Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane’s reaction said it all.
Hand to his head, a look of disbelief on his face at what he had just seen, he turned and bellowed his approval. As a player, the Frenchman scored plenty of stunning goals himself in Turin – but what he had just witnessed from Cristiano Ronaldo was special.
Ronaldo’s second goal for the Spanish giants in their 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory at Juventus was one of the great strikes – the 33-year-old Portuguese rising almost unnaturally high before acrobatically firing the ball into the corner of the net with an incredible bicycle kick.
Seconds after the ball hit the net, the Juve fans followed Zidane’s lead, rising to applaud the man who has, in all likelihood, ended their interest in the Champions League for this season.
BBC Radio 5 live’s Pat Nevin, who was at the game, was equally stunned. “When the ball comes across to him you think: ‘Oh, you’re not going to try an overhead kick.’ And then, bang! Oh wow! Just see it, watch it,” said the former Scotland winger.
“It is unnatural. People are talking about how Ronaldo is getting a bit older now – but there is nothing wrong with that body if he can do that sort of thing. The timing of it is extraordinary, the imagination to do it is extraordinary.
“A lot of the Juventus fans stayed behind to applaud Ronaldo. To turn around this coliseum to his side – wow. Call it genius if you like.
“It is one of the great goals you will see in football.”
“Obviously people are talking about the second goal, it was amazing, probably the best of my career,” Ronaldo said after the game.
“It was spectacular. I jumped very high and it’s a goal that will live long in the memory.
“I’ve been looking to do it for a while, but it depends on the circumstances of the game. It just came to me to give it a go, you always have to try it. I tried it today and it came off”.
Speaking about receiving a standing ovation, he added: “It was one of the most poignant moments of the night. To receive applause from a stadium like this, which has been graced by great players, is a unique experience.
“When I was a kid, I liked Juventus and the fact that their fans have clapped me will stay with me.”
“It is one of those ones where you just say: ‘Oh, you’re just egging it up a bit, you’re exaggerating for pure commentary purposes,'” said Nevin.
“No, absolutely no. That is one of the great goals you will see… I was going to say Champions League football, but, basically, football.
“Talking about how high his foot is, when he goes for the kick there Mattia de Sciglio is jumping up to head the ball and Ronaldo’s foot is above his head. It has to be seven and a half feet.
“I would love to be able to tell you how to score a goal like that, but I never have. But if you don’t practise that and you try it in a game you can break your back. You need technique to get up and hit it – but you need to be able to land properly as well. He has all this in his mind and computes it in a millisecond. It is special.
“He knows how to time his form, usually when Real are looking to win something, like the Champions League. He also wants to win that Ballon d’Or. Normal humans don’t think along those lines on a football pitch, they think about how to win a game. But he is so far ahead.”
BBC World Service’s John Bennett said: “I don’t think he has scored a better goal than that.
“I remember the Porto one [for Manchester United in 2009]. It is how you judge great goals. The technique for that overhead kick makes it the greatest goal Ronaldo has ever scored.”
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon: “Ronaldo is an extraordinary champion. Together with Lionel Messi, he is the only one that punctuates his team’s most important victories, and is to be compared to [Diego] Maradona and Pele.”
Juve defender Andrea Barzagli: “Cristiano made up the second goal. It’s a Playstation goal. When you come up against one of the best in the world like Ronaldo, you need to be perfect. If you give him any space, he’ll punish you. He scored a goal that will go down in history – and unfortunately it was against us.”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri: “I don’t know if Cristiano’s goal is the best in the history of football, but it’s certainly an extraordinary goal. You can only congratulate him for what he’s doing at present.”
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane: “Cristiano Ronaldo is different. He’s a different player to everyone else and he always has this desire to do something extraordinary in the Champions League. He never rests on his laurels.
“His overhead kick was remarkable, yet he missed two much easier chances. That’s football.”
Stoke striker Peter Crouch, who scored a famous bicycle kick of his own for Liverpool against Galatasaray, tweeted: “There is only a few of us who can do that.”
BBC Match of the Day presenter and former England captain Gary Lineker,tweeted: “Seen a lot of great goals in my time but that is absolutely breathtaking from Ronaldo.”
Former England striker, Michael Owen tweeted: “OMG. Please, if you do one thing tonight make sure you see Ronaldo’s second goal. His first was awesome. I’ve no words to describe his second.”
Former Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa tweeted: “Ronaldo can now leave Earth and play with Martians. He has done everything here.”
Ex-England and Manchster defender Rio Ferdinand tweeted: “The opposing fans in the stadium applauding the great Cristiano after the bicycle kick and rightly so. Keeps on upping the ante – relentless.”
NBA start LeBron James on Instagram: “Are You Not Entertained!?!?! That’s just not even fair. Nasty!!”
LA Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahmovic, who scored a 30-yard overhead kick against England in 2012, said: “It was a nice goal, but he should try it from 40 metres.”
Ed: I’ve always said Ronaldo’s the best ever. He can score any type of goal and he’d arguably be the top scorer in every major league.
Josh: Is there anything Cristiano Ronaldo can’t do? Not content with just being a goal machine he’s gone and scored arguably the greatest goal in the history of the Champions League too… Wow, I have actually ran out of superlatives to describe this man!!!
Simon: Yeah, Ronaldo is good, but has he ever scored on a rainy night in Sto- oh, he actually has…
Fabian: Dear ladies and gentlemen, if you ever had doubts that Ronaldo wasn’t the best player ever; please think again! WHAT A PLAYER!
His manager may have been impressed by Ronaldo’s goal, but we will leave the final say to Zidane, who also scored one of the great Champions League goals – a magnificent volley in the 2002 final for Real against Bayer Leverkusen.
Which goal was better he was asked…
“Oh mine! Definitely mine.”
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