Anatoliy Trubin's wonder goal: The inside story from the Benfica goalkeeper, coach José Mourinho and ball boy

It was a moment which will go down in UEFA Champions League folklore. The clock ticks round to the 98th minute inside an expectant, electric Estádio do SL Benfica. The hosts lead the mighty Real Madrid 3-2 in their final league phase game, but results elsewhere mean they still need one more goal in order to qualify for the knockout phase play-offs.

With just seconds to go a free-kick is won in a dangerous area, presenting one last opportunity for José Mourinho's side. The ball is swung in, and amid a sea of red and black shirts it is a yellow one which rises highest to plant a powerful header into the corner of the net and spark delirium. As goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin wheels away in a mixture of euphoria and pure disbelief, it becomes immediately clear that this is history in the making.

Ahead of the two teams meeting again on Tuesday in their knockout phase play-off first leg, Trubin, Mourinho and Benfica ball boy Francisco Cunha talk us through their version of events from that extraordinary evening in Lisbon.

Build-up: Benfica vs Madrid

The build-up

"I was just playing, enjoying the game, and enjoying the moment," Trubin recalls. "Of course, towards the end, I was slightly trying to run down the time, because a win is a win. But then it turned out that we needed one more goal.

"When we had our free-kick, I saw the head coach signalling for me to go forward, and that was the moment I understood that we needed one more goal to go through."

For Mourinho, meanwhile, some big tactical decisions needed to be made: "I never wanted the team to worry about what could happen in the other games that could take away the focus we needed to beat Real Madrid, which, in and of itself, is extremely difficult to do," he says.

"But it became an all-or-nothing moment. That was the moment to risk everything and just go for it. That's when I brought on a centre-back [António Silva] to play as a striker, looking to play more direct. And that's when we got a free-kick close to the touchline and Trubin went up and scored that incredible goal."

Francisco Cunha plays for Benfica U14 but also works as a ball boy, and was positioned next to the Real Madrid bench throughout the game. "I saw it was a foul, it was the last play of the match, and we needed to score a goal, right?" he says. "Then, I saw Trubin running into the box, and I just thought, 'Please, they have to score! We have to go through to the next stage!'"

The goal

For Trubin, the big moment is all a bit of a blur: "It all happened in an instant – just a fraction of a second – and you simply act without thinking. Before the kick, when our player started his run-up, I was standing a little further back. But I don't know why, there was this thought in my head – or rather an impulse – to move a bit forward. So, I took a small step closer. And as it turned out I did everything right.

"There were no thoughts about how to do it, whether I would score or not, whether I would win the duel. I was just playing at that moment, that is all. And, in the end, it turned out perfectly, you could say. I’ve watched it a thousand times since, because it is something unique – a truly great cross [from Fredrik Aursnes], and I finished it very well, too."

The aftermath

The pictures of Mourinho embracing ball boy Francisco Cunha during the joyous celebrations that followed went viral around the world within minutes. "The only thing I thought about was my family," Mourinho remembers. "They're seldom present because they live in London, but they were there, and I had a good idea of where they were sitting in the stadium.

"When I was moving in that direction, I bumped into the ball boy, who I actually know because he is a Benfica youth player. Over the years, I've experienced pretty much everything — the good and the bad; I’ve been through it all. I had already experienced winning a knockout game with the very last kick of the game, in the 90th minute, but for it to be a goalkeeper who scored — and what a goal — that really made me lose my mind."

It didn't take long for Francisco Cunha to garner attention. "Everyone was screaming, and we jumped and we started celebrating the goal together. When the match was over, I was getting dressed to leave the stadium, and I started getting messages from my friends asking me if it actually was me who was hugging coach Mourinho.

"Some of them started sending me some videos that were on the internet, and then I gave an interview for Benfica FM [a radio station]. Mourinho is the best coach in the history of Portuguese football, not just any coach."

As for Trubin, he admits: "I am not a very emotional person, but this moment will probably go down in history. I just enjoyed the moment and did whatever came into my head without even thinking. Even now, for example, a friend of mine visited me, opened MyScore [on his phone] and said: 'Look – Trubin scored!' Even now I still can't fully realise that it actually happened."

The next challenge

In one of football's quirky twist of fates, thanks to that goal these two sides will now meet again at the same stadium less than three weeks on as they bid to reach the round of 16.

Trubin warns that Madrid will be out for revenge: "They do not like to lose, and they're not used to losing. So, of course, this victory will be like a bone in their throat for them, especially for such star players. I think it will be an even more emotional confrontation."

Mourinho concludes: "We kept believing right up to the final matchday, and no matter what happens in the upcoming play-off against Real Madrid — if we beat them, which could happen, we could end up reaching the last 16, quarter-finals, whatever happens next — I think the way we qualified and our recent game are now part of Champions League history, Benfica's history, and our own history."

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