Branislav Ivanovic has described the emotions he was put through after being forced to watch Chelsea’s Champions league victory over Bayern Munich.
The powerful Serbian was suspended for the final at the Allianz Arena after picking up a third booking during the semi-final encounter with Barcelona.
Munich looked set for victory after Thomas Muller’s headed goal just seven minutes before the full-time whistle.
However, a Didier Drogba equaliser five minutes later was enough to see the Blues through to extra time before securing the trophy in a dramatic penalty shootout.
And Ivanovic has conceded it was tougher being a spectator during the enthralling win.
"Many times it is said that some matches are harder to watch than play, and I would say that the Champions League final is at the top of the list," Ivanovic told Sportski Zurnal.
"I was so nervous that it was hard to watch. The hardest was in extra time and at penalties. If you play, you do your job. If you sit in the stadium, you are powerless. You can just watch what is going on, you can't help your team.
"But in the end everything was superb so I was as happy as a child."
Having not taken part in the finale, the 28-year-old was proud of the spirit shown by his team-mates and insisted it was the highlight of his career.
"Once again we saw that in football you have to play until the end, until the very last minute. You can't yield for even a second," the defender added.
"We won, because we believed in ourselves. Even when Bayern scored, we were sure that we could do it. This victory is the biggest one in my life. As a footballer you live for something like that.
"We completely deserved it and I will remember these pictures for my whole life."
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