It was one of the great moments in recent goalkeeping history. In the 2005 Champions League final, AC Milan’s star striker Andriy Shevchenko smashed the ball towards the Liverpool goal from only a few yards out. Liverpool’s Polish keeper, Jerzy Dudek, somehow pushed the ball over the bar. Now Dudek has revealed another side to the save – and has dedicated it to Pope St John Paul II. “I called it ‘the hand of the Pope’,” Dudek told the Telegraph last week. “Pope John Paul II had recently died. He was from Poland and it was a big motivation for me to honour him that year. I had met him when the Polish national team played Italy and spoken to him about football. He was a goalkeeper when he was younger.” Meanwhile, Dudek and Shevchenko are now friends. When the two met, Dudek did not mention the save – but Shevchenko asked him how he had pulled it off. “I always tell him it was my greatest moment.” Dudek says.