The Ninth turns 24 years old
On May 15, 2002, Zidane's historic volley goal decided the final against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow hosted the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. On that May 15, 2002, our team extended its dominance in the history of the European Cup during the club's Centennial year.
Zidane was one of the protagonists of this final thanks to his historic volley goal that secured the final 2-1 score. In the play, just before halftime, Roberto Carlos delivered a lofted cross from the left wing to the edge of the box, where Zidane was waiting to connect with a fantastic strike that beat the German goalkeeper. In 2020, the magazine France Football selected this goal as the most beautiful in the history of the Champions.
Earlier, the start of the match was very thrilling, with two goals in the first quarter-hour. Raúl put the madridistas ahead by taking advantage of a throw-in from Roberto Carlos to beat Butt. Lucio quickly equalized for Bayer with a header from a corner.
Casillas, decisive
In the second half, César had to leave the match due to injury. He was replaced by Casillas, who also played a key role in securing the title. In the final stages, the Germans had several clear chances to equalize, but the madridista legend managed to stop them and secured Real Madrid's ninth European Cup.
MATCH DETAILS:
2- Real Madrid: César (Casillas, 68'), Salgado, Hierro, Helguera, Roberto Carlos, Figo (McManaman, 61'), Makelele (Flavio, 73'), Solari, Zidane, Raúl, and Morientes.
1- Bayer Leverkusen: Butt, Sebescen (Kirsten, 65'), Zivkovic, Lucio (Babic, 91'), Placente; Schneider, Ramelow, Ballack, Brdaric (Berbatov, 38'), Bastürk, and Neuville.
Goals:
1-0 (min. 9): Raúl.
1-1 (min. 14): Lucio.
2-1 (min. 44): Zidane.
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland).
Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.