Memorable moments: Zidane’s volley against Leverkusen or One of the best goals of the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane was one of the most elegant footballers to ever kick a ball. With his extremely graceful movement and control of the ball, he became the darling of the Real Madrid fans, who he helped win the Champions League with an equally graceful goal.

Memorable Moments is a special project by Ruiku that recalls the most iconic moments that have happened in football. Today, we look back at Zinedine Zidane’s goal.

It is extremely difficult to hit the ball from a volley. Anyone who has ever tried it, whether at professional or lower level, or just somewhere in the back of the house, knows that to score a goal with a volley, you have to know how to do it properly.

It’s very difficult to hit the ball at the right moment, to set up your body correctly and still aim it. It’s not often that even top level footballers either miss the ball or shoot high over the bar.

So most footballers prefer to opt for processing and shoot only when they have control of the ball. But Zinedine Zidane was not most footballers.

15. on May 2002, Hampden Park in Glasgow welcomed the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Raúl opened the scoring for the Spanish side in the 8th minute, only for Lúcio to equalise six minutes later at 1-1.

But Real Madrid had their secret weapon. Santiago Solari sent the ball behind the defence just before half-time to Roberto Carlos, who sent a high cross into the box without preparation.

The ball went to Zidane, who was all alone on the whitewash. The French midfielder didn’t hesitate twice, slamming the ball with his left foot and the ball ended up in the goalpost.

This goal was later hailed as one of the best goals in Champions League history, indeed, France Football ranked it first in their poll.

Source: Twitter, UEFA, 90 min