Z is for...

As uefa.com Action's A to Z countdown to the UEFA Champions League final on 25 May concludes, it is time for some great Zs.

Without question Zinedine Zidane has made a name for himself as one of the games greats. He is 33 this year so the fabulous Frenchman is probably coming towards the end of what has been a glittering career, having won a FIFA World Cup and a UEFA European Championship with his country as well as impressing for his clubs.

Early in his European excursions he helped Juventus FC to two Champions League finals but saw his side defeated in both by BV Borussia Dortmund, and current club Real Madrid CF. He left Turin after six seasons, joining Madrid in 2001 and became an instant hit, finally breaking his European duck with a sublime volley to help the Spanish side to victory in the 2001/02 Champions League final against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Hampden Park.

Having previously won both the European and World Footballer of the Year awards, Zidane was voted the No1 European player of the past 50 years in UEFA's Jubilee poll.

While ZZ remains top of the heap when it comes to Champions League Zs, a mention must go to the Juventus trio of Marcelo Zalayeta, Gianluca Zambrotta and Jonathan Zebina. Meanwhile, Zé Roberto was a quarter-finalist this season with FC Bayern München, having been on the losing side in the 2001/02 final with Leverkusen.

Finally, a well-deserved mention for former Madrid striker Iván Zamorano who retired from football in 2003/04 but is still remembered fondly at all the clubs he represented in Europe. The Chilean, nicknamed 'Bam Bam', represented FC St. Gallen and Sevilla FC before joining Madrid in 1992. He scored 100 goals for the club in four seasons.

He moved to FC Internazionale Milano in 1996 and went on to win the 1997/98 UEFA Cup with the club before moving back across the Atlantic in December 2000 to play first with Mexican side CF América and subsequently his boyhood team, CSD Colo Colo in Santiago.