Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
Semi-final first leg
1 May 2000
As novices in Europe, Héctor Cúper’s team had the ‘good fortune’ to get a Spanish team in the semi-final. Yes, it was Barcelona, but we knew them. It was the best thing that could have happened because at that time we were the best team in Spain. I told my wife Inma, “It won’t always be like this, what we’re living right now isn’t going to happen again. It’s impossible.”
Barcelona were terrified of Claudio ‘Piojo’ López; Carles Puyol was obsessed with marking him. He scored right at the end but it was Miguel Ángel Angulo – an all-action striker, a fighter – who did the damage, scoring the first two goals. When Gaizka Mendieta scored his penalty, won by Angulo, just before half-time, there was daylight at 3-1.
It was like you were hoping and suspecting something might happen and it gradually became real. There was this sense of euphoria. We were all looking at each other thinking, “This can’t be happening.” The team were swept along by the crowd. The old players talk about how the stands at Mestalla are right on top of the pitch and that has a real impact.
It was the reverse in the final against Real Madrid; Valencia were overwhelmed by the occasion. The pressure was too much. It was something new and Real Madrid’s experience told. It didn’t happen a year later in the final against Bayern when we lost on penalties.
I was in Milan for that game. We went by coach and the day after, driving back, was my saddest day as a Valencia fan. You saw it on the supporters’ faces: not again. The team was still improving, but as I’d told my wife, it wasn’t going to last forever – we were dreaming and the day would come for us to wake up again. But lots of teams would love a dream like the one we had.
