'What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?'
The paradox has given football fans sleepless nights ever since it was decided that Real Madrid and Juventus will clash in the 2016-17 European season-ender, aka the Champions League final.
Two worthy contenders will line up at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to fight it out for the holy grail of club football. The teams from Spain and Italy have won their respective domestic titles and are looking to break various records in the continent's prime cup final.
Real Madrid will be keen to become the first team to retain the trophy (since it became known as the Champions League in 1992), having won it last year. Los Blancos have scored 32 goals in their 12 games, making them the force to reckon with.
Under legendary galactico Zinedine Zidane, the team will hope to make history by winning the trophy for a record 12th time. This will be Madrid's third final in four years, having beaten city rivals Atletico Madrid in both previous summit clashes.
They beat a rampaging Bayern Munich in this year's quarterfinals and once again bested Diego Simeone's Atletico in the semifinals. The club enters the game with the enviable record of having gotten to the final a record 14 times.
The only obstacle in their path to cap off an astounding season is a brick-walled Juventus. The Italians have conceded just three goals in their entire CL campaign, and just one from open play.
The Old Lady of Turin, as the team is called, are out to set a record of their own. Having already won the domestic league and cup, coach Massimiliano Allegri will look to clinch a glorious treble for the first time in the club's history.
If they do so, they will become only the second Italian team to accomplish this, after Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in 2010. They are the only unbeaten team in the CL this year and last won the trophy in 1996.
The Biaconeri, though, will enter the clincher with a poor record in previous CL finals. They have won just two of their eight appearances in the final, their last one ending in a defeat to FC Barcelona in 2015.
Juventus, incidentally, took revenge on the Catalan side after blanking them in the quarterfinals before disposing off the youthful underdogs, FC Monaco, in the semis.
Despite the galaxy of stars that will be on show tonight, the focus will unarguably be on two legends who have embodied their side's reputations.
Cristiano Ronaldo has proved critics wrong, yet again, with a typically marauding CL campaign. He not only became the first player to reach 100 goals in the tournament's history, but also the first to score more than 10 CL goals in six consecutive seasons. And yet, he firmly insists that he is merely human.
The world player of the year awardee will be flanked by French marksman Karim Benzema. But it remains to be seen whether his coach will field record signing Gareth Bale or the impressive Spanish playmaker Isco, with the two attackers.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos will pair up once more as Europe's best creative outlets, while club captain Sergio Ramos and Rafael Varane will have to be alert to provide sufficient cover for the occasionally error-prone keeper Keylor Navas.
Up against Juve's dangerous Argentine duo of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, the Real defence will have will need their dynamic defensive midfielder Casemiro to block all channels to the third front.
Eager to stop CR7 and gang is Juventus shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon. The 39-year-old may be approaching the twilight of his career, but he has shown no signs of slowing down. He has won every possible trophy he could, for club and country, but the one missing piece of silverware in his cabinet is the CL.
Buffon will once again rely on his two long-time comrades, the defensive duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, to defend like they have all season.
An interesting contest within the contest will be on one flank. The free-roaming Madrid left-back Marcelo will renew his on-field rivalry with Brazilian compatriot Dani Alves, who was instrumental in storming Juventus through to the final. The two have had many memorable meetings when the latter donned a Barcelona shirt.
The last time the two teams met, Juventus got the better of the Spaniards in the 2015 semifinals (3-2 on aggregate). They have met just once in the finals, back in 1998 when Zidane played in a 1-0 victory for Los Blancos.
What further adds to the unpredictability of this clash is the history of their meetings. They have met 18 times in the tournament, winning eight apiece and drawing two. It is apt that the 19th encounter, which will give historians a clear winner, is in the tournament's summit clash.
Match: Real Madrid vs Juventus
Time: 12:15am
Channel: Sony Six & HD, Sony ESPN & HD, Ten 1 HD and Ten 2
