A Champions League final will only be played by a select few players. Fewer players will score in a Champions League final. In a Champions League final, fewer players will ever score an overhead kick to assist their team win.
In fact, only one name has remained on the list: Gareth Bale.
Real Madrid's golfing Welshman has never been universally adored, but he is one of the club's most important figures. In 2018, he attained his pinnacle, concluding, and undeniable splendour.
Los Blancos had recently advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals that season, edging Juventus and Bayern Munich to the finish line.
They met an unfancied Liverpool side in the final in Kyiv. Jurgen Klopp had constructed an outstanding squad, anchored by the record-breaking Mohamed Salah, but this was not the all-powerful Liverpool of today.
Real Madrid appeared to be in command until Salah was pulled out in the first half with a dislocated shoulder. They took the lead when a concussed Loris Karius threw the ball right into Karim Benzema's knee, but Sadio Mane's corner tap-in quickly cancelled it out.
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane changed Bale for the unproductive Isco with just over an hour remaining in an attempt to turn the tide. Few impact substitutions can match this one.
The ex-Tottenham winger had made his imprint less than 90 seconds after coming on.
Trent Alexander-Arnold immediately closed down Marcelo after Casemiro's beautiful chipped ball over the top of the Liverpool midfield. As he cut inside onto his weaker right foot, Mane applied pressure to the Brazilian.
Marcelo instinctively crossed the ball to Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were practically holding hands in the penalty area (my old football coach used to teach us that if you were within a yard of a teammate in open play, you had to hold hands for the next minute to highlight how daft you were being).
Bale was somewhat higher than that duo, having cut inside and evaded Andy Robertson. Bale determined that the best course of action was to attempt a daring overhead kick in less than a split second after Marcelo's cross was under-hit and would never reach either of Real's typical target players. It ended up being one of the best choices he'd ever made.
Ronaldo had scored with a similar acrobatic effort during Real's journey to Kyiv, but this was even better. Karius would not have been able to go near to it even if he hadn't been concussed.
Bale's strike soared up and over the German in such a way that the Welshman didn't have time to recover his footing before it struck. Bale, who is known for his calm and confident temperament, raced out in celebration, diving like Jurgen Klinsmann to burn off the extra energy and adrenaline.
After clawing their way back into the final, that was the blow that finally knocked the wind out of Liverpool's sails. Their dreams were crushed for good when Karius parried Bale's 30-yard attempt into his own net.
In a final with so many big occurrences and literary scenarios, Bale's overhead kick sticks out.
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