Snap shot: Real Madrid's 1998 victory lap
Sunday, May 20, 2018
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Real Madrid edged out Juventus to win the UEFA Champions League in 1998, 20 years ago to the day. We turn back the clock.
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It was 20 years ago today that Predrag Mijatović's goal earned Real Madrid a 1-0 UEFA Champions League final win against Juventus in Amsterdam. "Where is Del Piero?" sang the Madrid fans of their opponents' star striker. "Hierro has eaten him!"
What has happened to the players since then?
1. Christian Panucci
The first Italian to play for Real Madrid, the right-back collected his second UEFA Champions League winners' medal in Amsterdam – having won his first with AC Milan in 1994. He left Spain in 1999, spending much of his later playing career at Roma. Currently coach of the Albanian national team.
2. Davor Šuker
Already 30 when he won his first UEFA Champions League title, the Croatian striker ended his playing career with spells in England and Germany. He remains closely involved in football as president of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS).
3. Predrag Mijatović
Scorer of the only goal in the 1998 UEFA Champions League final, the 73-times capped Yugoslavia forward left Real Madrid in 1999, playing for Fiorentina and Levante before retiring. He returned to the Santiago Bernabéu as sporting director from 2006–09.
4. Bodo Illgner
The first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a FIFA World Cup final as West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in 1990, Illgner was a 1998 #UCL winner with Real Madrid, but was on the bench for the 2000 decider, having been usurped by Iker Casillas. A TV pundit since retiring, he and his wife Bianca wrote a novel, Alles (2004), about a football player who is managed by his wife.
5. Clarence Seedorf
Already a winner with Ajax (1995), the midfielder won his second #UCL title in 1998, with subsequent successes at AC Milan (2003 and 2007) making him the only player to win the competition with three teams. UEFA's Global Ambassador for diversity and change, Seedorf coached Deportivo La Coruña this season.
6. Fernando Hierro
The central defender made 497 Liga appearances (439 of them for Madrid) before heading abroad in 2003 to end his playing career. The three-time #UCL winner was later on the coaching staff at Madrid, and most recently in charge at Real Oviedo.
7. Christian Karembeu
A broadcaster and UEFA Champions League ambassador since retiring, the New Caledonian-born midfielder was a #UCL winner in 1998 but an unused sub in the 2000 decider. He doubled up weeks after Madrid's triumph in Amsterdam by winning the World Cup with France.
8. Fernando Morientes
A three-time #UCL winner with Real Madrid (1998, 2000 and 2002), the striker helped power Monaco to the 2004 decider, where they lost out to José Mourinho's Porto. He later served as a Real Madrid youth coach, and also does media work.
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