Milan’s San Siro stadium is preparing for an all-Spanish Champions League final on Saturday as fans of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid packed the city in glorious summer sunshine.
Record ten-time champions Real, who won the inaugural trophy in 1956, are gunning for their 11th title from European football’s premier club event two years after a stunning comeback victory over Atletico in Lisbon secured ‘La Decima’.
Cristiano Ronaldo has given Real fans a huge boost with the news he is fit following a training ground scare on Tuesday and coach Zinedine Zidane is counting on the Portuguese superstar to rise to the occasion.
“He’s 100 percent fit and he’s playing a Champions League final, when you transcend yourself,” said Zidane, appearing in a first Champions League final as a coach after succeeding Rafael Benitez at the helm earlier this season.
Zidane, who won the trophy as a player with Real in 2002, is seeking to emulate Italian Carlo Ancelotti in steering Real to victory, in what is the Frenchman’s first season in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, two years after a stunning comeback win over Atletico in Lisbon.
“We’ve had two weeks to prepare and now what the players want is for the ball to start rolling,” said ZIdane.
It is the fourth time the final of Europe’s premier club event will to be held at the San Siro, and the first since Bayern Munich beat Valencia in 2001.