![]() And on Saturday night in Kiev, Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius provided two of the worst goalkeeping mistakes in European Cup history. 12 months ago in Cardiff, a previously unbreakable Juventus defence shattered. Two years later in Milan, against Atletico again, it went to penalty kicks. In 2014 in Lisbon, Atletico Madrid were 1-0 up going into the 93rd minute. He has freely admitted that his team have gotten breaks in key moments through each of the last three years. It helps that Zidane, having won everything as a player, has no need to feed his own ego himself. If we work as hard as our opponents, he often says, then our individual quality will do the rest. The Frenchman prefers to concentrate on honesty of effort, competitive spirit and enjoying the daily toil – humble values not always associated with the Bernabeu. He himself admitted last week that he was not a tactical genius, but that is not what is required when you have so much talent in your squad. David Ramos/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Real head coach Zidane shares a moment with Isco after Real Madrid's 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final. However despite all their big star names, the current side is more about the collective than the individual. This Madrid side has its Galacticos for sure – just like the 20 winners with Zidane as a player and Luis Figo, and the 1950s generation with Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas. You could say this is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Madrid – as the Portuguese has now been top-scorer in the competition in each of the last five seasons, and again played a key role in getting the team to the final this year.Īlthough after a poor individual showing on Saturday night, Ronaldo showed the petulant side of his personality by immediately threatening to leave the club this summer.īale’s bicycle kick was the game’s key moment, and one of the outstanding goals in the tournament’s entire history.īut then Bale was only a substitute on Saturday, having been a peripheral figure for much of the 2017/18 season, and he also spoke right after the game about playing elsewhere next season. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/AFP/Getty Imagesīut today’s dominant force are more difficult to define. Real Madrid's French coach Zinedine Zidane poses with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool. These are the greatest teams in the competition’s history, who all dominated their eras with a clearly identifiable philosophy on the game. The 2016, 20 winners now take their place in the record books along with Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich, Johan Cruyff’s Ajax, and Alfredo Di Stefano’s Madrid. READ: Real Madrid beats Liverpool to win Champions League But Madrid have now won three in a row – something nobody had done since the 1970s, when the European Cup competition was much slimmer and less competitive. Until 12 months ago no club had ever managed to retain the Champions League in its modern format. Bale scored twice, his first coming from a spectacular overhead kick. Zidane also won praise for his decision to bring on Gareth Bale in the second half. But Los Blancos came out on top in the end thanks to a mix of individual brilliance on their part and perfectly timed mistakes from their opponents. Madrid were outplayed for long periods over the 90 minutes, and Liverpool eventually dealt impressively with losing their key player Mohamed Salah to injury. Real’s entire Champions League season was encapsulated in the 90 minutes of Saturday’s final – as Zidane’s side wrote themselves into European Cup history with a fully deserved victory over a Liverpool team who gave it everything, but were ultimately powerless against the forces of fate and history. Real’s passage to the final wasn’t altogether a smooth one either, with both Juventus and Bayern Munich running the Spanish team close. Saturday’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League final ensured Zidane and Real ended the season on a high, but the 2017/2018 La Liga campaign proved to be a slog for Los Blancos as rivals Barcelona romped to the title. ![]() READ: Zinedine Zidane announces shock departure from Real Madrid “This team must keep winning and it needs a change after three years, another voice, another method of working,” said Zidane as he announced he is to step down on Thursday. ![]() It’s arguably the toughest club in the world to manage – how else to explain Zinedine Zidane’s decision to quit as Real Madrid coach just days after guiding the team to a third successive Champions League title?
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