Amsterdam, May 20, 1998. The Amsterdam Arena was buzzing. Not just with the usual pre-match energy, but with a palpable sense of history about to be corrected—or further delayed. For Real Madrid, the final liga champion 1998 wasn't just another game. It was a desperate escape from a three-decade-long shadow.
They hadn't won the European Cup since 1966. Think about that for a second. For a club that basically treats the Champions League trophy like a permanent piece of living room furniture, thirty-two years is an eternity. It's a lifetime.
Juventus were the heavy favorites. Honestly, it wasn't even close in the eyes of the bookmakers. Marcello Lippi’s Juve was a juggernaut. They had Zinedine Zidane at the peak of his powers, Alessandro Del Piero scoring for fun, and a defense that felt like trying to run through a brick wall. Real Madrid? They were struggling domestically. They finished fourth in La Liga that year. Fourth! They were the underdogs, which feels weird to say about the most successful club in football history.
The Context: A Clash of Two Different Worlds
Most people forget how dominant Juventus actually were in the late 90s. This was their third consecutive Champions League final. They won it in '96, lost to Dortmund in '97, and were back again in '98. They were the benchmark for European excellence.
Real Madrid, led by Jupp Heynckes, were a bit of a mess behind the scenes. Heynckes actually knew he was getting sacked regardless of the result. Can you imagine the pressure? Knowing you're out the door, but you have the chance to deliver the "La Septima"—the seventh title—that the fans had been demanding for over thirty years.
The tactical setup was fascinating. Lippi went with his classic 3-4-1-2 (or a variant of it), trusting Zidane to pull the strings behind Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi. Madrid countered with a solid 4-4-2, but with a midfield that worked their socks off. Clarence Seedorf, Fernando Redondo, and Christian Karembeu were the engine room. They had to be perfect. If they gave Zidane an inch, it was game over.
The Mijatovic Moment
The game itself was cagey. It wasn't a 4-3 thriller. It was tense, physical, and tactical. But in the 66th minute, everything changed.
Roberto Carlos—who else?—lashed a shot from the edge of the area. It was deflected. The ball bobbled into the path of Predrag Mijatovic. In that split second, the Serbian striker stayed incredibly calm. He rounded Angelo Peruzzi and tucked the ball into the net from a tight angle.
Was he offside? Juventus fans still swear he was. Madrid fans don't care. Even today, VAR would have had a field day with that positioning. But back then, the linesman's flag stayed down.
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1-0.
The final thirty minutes were a masterclass in desperation and defensive resilience. Juventus threw everything at them. Edgar Davids was a man possessed in midfield. Zidane tried to conjure something out of nothing. But the Madrid backline, anchored by Fernando Hierro and Manuel Sanchís, held firm. Sanchís, by the way, was the only player in that squad who truly felt the weight of the "Yeye" Madrid era from the 60s. His father had won it in '66. The symmetry was incredible.
Why the Final Liga Champion 1998 Changed Everything
If Madrid lose that game, the modern era of the club looks completely different. Winning the final liga champion 1998 broke the dam. It proved that Madrid belonged at the top again.
It also marked the end of an era for that Juventus side. Despite all their talent, they only won one Champions League title during that dominant five-year stretch. It's one of football's great "what ifs." How did a team with Zidane, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Deschamps, and Davids not win more?
The Fallout for Jupp Heynckes
Usually, when a manager wins the biggest trophy in club football, they get a statue or at least a contract extension. Heynckes got a handshake and a "thanks for coming."
The board was unhappy with the league performance. It's the most "Real Madrid" story ever. You win the Champions League for the first time in 32 years, and you still get fired eight days later because you finished fourth in the league. It sounds like a fever dream, but that was the reality of the club in the late 90s. Lorenzo Sanz, the president at the time, was ruthless.
Tactical Nuance: Shutting Down Zidane
If you want to understand how Madrid won, look at Fernando Redondo.
He was arguably the best defensive playmaker in the world at that point. He didn't just tackle; he dictated. He and Karembeu basically formed a cage around Zidane. They didn't let him turn. They fouled him when they had to, but mostly they just occupied the spaces he wanted to move into.
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Zidane was frustrated. You could see it in his body language. When Zidane is frustrated, the rest of the Juventus attack loses its rhythm. Inzaghi was caught offside repeatedly. Del Piero was forced to drop deeper and deeper to find the ball, which meant he wasn't in the box where he was most dangerous.
The Legend of Raul
While Mijatovic got the goal, a young Raul Gonzalez was the heartbeat of that team's energy. He was only 20 years old.
He didn't score that night, but his work rate was insane. He was dropping back into midfield, chasing down fullbacks, and providing an outlet every time Madrid cleared the ball. It was the performance that solidified him as the future of the club. He wasn't just a "Golden Boy" anymore; he was a winner.
Misconceptions About the 1998 Final
A lot of younger fans think Real Madrid has always been this dominant force in Europe. They see the five-in-a-row from the 50s and the recent dominance with Ronaldo and think it was a continuous line of success.
It wasn't.
From 1966 to 1998, Real Madrid were effectively the "sleeping giants" who couldn't wake up. They watched Ajax dominate. They watched Bayern Munich dominate. They watched Liverpool and Milan take over. By the time the final liga champion 1998 rolled around, there was a genuine fear that they were becoming irrelevant on the European stage.
Also, people often say Juventus "choked." That's unfair. They played well, but they ran into a team that was playing for something much bigger than a trophy. Madrid were playing for their identity.
Key Match Details at a Glance
The match took place at the Amsterdam Arena in front of about 48,500 people.
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The referee was Hellmut Krug from Germany.
Madrid's lineup: Illgner, Panucci, Hierro, Sanchis, Roberto Carlos, Seedorf, Redondo, Karembeu, Raul, Morientes, Mijatovic.
Juventus's lineup: Peruzzi, Torricelli, Montero, Iuliano, Di Livio, Deschamps, Davids, Pessotto, Zidane, Del Piero, Inzaghi.
Notice the bench depth for Juve. They brought on Alessandro Birindelli, Angelo Di Livio, and Daniel Fonseca. Madrid brought on Davor Suker and Jose Amavisca. The talent on the pitch was staggering.
Actionable Takeaways from the 1998 Final
Understanding the 1998 final gives you a blueprint for how "cup teams" operate. You don't always have to be the best team in the league to win the Champions League. You just have to be the best team for 90 minutes in May.
- Tactical Discipline Over Stars: Madrid's midfield trio worked harder than Juventus's creative stars. Work rate in high-pressure finals often trumps pure flair.
- The Power of Psychology: The 32-year drought was a burden, but once Mijatovic scored, it became fuel. Juventus, having been there three years in a row, perhaps lacked that same "do or die" desperation.
- The Offside Rule: If you're watching old clips, pay attention to the Mijatovic goal. It’s a perfect example of why VAR was eventually introduced, but also why the "human element" made those old finals so dramatic.
To truly appreciate what happened in Amsterdam, go back and watch the full match replay if you can find it. Don't just watch the highlights. Watch how Redondo handles the ball under pressure. Watch how Roberto Carlos terrifies the Juve right-back every time he crosses the halfway line.
The final liga champion 1998 wasn't just a game; it was the birth of the modern Real Madrid. Every Champions League trophy they've won since—the Galacticos era, the BBC era, the 2024 win—all of it traces back to that one night in the Netherlands when a Serbian striker broke a three-decade curse.
For those looking to dive deeper into the tactics of this era, researching Marcello Lippi's defensive structures at Juventus or Jupp Heynckes' transition play provides a masterclass in late-90s European football. You might also want to look up the "Quinta del Buitre"—the generation of Madrid players who came before this one and famously failed to win the European Cup, making the 1998 victory even more poignant for the club's veteran fans.