Chelsea captain John Terry was not meant to take the deciding penalty in the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United, according to ex-Blues boss Avram Grant.

The former England skipper missed the spot-kick, hitting the post as he slipped in the Russian rain, handing United a reprieve in the shoot-out which they eventually won after Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka.

In the absence of Didier Drogba, and with the shoot-out hinging on Chelsea's final kick, Terry took the responsibility, ahead of Salomon Kalou, who netted in sudden death, and Grant says the club's talismanic defender made the call himself.

John Terry
Terry slipped as Chelsea lost to United.

"Terry was not on the list. But because Drogba was out (sent off) we changed it because (Salomon) Kalou needed to be the fifth and then, because it was the deciding penalty, JT wanted it" Grant told The Daily Mail.

"He did his best. I thought yes (he would score). But JT missed and Anelka missed again and that was the end of the story. Finish."

Terry will miss the opportunity to makes amends during the Champions League final this weekend, with his sending off against Barcelona ruling him out of the trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich.

After failing to finish in the Premier League's top four, the final represents Chelsea's only opportunity to qualify for next season's competition, while it gives interim boss Roberto Di Matteo another opportunity to enhance his case to permanently replace Andre Villas-Boas.

Victory in the FA Cup final over Liverpool handed the Italian his first piece of silverware since stepping-in for the Portuguese boss in March, however no-nonsense owner Roman Abramovich is yet to be convinced that Di Matteo is capable of overhauling Chelsea's squad without falling further behind Manchester City and Manchester United.

Claiming a trophy Abramovich has long yearned for could potentially secure him a long-term deal at Stamford Bridge, but Grant, who was sacked after losing to United in the 2008 final, says the former-Blue has done enough to deserve a permanent contract.

"Villas-Boas knows a lot about football," he added. "But sometimes it's not just football. I saw he came with all these books, but you cannot read about experience in books.

"In Chelsea you need experience because you have to deal with problems. It's not just about football in Chelsea."

Manchester United FC