Where are they now?
Real Madrid are currently preparing for their fourth Champions League final in five seasons, but between the mid-1960s and 1998 the Spanish giants failed in their pursuit of Europe's premier prize.Twenty years ago this month, they finally got their hands on the trophy once again, beating Juventus 1-0 in Amsterdam. But what became of those who ended Madrid's European drought?
Coach: Jupp Heynckes
The man who masterminded Madrid’s return to the summit of European football wasn’t a deep-thinking trailblazer like Pep Guardiola, nor a firebrand in the style of Alex Ferguson, but a quiet, unassuming man from Monchengladbach.
Heynckes was shown the door at the Santiago Bernabeu soon after their Champions League victory, though, with a fourth-place finish in La Liga leading to his harsh dismissal. He went on to coach Benfica, Athletic Club, Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, and is currently back at Bayern - with whom he won the Champions League in 2013 - until the end of the season.
Goalkeeper: Bodo Illgner
Illgner had already spent a decade in between the posts for Koln when he arrived at Madrid in 1996. A cool and composed leader from the back, he seldom ran off his line to foil counters or claim crosses but always positioned himself astutely, which helped him win back the No.1 jersey from Santiago Canizares before the Champions League Final.
Illgner hung up his gloves shortly after being supplanted by a teenage Iker Casillas in the late 1990s, and has spent his time since working as a pundit for Sky and BeIN Sports.
Right-back: Christian Panucci
Panucci ultimately lost his place in the Madrid side to a player who went on to become a legend at the club – Michel Salgado – and his legacy has become somewhat clouded because of it. Yet he started the Champions League Final in 1998, adding a second winner's medal to his collection having already triumphed with Milan four years earlier.
Since retiring in 2010, Panucci has turned his hand to coaching. He worked as Russia's assistant manager for two years and then took charge of Livorno, before returning to the international game as head coach of Albania.
Centre-back: Fernando Hierro
Hierro spent 14 years as a player at the Bernabeu, picking up five league titles, three Champions Leagues and a host of other trophies, before returning as an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti after calling time on his playing career.
As well as that role, Hierro spent a year as Malaga's director of football in 2011 and later rook charge of Real Oviedo, whom he left after failing to win promotion in 2016-17.
Centre-back: Manuel Sanchis
Sanchis was one of the Quinta del Buitre - one of the five homegrown players that played for Real Madrid as they dominated Spanish football in the 1980s – and the only one who played his entire career with los Merengues.
By the time the 1998 final came around, Sanchis was a 33-year-old sweeper whose tactical nous and positional brilliance complemented Fernando Hierro’s more robust style of play. These days he spends his time working as a coach in youth football.
Left-back: Roberto Carlos
Since 1996, the Real Madrid left-back position has been occupied by just two men: Marcelo played over 300 league matches for the club and his predecessor, Roberto Carlos, played 350.
The Brazilian World Cup winner won four league titles and three Champions Leagues with the Spanish giants, before leaving for Fenerbahce in 2007. He later tried his hand at management, first in Turkey and later as player-coach for the Delhi Dynamos in 2015.
Central midfield: Fernando Redondo
Argentina international Redondo was every bit as dominant in midfield as Fernando Hierro was at the back - but in a completely different way. Hierro was Madrid’s hard man, dominating physically through ferocious tackling and intimidation; Redondo, conversely, was a player of unrivalled elegance whose touch, passing and composure aided all those around him.
Redondo moved to Milan in 2000, spending four years at San Siro before hanging up his boots. The former Champions League winner recently finished his coaching badges and is now eligible to coach a First Division side.
Attacking midfield: Christian Karembeu
Karambeu enjoyed a brilliant playing career, winning virtually everything there was to win at club and international level. A complete midfielder, the Frenchman was both physically and technically gifted, with his accomplished passing and robust tackling making him a fundamental part of this Madrid side.
Karembeu left the Santiago Bernabeu in 2000, spending a year at Middlesbrough before joining Olympiacos, where he now works as a Strategic Advisor.
Attacking midfield: Clarence Seedorf
Seedorf remains the only footballer in the history of the game to win the Champions League with three different clubs: Ajax, Madrid and Milan. In Jupp Heynckes' 4-3-3 formation, it was the Dutchman who often provided the killer pass for the three strikers ahead of him.
Seedorf has moved into management after retiring, with his first job coming at Milan in 2014. He later bossed Shenzhen in China and is currently in charge of Deportivo La Coruna.
Striker: Predrag Mijatovic
The Montenegrin striker played for Madrid for three seasons, scoring the only goal of the 1998 final against Juventus. He left the Bernabeu in 1999, playing a few more seasons in Italy and Spain before hanging up his boots.
Mijatovic worked as Madrid’s director of football for three seasons between 2006 until 2009, before taking up a coaching position in the club's youth ranks. He was appointed as manager of Fuenlabrada in 2015 but was sacked a few months later after failing to guide the side into promotion contention.
Striker: Fernando Morientes
Morientes scored 99 goals in eight years with Madrid, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League three times - in 1998, 2000 and 2002. After a loan stint at Monaco, the striker left the Spanish capital on a permanent basis in 2005, joining Liverpool for a season before spells at Valencia and Marseille.
Morientes went on to coach the youth teams of Huracan and Real Madrid, before briefly coming out of retirement in 2015 to play a handful of games for Santa Ana in the Spanish third division.
Striker: Raul
Like long-time strike partner Fernando Morientes, Raul played in and won three Champions League finals with Madrid. The Spaniard spent 16 seasons at the Bernabeu, notching 323 goals in 741 matches to become the club's all-time top scorer (a record now held by Cristiano Ronaldo).
Raul left Madrid in 2010 to play for German club Schalke, then spent two years in Qatar with Al Sadd before one final campaign for the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos.
Sub: Davor Suker
The Croatian striker had to wait until the final minute of the 1998 Champions League Final to get on the pitch, but he was often a key figure during his three years with the club. Suker went on to shine at that summer's World Cup, finishing as the tournament's top scorer as his country reached the semi-finals.
Suker still appears in charity games and is the president of the Croatian Football Association. His lofty political position hasn’t stopped him from being involved in a string of controversies, though, with the Croatian Journalists’ Federation recently accusing Suker of preventing reporters from doing their job.
Sub: Jaime
Madrid-born Jaime was a bit-part player for los Blancos during his three seasons at the club, making a total of 45 league appearances. He came on as a substitute in the 1998 final to shore things up in the final 10 minutes – the not-so-sexy tactical sub.
He left Madrid for Deportivo La Coruna in 1999, winning the title in his first season in Galicia before falling behind Aldo Duscher in the pecking order. He became something of a journeyman thereafter, representing six different clubs - including Hannover, Tenerife and Albacete - before retiring in 2006.
Sub: Jose Emilio Amavisca
Amavisca came on as a last-minute substitute for Raul in the 1998 Champions League Final in what turned out to be the pinnacle of his Madrid career. He scored 13 goals in his four seasons at the Bernabeu, 10 of which came in his debut campaign following a move from Valladolid.
As well as winning the Champions League, he lifted the league title twice and won gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona with the Spain national team. After leaving Madrid he played for Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol, before retiring at the age of 34.
