Destination Cardiff

Cardiff’s majestic National Stadium of Wales is the venue for the climax to the European club season as Real Madrid and Juventus go head to head in a re-run of the 1998 Champions League Final.

In 1998, Madrid won their seventh European Cup, ending a 31-year wait for another European title, with a Predrag Mijatovic goal settling a tense encounter at the Amsterdam Arena. Back then, Juventus, with the world’s best player Zinedine Zidane at the heart of their midfield, were the continent’s leading club, having won the title in 1996, the first of three successive Finals they reached in the late 1990s.

Since then, of course, Madrid have strengthened their record as Europe’s most successful club, winning four further European crowns, including the 2002 Final thanks to Zidane’s astonishing, gravity-defying volley against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow.

Now, having won their 11th title last year, beating city rivals Atletico on penalties in Milan, Madrid are bidding to become the first side to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990.

They face a Juve side managed with panache by Maximiliano Allegri. The Italians have dominated their domestic league for the past six seasons but have not added to their European trophy haul since the win over Ajax in 1996.