Looking back on his performances against Real Madrid, Alessandro Del Piero had nothing but praise for the Spanish giants and fondly recalled his standing ovation at the Bernabeu.

“How many times did I play Juve-Real in my head as a kid?” Del Piero said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Many times, I assure you. Real Madrid are ‘the team’, like Brazil, like the Lakers. Real Madrid and Juventus. The best.

“At first I remember them as the club which beat the Italians, before [Arrigo] Sacchi’s Milan came along. Then they beat us too. But we came back. And I hope on Saturday another beautiful Bianconeri page can be written.

“Three highlights from facing them? Standing ovation, standing ovation, standing ovation. That night at the Bernabeu was one of the biggest emotions of my career. But also the scream of the Delle Alpi when we beat Real in the semi-final in 2003. I’ve never heard such a strong one.

“The 1998 final? Every lost final is a wound. Of course it burned so much. Our Juve was an incredible team, probably at the top of our cycle.”