Even before the game went to penalties, it started to look like it could be your night after all...
"After the goals made it 3-3, people talk about my save against Andriy Shevchenko but in the end I just did my job. I was prepared for the first shot and I saw it arriving. I saved it but for the second one, I just wanted to stand up as quickly as I could and just get as close to the ball as I can. Schevchenko thought it was so easy to put the ball into the net and that's why he did what he did. He shot as hard as he could and the ball hit my right hand and went so high over the crossbar. I don't know whether it was me or someone else who claimed that it was the hand of God that made the save but it certainly seemed like it because the hand came from nowhere. I was just on my knees and I couldn't stand up because it was so quick. It was certainly a miracle."
What do you remember of the penalty shoot-out?
"I remember everything from the penalty shoot-out. I was so focused. I was waiting all the time for the player to take the shot and then dive for the ball but that's not easy with penalties as the shooter waits for the goalkeeper too. When it came to the final penalty, it wasn't like I'd saved it and then thought 'Yes, we've done it!' It was like, 'I've saved it, is it finished or not?' Then I saw Jamie Carragher racing towards me and I knew it was all over. That was when I started to enjoy the night. It's so hard to put it into words what we all felt, but it was just this big, big happiness. I just kept thinking, 'We did it!' We were all enjoying ourselves out there and we wanted to stay on the pitch all night because the feeling was so good."
Fans have said that when you made that save it was the greatest moment of their lives. Was it the greatest moment of your life?
"Yes, definitely, there is no question about that. It was fantastic and really, really full of emotion. When I came back to Poland my wife met me because she couldn't be there. She watched the match on the big screen with all of my friends; I think about 50 of them. Then after the game they went to my village to find my parents and say thank you to them. I have seen this video afterwards and I felt really emotional that people felt the same. Fantastic!"
What was the first word you said when you saved the penalty from Shevchenko?
"Yesssssssssssss! I think everyone said the same! Everyone said those words and we did it, we did it, we did it! You can't describe it actually - it was fantastic, a fantastic moment."
Looking up from the pitch towards the fans in the stands must have been a special sight...
"I don't know who was having a better time - us or the fans? They were crazy before the game even started. I've since seen footage of fans in the pubs before the game and those scenes bring a tear to my eyes. They deserved that night and that feeling because they'd waited 20 years for it. After all the preparations they made to get to Istanbul with their songs, their flags and their beer, it was like one big family. Everyone was together singing songs and it was fantastic to see. I think the positive influence of the fans transferred into the team in the second half. My son told me he was keeping his fingers crossed and for the first time he was watching his daddy for the whole game. Everyone who was watching that game was thinking positive even when we were 3-0 down. The people I meet on the street always say, 'Jerzy, even at 3-0 down we still believed we would do it!'
每次看到那个我都想笑啊。
