Zidane's volley, Ronaldo's title, and a sacking in a Bernabéu corridor

Zinedine Zidane's move to Real Madrid started with a napkin. At a gala dinner in Monaco, Florentino Pérez was at the same large table but not beside him, and he passed along a napkin with a handwritten question: did Zidane want to join? Zidane wrote back one word. "I still wonder why I answered him in English!" he said years later. "I could have put 'oui', since he speaks French, or 'si' in Spanish, but I put 'yes'."

A world record

Zidane had spent five years at Juventus, won two Serie A titles and lost two Champions League finals. On 9 July 2001 the move was completed: a four-year contract with Madrid, with the option of a fifth. The fee was a world record and stayed one for eight years. It was paid in instalments, and the reports of what it came to, in lire, euros, pounds and dollars, have never agreed.

Alfredo Di Stéfano, the club's honorary president, handed him the white shirt. "It is a great honour to come here to this great club," Zidane said. "I think that after five years at Juventus, it was the right time to make a move." Zidane remembers Pérez telling him: "In my team, the numbers go from 1 to 11. The only one that's free is 5." His reply: "No problem, I'll take it right away."

Happy birthday

Real Madrid were founded on 6 March 1902, and 2001–02 was their centenary season. The Copa del Rey final, the 100th in the competition's history, was placed on the anniversary itself, at the Santiago Bernabéu. The opponents were Javier Irureta's Deportivo La Coruña.

Sergio González scored after six minutes. Diego Tristán made it 2–0 before half-time from Valerón's pass. Raúl pulled one back in the second half, and late on the Deportivo goalkeeper, Molina, made a crucial save. Deportivo won 2–1 for their second Copa del Rey, and their supporters sang "Cumpleaños feliz", Happy Birthday, inside the Bernabéu. In Spain the match is called El Centenariazo, roughly "the centenary blow".

"Everything that could go well for us went well," said Augusto César Lendoiro, the Deportivo president. Their captain, Fran, called it "a historic day, a match that comes around once every 100 years".

A fortnight earlier, at a match in Bilbao, Vicente del Bosque had replaced Iker Casillas in goal with César. The league went no better: Madrid finished third on 66 points, behind Valencia and, in second, Deportivo.

Glasgow

Europe was different. Madrid beat Bayern Munich 3–2 on aggregate in the quarter-final. The semi-final was against Barcelona, the clubs' first European meeting since 1960. On 23 April 2002 Madrid won 2–0 at the Camp Nou, Zidane chipping the first and Steve McManaman scoring the second in stoppage time, and a 1–1 draw in Madrid finished the job.

The final was on 15 May 2002 at Hampden Park, where Madrid had beaten Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in the 1960 final. Their opponents, Klaus Toppmöller's Bayer Leverkusen, had knocked out Liverpool and Manchester United. The crowd was 50,499 and the referee was Urs Meier. Madrid lined up with César in goal; Salgado, Hierro, Helguera and Roberto Carlos at the back; Figo, Makélélé, Solari and Zidane in midfield; Raúl and Morientes up front.

Raúl scored early. Roberto Carlos took a long throw and, with his first touch, Raúl guided the ball into the far corner. Lúcio headed Leverkusen level from Bernd Schneider's free-kick.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Roberto Carlos chased a ball down the left and hooked a high cross. It looped to the edge of the penalty area, where Zidane adjusted his body and, in one movement, caught it full on the volley with his left foot, supposedly the weaker one. Jörg Butt could not stop it.

"I didn't even know Zizou was there," Roberto Carlos said. Of the cross itself he said: "That pass was terrible. It was my only chance because there was a Leverkusen player following me." Zidane agreed. "Yes, that volley – and especially from a rubbish cross from Roberto Carlos! You only score a volley like that once in your career." France Football later named it the most beautiful goal in a Champions League final.

In the 68th minute César went off with a leg injury and Casillas came on. Leverkusen pushed for the equaliser through seven minutes of stoppage time. Ballack, Baştürk and Berbatov all had chances, Butt came up and headed over, and Casillas made three saves in the closing stages. Madrid won 2–1. It was their ninth European Cup, won in the centenary year, and Zidane was named man of the match.

"We could spend forever planning on the training ground," Toppmöller said, "but then something special happens that you cannot mitigate for. In this case, it was Zidane's goal."

"The only title I hadn't won was the Champions League," Zidane said, "so to win it with Real Madrid was the icing on the cake."

Ronaldo

Ronaldo had played one season in Spain before, at Barcelona in 1996–97, when he scored 47 goals in 49 games, one of them at Compostela. He joined Inter in 1997 and was troubled by knee injuries after the 1998 World Cup. In the summer of 2002 he won the World Cup with Brazil, with eight goals, two of them in the final against Germany in Yokohama.

At Inter he had fallen out with the coach, Héctor Cúper. By his own account he told the president, Massimo Moratti: "President, I cannot continue with this coach. Either you send him home or I go." Moratti kept Cúper.

On 31 August 2002, hours before the European transfer deadline, Ronaldo signed for Madrid, and Inter signed Hernán Crespo from Lazio to replace him. He was unveiled at the Bernabéu on 2 September in front of more than 300 journalists. "We have the most universal player and he has joined Madrid, the most universal of clubs," said Pérez. Ronaldo said: "I really wanted to come to Madrid, and I hope to live up to the responsibility."

Injury kept him out of the first few games. He made his debut against Alavés at the Bernabéu on 6 October 2002, replacing Javier Portillo in the 64th minute. Within a minute he had chested down a Roberto Carlos cross and volleyed it in. He scored again at the far post from McManaman's pass. He won the 2002 Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Barcelona, Yokohama, Turin

Figo's return to the Camp Nou on 23 November 2002 ended 0–0. When he went to take a corner, a suckling pig's head was thrown onto the pitch along with coins and bottles, and the referee, Luis Medina Cantalejo, stopped the game. "I was worried that some madman might lose his head," Figo said. Barcelona were ordered to close the Camp Nou for two matches; the punishment was later reduced to a fine.

On 3 December Madrid were in Yokohama for the Intercontinental Cup against Olimpia of Paraguay, the Copa Libertadores holders, who were also celebrating their centenary. Ronaldo scored after 14 minutes, Guti headed the second from Figo's cross in the 84th, and Ronaldo was man of the match.

In the Champions League quarter-final Madrid beat Manchester United 3–1 at home. At Old Trafford Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, the last from 30 yards, and was given a standing ovation by both sets of supporters. United won 4–3 on the night; Madrid went through 6–5. The defence of the trophy ended in the semi-final. After a 2–1 win at home, Madrid lost 3–1 in Turin on 14 May 2003. At 2–0 down Gianluigi Buffon saved a Figo penalty, and Zidane's goal came in the 89th minute. Juventus went through 4–3.

The title and the corridor

The league went to the last day. On 22 June 2003 Madrid played Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabéu. Ronaldo scored twice and Roberto Carlos added a free-kick in first-half stoppage time; Alkiza scored for Athletic. Madrid won 3–1. Real Sociedad beat Atlético Madrid 3–0 and finished two points behind, 76 to Madrid's 78. It was the club's 29th league title, and Ronaldo had 23 league goals.

At 11 o'clock the next night, the sporting director Jorge Valdano told Del Bosque in a corridor at the Bernabéu that his contract would not be renewed. "Telling me in the loneliness of the corridor was not the best way," Del Bosque said. "There were things which annoyed me and I felt badly treated." He had been at the club for 35 years as a player, staff member and coach, and in four years in charge had won two league titles and two Champions Leagues.

On the Tuesday the club confirmed that the captain would be going too. Fernando Hierro had joined from Real Valladolid in 1989 and was 35. "It is time for a new cycle and a change in the organisation," Valdano said. Del Bosque's replacement was Carlos Queiroz, Manchester United's assistant manager.

The engine

Makélélé had come from Celta Vigo in 2000 and was paid far less than the famous names around him. On 17 June Manchester United had agreed to sell David Beckham to Madrid, and after Beckham's arrival Makélélé asked for a better contract. He was refused, asked to leave, and that summer joined Chelsea.

Pérez was dismissive. "He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres," he said. "Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten." McManaman called him "the most important and yet least appreciated midfielder at the club". Zidane put it another way. "Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?"

Madrid made one signing that summer. It was Beckham.