In 2002, Zinedine Zidane scored what many believe to be the greatest ever goal in a UEFA Champions League final. Here’s the volley that beat Bayer Leverkusen and salvaged the first Galácticos project.
Mario Mandžukić vs. Zinedine Zidane: Who had the best Champions League final goal?
For years, Zidane’s has stood as the standard. In 2017, he was challenged.
Photo by Gary M. Prior/Getty Images
But Zidane has been presented with a challenge for his throne, and it happened live, right in front of his own face. During Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus — in which Zidane was coaching Los Merengues — Mario Mandžukic scored this stunner against Zidane’s club.
Zidane’s goal might have been the more important one in context. It was a game-winner, while Mandžukić’s goal was an equalizer. Juve are slight underdogs and no one would have thought less of them for losing the 2017 final, while Zidane was under massive pressure to deliver after becoming the most expensive player ever.
But Mandžukić’s goal arguably took more skill. Zidane’s goal is spectacular, but he just had to take a swing and get it right. Mandžukić had to do multiple techniques to find the back of the net, and was probably better defended.
What do you think? Is Zidane’s goal still the best ever scored in a final, or did Mandžukić pass him?
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