Michael Essien had rubbed his eyes in disbelief, together with the rest of the world, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's big toe steered home the most important goal in Manchester United's history, to win the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

Sixteen years old at the time, Essien had also experienced the uncontrollable surge of joy that accompanies a dramatic late goal for your team. As a boy the Ghanaian was an overseas Red. Yet the thrill for him would be multiplied several times over the following season when he came face to face with his Old Trafford heroes.

The Chelsea midfielder smiles his trademark shy smile as he recalls his trial at United. Having impressed at the Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand, in which Ghana finished third, he was invited to the club by Sir Alex Ferguson. All of the big United names were there but it was one in particular who induced the awe. "I supported United when I was a kid and I liked Roy Keane a lot," says Essien. "I met him when I went for my trial. Did I put any tackles in on him? No, I didn't."

Essien chuckles. If things had worked out differently he might have joined and eventually replaced Keane in the United midfield and be lining up against Chelsea in the Champions League final. But his chances of getting a contract at Old Trafford were undermined by work-permit problems and, although United proposed that he join their feeder club Royal Antwerp in Belgium, his mother, Aba, preferred that he leave Liberty Professionals in Ghana for France.

He moved to Bastia in 2000, then Lyon three years later, and when Chelsea and United among others courted him in the summer of 2005, with Ferguson seeking a replacement for Keane - who would leave them in December of that year - Essien chose Chelsea.

"I have no regrets at all," he says. "My dream was to come here and play in the Premiership so I was very happy when Chelsea came in for me. I'm really enjoying my football here. I love the club and the fans and hopefully I can stay longer."

The pressure in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow tonight will not faze him. Nor will it faze his team, he insists. Chelsea have lost only two of the 13 competitive fixtures against United since Roman Abramovich arrived with his millions in 2003, and Essien dismisses the notion that United's retention of the Premier League title gives them a psychological edge.

"We lost the title a way back so it's not going to affect us in this game," he says. "Our confidence is high because we've got the players to do the job. People have written us off but we've never given up, we've kept on believing. We have to win at least one trophy this year."

The pressure in showpiece matches can arguably be more intense for those on the fringes of the action - supporters, family members. Essien's mother, who will watch from her home in Ghana, could be forgiven for walking out were the tie to go to penalties. "I stopped taking penalties because when I missed one in France [for Lyon] my mum fainted and was rushed to hospital," says Essien. "I said I won't take any more, but if needed I will."

A gauge on the blood pressure of Abramovich would also be revealing. The Chelsea owner's insides will surely be churning, the pride at seeing his team play the final in the country of his birth mixing with the nervous excitement. "It would be great if he could win it in Moscow. It would mean a lot to him," says Essien. "He loves the game but he's really quiet."

Essien is expected to start at right-back, not his favourite position but one from which he is hellbent on helping the team. His boyhood dream might not have featured derailing United on club football's biggest stage but it is now one he is determined to realise.