Youngster makes Champions League debut in the final | OneFootball

Just before kickoff, nervousness overcomes him. How could it not? It's the damn Champions League final, after all. The opponent is confident of victory, his team has never won the Henkelpott before, and he has to keep one of the best wingers of all time in check - in an unfamiliar position. Oh yeah, Ryan Bertrand was completely calm on May 20, 2012.

📸 Alex Livesey - 2012 Getty Images

To calm himself down, the then 22-year-old thinks back to how it all began. "I used to play World Cup with my brothers, each against each other, in front of our house against a wall that said, 'Playing football is forbidden.'" After this idyllic childhood, a turbulent journey begins, leading all the way to the Allianz Arena.

At 15, the left-back is signed by Chelsea FC and goes through the youth academy. However, the jump to the professional squad doesn't quite work out at first. After several loan spells, the Englishman finally earns his first Premier League appearance for the Blues in April 2011. Against Birmingham, Bertrand is substituted in for his countryman Ashley Cole. About a year later, the two of them stand together on the pitch in Munich.

The experienced Cole starts as left-back. In front of him, debutant Bertrand plays on the wing. A position he has only played in a handful of insignificant league games before and otherwise only knows from training. An experiment on the biggest stage in Europe! That's what many experts and fans think, at least. Only the architect of the idea is confident in his decision.

"It was no risk," Roberto di Matteo clarified years later. "Everyone said I was gambling, but as a coach, you don't see such moves as a gamble, because they make sense." With Cole and Bertrand, the Italian-Swiss coach wanted to counter Bayern's iconic attacking side, consisting of Philipp Lahm and Arjen Robben, with two defensive specialists. It worked well in training - and, as we know, also in the Champions League final.

📸 ADRIAN DENNIS - 2012 AFP

Only a few hours before kickoff, the future Schalke coach lets his young player in on the plan. The youngster is shocked. "You should have seen his face!" di Matteo recalls with a mischievous grin. "He was shocked, but I think he was also pleased."

One way or another, Bertrand repays the trust placed in him. When he is substituted out after 73 minutes, exhausted, the score is still 0-0. His first of only four Champions League appearances ends with the Henkelpott in his hands - and a novelty in his pocket. Because since the introduction of the Champions League in 1992, no player had ever made their starting XI debut in the final.

In the following season, he adds three more brief appearances, and that's it for him in Europe's top tier. The turbulent times at Stamford Bridge also sweep the native Londoner away faster than expected. In September 2012, his contract is extended by five years. By the time the contract would have expired, the 19-time international has already moved to Aston Villa and then to Southampton.

📸 Clive Rose - 2016 Getty Images

The Saints eventually pay around 13 million euros in transfer fees for Bertrand in 2015, after two loan spells. For the Saints, the Champions League winner makes 240 Premier League appearances before ending his career in Leicester and finally retiring at the age of 34, about a year ago.

Pursued by injury woes, the long-since successful businessman steps away from the football stage, just as he once appeared: surprisingly, but firmly determined.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 PATRIK STOLLARZ - 2012 AFP