. You always hope. It's like me being injured now. I hope I am back soon and I hope nothing bad happens along the way but you have to believe.
Personal pride comes into it but we just couldn't subject the fans that had travelled so far to see us to any more pain. Then something strange happened in the second half. I don't know whether it was a miracle but it was just unbelievable and it's quite difficult to understand.
When you play football you have to realise that you're playing for the people. In Istanbul, particularly in the second half and during extra-time, that's exactly what we were doing - playing for the people. We worked hard to pull ourselves back into the game. When teams from Europe play against English teams like Liverpool they are all afraid. Even when they're three goals up, they are afraid to concede a goal because they know what can happen. I think Milan were afraid when we scored the first goal and then scared when the second goal came just after. They simply couldn't do anything about the third because that's the power of Liverpool.
After the goals made it 3-3, people talk about my save against Andriy Shevchenko but in the end I just did my job. I was prepared for the first shot and I saw it arriving. I saved it but for the second one, I just wanted to stand up as quickly as I could and just get as close to the ball as I can. Schevchenko thought it was soeasy to put the ball into the net and that's why he did what he did. He shot as hard as he could and the ball hit my right hand and went so high over the crossbar.
I don't know whether it was me or someone else who claimed that it was the hand of God that made the save but it certainly seemed like it because the hand came from nowhere. I was just on my knees and I couldn't stand up because it was so quick. It was certainly a miracle.
The penalties were different though. I remember everything from the penalty shoot-out. I was so focussed. I was waiting all the time for the player to take the shot and then dive for the ball but that's not easy with penalties as the shooter waits for the goalkeeper too. When it came to the final penalty, it wasn't like I'd saved it and then thought 'Yes, we've done it!' It was like, 'I've saved it, is it finished or not?'
Then I saw Jamie Carragher racing towards me and I knew it was all over. That was when I started to enjoy the night. It's so hard to put it into words what we all felt, but it was just this big, big happiness. I just kept thinking, 'We did it!' We were all enjoying ourselves out there and we wanted to stay on the pitch all night because the feeling was so good.
Dudek on Liverpool fans
When I think back to that night in Istanbul, I am happy for myself and my teammates but I'm much happier for the people. They will always stay with the club and want us to win more trophies. The players may move on to other clubs or hang up their boots and retire, but the fans stay through the good times and the bad times.
I don't know who was having a better time though, us or thefans in the stands? They were crazy before the game even started. I've since seen footage of fans in the pubs before the game and those scenes bring a tear to my eyes. They deserved that night and that feeling because they'd waited 20 years for it. After all the preparations they made to get to Istanbul with their songs, their flags and their beer, it was like one big family. Everyone was together singing songs and it was fantastic to see. I think the positive influence of the fans transferred into the team in the second half.
My son told me he was keeping his fingers crossed and for the first time he was watching his daddy for the whole game. Everyone who was watching that game was thinking positive even when we were 3-0 down. The people I meet on the street always say, 'Jerzy, even at 3-0 down we still believed we would do it!'
I personally think it was the greatest final ever and I don't know if there will ever be another final like it in the future. I hope Liverpool will win a lot more finals but I don't think it will happen in the same way. That is something that only happens once in the whole of your life. I was only just born when Poland drew 1-1 with England and everyone still talks about that game now. For us Polish people, the England game was the game of the last century. Maybe Liverpool winning the Champions League will be the game of the new century?
When I think back to that night in Istanbul, I am happy for myself and my teammates but I'm much happier for the people. They will always stay with the club and want us to win more trophies. The players may move on to other clubs or hang up their boots and retire, but the fans stay through the good times and the bad times. Liverpool are the people's club. At the end of the day, you have to do everything for the people. They are the ones that come to see you and want you to win trophies for them. Hopefully that night we gave them what they deserved.
