Four of the biggest cup final fall guys - Roberto Baggio, John Terry...

Simon Bullock
28 May 2021

Manchester United keeper David de Gea isn’t the first player to suffer high-profile failure on the big stage.

The 2021 Europa League final ended in the most dramatic of fashions, with penalties needed to separate Manchester United and Villarreal.

After a hugely forgettable 120 minutes, it proved to be an extraordinary shootout in Gdansk, with the first 21 penalties all converted.

That sequence was broken by United keeper David de Gea who, after failing to save any of the 11 shots he faced, then saw his tame effort kept out by Villarreal's Geronimo Rulli.

If there is any consolation for De Gea, it is that he is in esteemed company when it comes to showpiece scapegoats. Here, Planet Sport looks back at four other players who carried the can for their team's final failings.

Roberto Baggio

In 1994, Roberto Baggio made every soccer player's worst nightmare a reality, by missing the deciding penalty in a World Cup final.

Italy and Brazil had failed to conjure up a goal in 120 minutes and, with both sides having taken four penalties apiece, Italy trailed 3-2. It was up to the mercurial Baggio to keep his team's hopes alive.

The attacking midfielder began his run-up from outside the penalty area, arriving at the spot at pace. But, from the moment the ball left his foot his effort was rising. Baggio could only watch in horror as his penalty ballooned over the crossbar. Brazil were world champions.

Franco Baresi and Daniele Massaro also missed penalties that day, but it is only Baggio's that anyone remembers. Baggio has since said that the miss was the worst moment of his career, affecting him for years afterwards.

John Terry

Like De Gea, John Terry also missed a decisive penalty in a European final.

The night Terry will want to forget came against Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final. A 1-1 draw sent the tie to penalties and with Cristiano Ronaldo having surprisingly missed from the spot, Terry knew that if he converted the tenth penalty of the evening Chelsea were champions.

However, as Terry was about to take his shot, his standing leg gave way on the wet turf and the England international sent his right-footed effort well wide. The image of Terry sitting on the pitch as much in disappointment as disbelief is one that will live long in the memory.

Terry's miss may still have been a footnote to the final had Chelsea gone on to win the shootout.

However, with the shootout in sudden death, Ryan Giggs successfully converted his spot kick to put the pressure back on Chelsea. Nicolas Anelka buckled, seeing his penalty saved by Edwin van der Sar.

Anelka may have lost the game for Chelsea, but it is Terry's failure from 12 yards which defines that night in Moscow.

Richard Keogh

The Championship play-off final is often referred to as the richest game in soccer. Such a high-pressure game is often decided by the finest of margins and the 2014 edition proved no different. With Queens Park Rangers and Derby County goalless after 90 minutes, the match looked destined for extra-time, until Bobby Zamora made the difference.

With the contest in its dying embers at Wembley, Junior Hoilett won a tackle against Jake Buxton and put in a cross. It was miscontrolled by Keogh as far as Zamora, whose emphatic strike won the game for QPR. The moment he saw Zamora's shot hit the back of the net, Keogh buried his head in the turf and the tears understandably flowed at full-time.

Seven years on, that is still as close as Derby have come to a Premier League return.

Loris Karius

On the night of the 2018 Champions League final, it was impossible not to feel some degree of sympathy towards Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius. Moments before his first mistake of the night, a collision with Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos left him with a concussion, undiagnosed by medical staff at the time.

Karius' opening error came after when he tried to roll the ball out to one of his defenders, but instead threw it straight into the leg of Karim Benzema who opened the scoring.

The German could do nothing about Real's second goal, a superb overhead kick from Gareth Bale but their third goal confirmed it was not to be Karius' night. With not much else on, Bale tried his luck from distance with a shot that, although swerving, was straight at Karius. However, despite having plenty of time to see it, Karius got the trajectory all wrong and could only parry it into his own net.

It was one of the worst individual performances in any game of significance, never mind in a Champions League final.

Liverpool did go on to win the Champions League the following year against Tottenham Hotspur, but Karius played no part in the victory. He was sent out on a two-year loan to Besiktas soon after the 2018 defeat.