Avram Grant has insisted he was proud of his time as Chelsea manager – despite missing out on winning the Champions League due to John Terry's slip.
Grant took over as Chelsea manager from Jose Mourinho in September 2007 and was a controversial appointment, given the Israeli's relatively low profile at that stage.
He came close to capturing a Treble, losing in the League Cup final, running Manchester United close for the Premier League title and ultimately being beaten in the Champions League final.
The now-65-year-old's side came within the width of a post of winning Europe's elite club competition.
It boiled down to Terry's spot kick and, 12 years ago on Thursday, Terry slipped in the rain of Moscow and sent his strike crashing against the woodwork.
But Grant still manages to take joy from what he achieved while in the hotseat at Stamford Bridge.
He told the Sun: 'Reading my notes back made me proud of everything. You see only the result and the result was clear.
'But I consider more what brought us there. The training, the mentality, everything. No doubt, it was a great season.'
Morale was famously low when Mourinho left under a cloud, having fallen out with the Chelsea hierarchy.
The League Cup final was only lost to Spurs in extra-time while Chelsea were only two points behind United in the Premier League.
Grant also led his team into their first ever Champions League final and after falling behind to Cristiano Ronaldo's header, reacted well.
Frank Lampard levelled before half-time and the match went to penalties. Terry then slipped on the fifth penalty and Nicolas Anelka missed to give the trophy to United.
Grant embraced a weeping Terry on the pitch, demonstrating how his approach contrasted to predecessor Mourinho.
He added: 'In a good way, Jose likes to be the centre of everything, the star.
'My approach is I am the director of a movie — the stars are the players.
'When I was hugging John I said, "I'll never forget our first chat and how you helped the team get out of a bad situation. You can be proud".'
Grant was sacked three days later, despite having never lost a home game in the Premier League.
