Blackburn axe and West Ham snub – what happened to ‘Zidane volley’ Real Madrid

Twenty years have passed since Zinedine Zidane smashed home one of the greatest goals in history to hand Real Madrid their ninth European Cup – and this weekend they are out for number 14.

The France icon lined up alongside the likes of Luis Figo, Raul and Roberto Carlos, with future Spain boss Vicente del Bosque at the helm as the Los Blancos were once again crowned kings of Europe.

Daily Star Sport has taken a look at where each of the 18-man playing squad are now 20 years later before the current crop take on Liverpool – with one even enjoying a recent Sunday League cameo in Shrewsbury.

Cesar

Cesar kept a young Iker Casillas out of the starting line-up back in 2002, having almost a decade of experience at Valladolid before moving to Real Madrid.

Cesar was subbed off in the final for his counterpart through injury, and left to join Zaragoza in 2008 before spells with Tottenham, Valencia and Villarreal.

Following his retirement, Cesar spent five months of a two-and-a-half year contract as sporting director at Valencia back in 2020.

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Michel Salgado

Michel Salgado spent another seven years at Real Madrid following the final, going on to join Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, with Steve Kean brutally telling him he was omitted from their squad to avoid having to give him a new contract.

Six years later came a surprise swansong at Independiente, and also a spell in India's Premier Futsal as a marquee player.

Salgado has been taking part in punditry since his time as a player, but became head of football at Cypriot club Pafos FC last year – before joining Total Sports Investments Football Group.

Fernando Hierro

Iconic defender Fernando Hierro left Real Madrid a year after the final and had short spells at both Al Rayyan and Bolton Wanderers before retiring.

Following a spell as manager of Oviedo, Hierro was back in the limelight at the 2018 World Cup when he moved from sporting director to manager after the infamous sacking of Julen Lopetegui two days before the tournament.

Following their penalty shoot-out loss to Russia in the last 16, he stepped down from his post and chose not to return to his previous role.

Ivan Helguera

Ivan Helguera spent eight years at Real Madrid towards the end of his career, retiring after a spell with Valencia back in 2008.

During his career he made 47 appearances for his country, but brutally missed the 2006 World Cup win.

Since then, he spent time as manager of Las Rozas in 2020 but was sacked without winning a game.

Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos is a man who needs no introduction, winning four La Liga titles with Real Madrid as well as three Champions Leagues – his last in 2002.

The Brazilian left the Spanish capital in 2007 before spells with Fenerbahce, Corinthians, Anzhi Makhachkala and finally Delhi Dynamos.

The legendary left-back was back in the headlines earlier this year when he lined up for Sunday League English side Bull in the Barne United.

Claude Makelele

The man so good they named a position for him, Claude Makelele spent three years at Real Madrid before spells with Chelsea and PSG.

He won 15 trophies across his career, including two league titles in both Spain and England.

The former France international went to manage Bastia and Eupen either side of an assistant spell with Swansea – and recently returned to Chelsea as a technical mentor.

Luis Figo

Luis Figo was a key part of the Real Madrid Galactico era, winning two league titles and the Champions League after leaving Barcelona to huge protests.

Since retiring after a spell with Inter Milan, he decided not to go into coaching and one ran for FIFA presidency before a late withdrawal.

Figo is the founder of Network90, which is a site for professional footballers to connect, and is now fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian and French.

Santiago Solari

Santiago Solari spent five years at Real Madrid after leaving rivals Atletico Madrid, retiring in 2011 after spells with Inter Milan, San Lorenzo, Atlante and finally Penarol.

Having managed youth teams and the Real Madrid B team, Solari took over the first team after the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui in 2018, winning the FIFA Club World Cup during his tenure.

However, he was sacked in March of 2019 and has more recently been sacked by Club America.

Zinedine Zidane

A man who needs no introduction, Zinedine Zidane was a leader of men on the pitch at Real Madrid and went on to become one of the most successful manager in history at the helm.

Zidane won La Liga and three Champions League trophies as manager before resigning, he came back to win another league title before resigning again last year.

Zidane is yet to step back into management, but plenty has been happening off the pitch with him becoming a grandad at the age of 49 this week.

Raul

Raul is fondly remembered as one of the best Real Madrid strikers in history, scoring a total of 323 goals for the club before leaving for Schalke.

Since retiring in 2015, he has moved into coaching and is likely to have his eyes on the Real Madrid job having been Real Madrid Castilla boss since 2019.

Off the pitch, the 44-year-old has four sons and a daughter, two of whom are aspiring footballers.

Fernando Morientes

The final man in the starting XI was Fernando Morientes, who would go on to play for Liverpool in the Premier League and manage Real Madrid youth sides.

Since leaving his management role at Fuenlabrada back in 2016, Morientes planned to run for presidency of the AFE Spanish players union.

Morientes spoke out about the upcoming final against Liverpool earlier this week – insisting that there are no favourites.

Bench

Included on the bench were iconic future skipper Casillas, future Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka, and goalscorer in the 2000 final Steve McManaman.

Also on there was Francisco Pavon, who failed to impress Sam Allardyce in a West Ham trial in 2011, club legend Guti, Brazil midfielder Flavio Conceicao and Spain's Pedro Munitis.

Manager at the time was the great Vicente del Bosque, who led the club to two La Liga titles and later Spain to the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship.

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