Zidane Zidane Comments on Cristiano Ronaldo Wondergoal Against Juventus

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane joked that his volley in the final of the UEFA Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 was better than Cristiano Ronaldo's remarkable overhead kick in the same competition on Tuesday. 

In the first leg of the quarter-final with Juventus, Ronaldo sprung into action in the second half to net a remarkable goal, his second of the night, and put Los Blancos on their way to a dominant 3-0 win.

Afterwards, Zidane was quizzed about the strike but jested his volley at Hampden Park is the pick of the two goals, per Jose Felix Diaz of Marca.

"Cristiano's is one of the best goals in history, but mine in Glasgow was prettier," he laughed. "You have to tip your hat to a goal of this quality. He does so many things and I'm happy for what he's achieved."

Per Sky Sports, Zidane also said described Ronaldo as "one of the most beautiful players in the history of football" after yet another memorable outing in the competition.

The Champions League Twitter account provided a clip of Ronaldo's second strike of the night: 

As we can see courtesy of ESPN FC, even a figure of Zidane's prestige was taken aback by the calibre of the goal:

Not only was the manager in awe of the moment, so too were many of the Juventus supporters, who stood and applauded the 33-year-old after his moment of magic.

"I don't know if Cristiano's goal is the best in the history of football, but it's certainly an extraordinary goal," Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri said, per Sky Sports. "You can only congratulate him for what he's doing at present."

Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images

In many respects, the match in Turin epitomised Ronaldo and the all-encompassing impact he can have on games at the highest level.

His first goal of the night was a classic poacher's finish following a sharp run to the front post. Yet while Ronaldo has evolved into a penalty-box player, he is also capable of changing the course of a match with a moment of outrageous quality.

For all the majesty of the goal, though, not everyone was in awe. Catalan-based newspaper El Mundo Deportivo (h/t Bleacher Report's Nick Akerman) elected to focus on Ronaldo's great rival, Lionel Messi:

As noted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, the Portugal international has been trying to net a goal like this for a long time now:

Most significantly of all, it was a goal that virtually put this tie to bed at the midpoint for Madrid, as they seek to secure what would be a historic third Champions League win in a row. 

With Ronaldo in this kind of form that wouldn't be a huge surprise. After a slow beginning to the season based on his own impeccable standards, the Portuguese appears to be hitting his stride at the perfect time and now has 39 goals for the campaign in total, including 14 in the Champions League.

Zidane has the perfect man for the big occasion at his disposal, and Madrid have to be considered the team to beat in this competition again as they stand on the cusp of another semi-final.