Having looked dead and buried at half-time, with the score at 3-0 to Milan, goals from inspirational captain Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso took the match into extra time and penalties, when Dudek's heroics sealed a fantastic night for the Merseysiders.

Sven was naturally delighted that an English team had reached the summit of European football for the first time since Manchester United in 1999, and believes it will be a major boost for English football in general.

"Yes, what a game it was -  it was heroic," he told TheFA.com. "I have never seen a European final like that ever. The first half was all Milan but then the first 15 minutes of the second half was probably something that Milan have never experienced before in their history.

"Liverpool played unbelievably well in the second half with an amazing combination of skill, character and determination and, from and England point of view, I must say Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard were both superb.

"There is no doubt that everyone in football will take notice of this result and that it is great news for all of us working in English football.

"It has been a long time since an English team won the Champions League so this is a really fantastic victory. Congratulations."

The win was England's tenth in the European Cup/Champions League, which equals the record of Spain and Italy whilst overall in all European club competitions, England leads the way with 28 trophies, followed by Italy and Spain on 27.