Despite driving Juventus' to the Champions League final where they will face Italian rivals AC Milan, Pavel Nedved will be sitting in the stands.
Nedved went into the second-leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid on a yellow card and after an unnecessary foul on Steve McManaman eight minutes from the end of the game he was booked and will be suspended for the final.
Just minutes earlier the midfielder had shown his value yet again with a supremely confident finish as he latched on to a pass from Gianluca Zambrotta and fired in Juve's third goal, which proved decisive as they won 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
"I am so disappointed," the Czech international said. "I won't play in the final and I am so sad I could die. I made a mistake. I am delighted for the team but in Manchester I will be in the stands and I am not used to being there. I just want to say that I will spur on my team mates until they win."
Nedved is being widely touted in Italy as a serious contender for European Player of the Year but he said the chances of that award slipping away from him due to his absence in the final had never entered his head.
"I wasn't thinking about the Golden Ball award I was only thinking about that cup with the big handles which I so wanted to take in my arms at least once in my career," said the former Lazio midfielder.
Juve coach Marcello Lippi said he and the team were deeply upset by Nedved's absence from the final.
"We will dedicate any win in the final to him. I am very, very saddened that such an unselfish player as he, who has had such a great Champions League campaign, will miss the match that he wanted so much to be involved in," Lippi said.
Nedved's midfield team mate Alessio Tacchinardi echoed those sentiments.
"I'm very upset about Nedved's exclusion. He's a class player who gives heart to the team," he said. "I'm very upset for him because a final like this can maybe happen only once in a player's life. It's a real shame."