Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 live

I spoke to Zinedine Zidane when he took over and he was excited about the role, very confident. You have to be impressed with the way he has handled the big players.

He handled it as a player but the number of times big players have gone into jobs and not been a success. This guy is on the brink of something very big.

Gabriele Marcotti
Italian football expert

The numbers speak for themselves. Juventus have gone to another level. Lets not forget that after Antonio Conte left, they still had the likes of Andrea Pirlo in their midfield for that one season. But Massimiliano Allegri has been adding and re-adding for the past few years now. The work he has done has been remarkable. He has effectively found new ways of re-assembling Juventus.

They made a bold move when they sold Paul Pogba and brought in Gonzalo Higuain this summer. They then added Dani Alves and they effectively said 'now is the time to roll the dice and go for it.'

This is Cristiano Ronaldo's fifth European Cup final - only Maldini, Gento (8) and Di Stefano (7) have played in more.

Is he about to win his fourth final?

Image source, Rex Features

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 live

Image source, Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo is ridiculously gifted. He's supposedly having a bad season - he's only got 40 goals. It's stupid. He is just brilliant at scoring goals - left-foot, right-foot, headed goals, tap-ins. He is pure quality.

At the grand age of 39, Gigi Buffon has one more barrier to hurdle in his already glistening career.

The 168 Italy caps are still being added to, the prospect of a sixth World Cup finals looms large next year - he was in the squad in 1998! - and he has just picked up an eighth Serie A title with Juve.

Image source, Getty Images

It would be 10 titles if it wasn't for that pesky Calciopoli scandal.

Add in the World Cup, a sock drawer full of individual honours and 282 clean sheets in Serie A and he's had quite the career.

But he's never won the Champions League...

Image source, Getty Images

Gabriele Marcotti
Italian football expert

Some people were questioning him but Gigi Buffon is back to his best and he's been playing some of the best football of his career.

Andy West
Spanish football writer

Image source, Getty Images

Gigi Buffon deserves to win the Champions League for one simple reason: he named his son after David Lee Roth. That's inspired.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 live

Juventus are horrible for a forward to play against. They are the best at defending - we saw that in the semi-final, the quarter-final and the group stages. That's where they build from and that's their rock.

Gabriele Marcotti
Italian football expert

Massimiliano Allegri has made the decision to play all of his attackers at once. Dani Alves will get further forward. He's decided that he wants to be able to go and take on the biggest teams in Europe. It doesn't get much bigger than Real Madrid.

Half an hour until kick-off, it sounds spectacular out there. Italian sides have a stereotype hanging over them which means that you may expect them to try and shut this final down.

But they have named such an attacking line-up that you feel they will have a go at Real tonight...

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer in Cardiff

Dani Alves got a huge roar from the Juventus fans when his name was announced here in Cardiff - he got a huge roar of the less complimentary kind at the Real Madrid end of the stadium after his successes with Barcelona.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 live

Gareth Bale on the bench is a sensible decision. It would have been a big gamble to have started him and if he had come off after five or 10 minutes then it would have been a disaster for Real Madrid.

It's not a bad bench if you are chasing the game. It's the correct decision.

Image source, AFP

• Real Madrid have reached the European Cup/Champions League final for the 15th time, four more than any other club (AC Milan, 11). They’ve won 11 of the previous 14, a 79% success rate.
• This is Real Madrid’s third European Cup/Champions League final in four seasons, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since the early days of the competition (5 in a row from 1956 to 1960).

James Rodriguez cost Real Madrid 'up to £71m' just three years ago.

Now he can't even get on the bench for the Champions League final!

James Rodriguez has been left out of Real Madrid's squad tonight, while Gareth Bale has had to settle for a place on the bench. Will we see both players leaving the Bernabeu this summer?

Adedeji: James Rodriguez is coming to MUFC!

Ted Birkinshaw: Gareth Bale admits he does miss being at home and says at times he wishes he was closer. Could this mean a return to the Premier league?

ZAKER: James Rodriguez definitely leaving this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Juventus' starting XI (30y 336d) is the second oldest named in a Champions League final after Milan in 2006/07 (31y 35d).

Not the Ajax way.

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Greatness. An almost impossible quality to definitively bestow on a sportsman or woman.

Does longevity play a part? The ability to come back from defeat to win at the very top again?

A proven record at the highest level, of course. Winning the biggest trophies that are out there?

Image source, Getty Images

Looking magnificent while singing a national anthem? Being almost universally liked by fans of different teams and nations worldwide?

Image source, Getty Images

I think Gianluigi Buffon is great. There, I've said it.

Win the Champions League tonight and he may get a green pass into anyone's list...

Absolutely huge reception for Buffon.....

The teams are walking out to start their warm-ups. Cristiano Ronaldo looks to be very relaxed - smiling on his way out. Buffon? In the zone!