Real Madrid 2 Bayer Leverkusen 1, 2002

In 1960, led by the mercurial talents of Di Stéfano and Puskás, Los Blancos enjoyed a 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in front of a crowd of 127,000, a European Cup Final attendance record that stands to this day.

42 years on it was the turn of French legend Zinedine Zidane to lead his Galacticos into the cauldron of Hampden Park, scoring one of the greatest goals in Champions League history to win his side’s ninth European crown. Real brought a side packed with talent, including the Champions League’s all-time record scorer Raul, Roberto Carlos and midfielder Luis Figo.

Bayer Leverkusen were the opponents, with a team full of German talent including star midfielder Michael Ballack. Klaus Toppmöller’s side had edged past English opponents in the knockout stages, eliminating Liverpool then benefitting from the away goals rule to put out Manchester United.

Real Madrid, having comfortably navigated both group stages, knocked out Bayern Munich in the Quarter-Final, before being drawn against their ancient rivals Barcelona in the Semi-Final. A 2-0 win at the Camp Nou in the first leg set the foundation for a 3-1 aggregate win.

Madrid started quickest, with Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos catching the Bayer defence out with a remarkable long throw from the half-way line sending Raul through on goal. With his first touch the legendary striker guided the ball into the far corner.

Leverkusen could have wilted under the pressure of conceding in the first ten minutes but they quickly rallied, levelling the scores six minutes later. From a free kick on the left, Bern Schneider swung in a teasing delivery for towering centre back Lúcio to flick home.

On the stroke of half-time, Hampden Park would bear witness to one of the greatest Champions League goals of all time. Roberto Carlos chased the ball down the left channel before hooking a high cross into the middle. Watching it drop all the way was Zinedine Zidane who composed himself to meet the ball with the sweetest left foot volley into the top corner.

In the second half, Madrid had to contend with increasingly desperate Leverkusen attacks and the loss to injury of their goalkeeper César Sánchez. His replacement, Iker Casillas was more than up to the task.

Having lifted the famous old trophy at Hampden, Real Madrid’s attention turned to lifting ‘La Decima’, their record-setting tenth European title. It would take twelve more years until that ambition was achieved, when they beat Atletico Madrid in the 2014 Champions League Final.