To score in a Champions League final is not a given — but a reward for countless sacrifices.
Since 1956 and the first edition of the then European Cup, 156 players have had this honour. The nets, which have shaken no fewer than 185 times, remember each and every one of them. Some are forgotten, others remain in the memories of a particular community of supporters. A few, however, now acquire a universal historical dimension.
But what was the best goal scored in a final? Hard to say, isn’t it?
But as Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain and Simone Inzaghi’s Inter look to claim the famous silverware this Saturday, Sports Talk United‘s editors have tried to answer that question with a — subjective and unordered — list of 10 goals that have made the history of the world’s greatest club competition.
Zoltan Czibor (Barcelona) vs Benfica — 1961
It’s difficult to believe that when Zoltan Czibor took the field at the Wankdorf on May 30, 1961, no memory of the 1954 World Cup Final had blossomed in his mind.
Seven years earlier, at the end of a match now commonly referred to as the Miracle of Berne, Hungary’s Golden Team had seen their dreams of glory dashed by Helmut Rahn’s West Germany. A trauma that the twirling winger, now a Barcelona player alongside compatriots Sandor Kocsis and Laszlo Kubala, was determined to heal. Unless he could one day fully recover.
But that was not to be.
Against Benfica, who had been imperious throughout the competition, not even his sumptuous half-volley from the edge of the opposition box could prevent his side’s defeat. Disillusion was all too much for a player of immeasurable talent, who thereafter became little more than a shadow of his former self.
Rafael Felo (Real Madrid) vs Inter — 1964
Perhaps Rafael Felo’s career would have been remembered differently if, in 1964, his acrobatic strike had enabled Real Madrid to beat Inter Milan.
A world-class goal, jarring in a more primitive, less spectacular style of football than it later became, that the three scored by the Nerazzurri that evening somewhat overshadowed in the history books. Having already been denied a title by Benfica two years earlier, the Spaniard saw a second one slip through his fingers, confirming yet again the unfortunate nature of his Madrid adventure.
Five years in vain chasing a trophy that Los Blancos had won five times before his arrival, and which they reclaimed just a few months after the midfielder’s departure.
Dejan Savicevic (AC Milan) vs Barcelona — 1994
Being favourites has never meant winning a final. And that’s true even if the match looks lopsided on paper.
Take, for example, the duel between AC Milan and Barcelona in 1994.
Few imagined that the Italians, unfortunate finalists a year earlier and deprived of several of their players (Billy Costacurta, Franco Baresi and Gianluigi Lentini), would be able to topple the Catalan giants. And certainly not Johan Cruyff, whose pre-match comments exuded an almost condescending, but nonetheless realistic sense of self-assurance. And yet…
In a state of grace, Milan put the Blaugrana to the sword. Dejan Savicevic, scorer of a perfect lob that nestled in the back of Andoni Zubizarreta’s net, signed for the third of his team’s four goals that evening. And certainly the most memorable.
Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) vs Dortmund — 1997
Of the 1997 Champions League final, memories of the magnificent goal scored by Lars Ricken — who would have deserved a place on this list — and Borussia Dortmund’s triumph are the most common.
So much so, in fact, that we have almost forgotten the Madjer revisited by Alessandro Del Piero, barely 22 at the time, to give hope to a Juve side that would never catch up.
A sort of tribute to the original gesture signed by Algerian international Rabah Madjer ten years earlier, an illustration of the talent of the young Italian striker, who over the years has become a veritable benchmark of world football.
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) vs Bayer Leverkusen — 2002
Glasgow, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Bayer Leverkusen.
You don’t have to say much to evoke the legendary volley from Real Madrid’s No5 in the 2002 final. After all, everything has already been said and written about it.
A unique gesture (in the truest sense of the word), timeless, a testament to a rare technical quality that no one has since managed to imitate. Not even Zidane, the man who made it, although he did try his hand at it later, at the request of advertisers waiting to shoot the perfect spot.
But isn’t that the mark of genius? Its instinctive, unpredictable nature? Without a doubt.
Hernan Crespo (AC Milan) vs Liverpool — 2005
It’s often said that where the victors write history, the vanquished confine themselves to recounting it. And yet, on that evening in May 2005, the latter were the first to write it.
And Hernan Crespo in particular.
After all, the story of the Miracle of Istanbul would certainly not have been the same without the Argentinian’s two goals. The first came from close range, while the second was the result of a classy team move, carried by Kaka’s sumptuous through-ball and finished off by the subtly chipped ball from Milan’s No11.
A goal engraved in the annals of the Champions League, at least as much as the Homeric scenario offered by a final that became a legend.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) vs Manchester United — 2009
It’s certainly not the most Messi-esque goal the Argentinian has scored in his career, but it’s still one of his most memorable. And he has scored 861 — at the time of writing.
But as he took to the skies over Rome, Lionel Messi, at a height of 5ft7in (1m70), had certainly sent out a resounding message to the whole world. Not only had the No10 just won Barcelona their third Champions League, completing an incredible treble for Pep Guardiola’s men, but he had also established himself as the man who would dominate world football for years to come.
And, more broadly, to leave an indelible mark on the game.
David Villa (Barcelona) vs Manchester United — 2011
You may have forgotten, but in the summer of 2010, David Villa could have signed for Manchester United. The deal never materialised, however, as the Glazer family felt Valencia’s asking price (in the region of $60m) was too high. The rest is anyone’s guess.
The forward, fresh from winning the World Cup, joined Barcelona, claimed La Liga and sealed victory for the Catalans in the Champions League final with a goal reserved for a world-class elite. And all this against the Red Devils, whom he had come so close to joining just a few months earlier.
Fate can sometimes be a teasing thing.
Mario Mandzukic (Juventus) vs Real Madrid — 2017
Mario Mandzukic’s goal in 2017 is a shining example of the cruelty that football has to offer.
While everyone remembers the Croatian’s lethal acrobatic finish that earned Juve an equaliser against Real Madrid, the outcome of the match almost overshadowed the fact that it was one of the finest goals ever scored in a Champions League final.
A jewel without a crown that the Bianconero striker would undoubtedly have preferred never to score if it had subsequently enabled his team to win. But such is the nature of the beautiful game.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) vs Liverpool — 2018
When people talk about Real Madrid’s victorious 2018 campaign, they often refer to the overhead kick scored by Cristiano Ronaldo against Juventus. Less so the one scored by Gareth Bale against Liverpool. Yet the Welshman has nothing to envy his former Portuguese team-mate. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Yet the former Tottenham Hotspur winger is no stranger to brilliant goals (Marc Bartra can testify to that). But perhaps he has never scored one like it. Aesthetically less impressive than Zidane’s volley, but technically at least as complex to achieve.
The greatest goal ever scored in a Champions League final? The question remains as open as ever.
