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Cristiano Ronaldo could become the first player to score in three Champions League finals.Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

The stars. The fans. The weirdly operatic anthem. All of it combines to make the UEFA Champions League final a fixture of the global sports calendar. This year, club soccer's biggest game serves two purposes: as the final act of the long European season and the kickoff to a remarkable stretch of soccer this summer.

The coming weeks will bring the opening to the Copa America Centenario tournament in the United States (the first game is June 3) as well as the European Championships in France (which runs from June 10 to July 10).

But first there is the matter of this final. For the second time in three years it will be a meeting of intracity rivals: Real Madrid, the winner of a record 10 European titles, versus Atletico Madrid, which is seeking its first.

Here's what you need to know:

Cristiano Ronaldo is playing

Well, actually that isn't a certainty – Ronaldo, Real's Portuguese winger, reportedly had an injury hiccup this week in training – but assuming he is out there, Ronaldo remains one of the game's greatest offensive forces. Ronaldo has scored 16 goals in the Champions League this season, one short of the record he set when Real Madrid won the title two years ago. If he scores Saturday, he will become the first player to score in three Champions League finals.

Atletico isn't a scrappy underdog any more

Bookmakers still favour Real Madrid, but that may reflect reputation as much as anything else. Atletico, led by its fiery, black-clad Argentine manager Diego Simeone, has the defence to shut down any opponent, including Real Madrid, and the confidence to match. The Rojiblancos did not lose to their city rival this season (one draw and one victory), and they allowed only 18 goals during the entire Spanish league season, giving them the best goals-against per-game ratio of any team in Europe's top five leagues. Jan Oblak recorded 24 league shutouts, the most in team history.

Ronaldo's not the only player to watch

For Los Blancos, look out for Gareth Bale (who scored the decisive goal the last time these teams met in the final) and Karim Benzema (who would be a leading striker on any team but his own), as well as Luka Modric (who is often the primary operator behind the Real offence) and Dani Carvajal (who makes strong runs from the back).

The Uruguayan central defender Diego Godín is the spine of the Atletico defence, while the team's captain, Gabi, is an unstoppable force in the midfield. The French striker Antoine Griezmann and the well-traveled Fernando Torres lead the attack.

Someone might split a pair of pants

Zinedine Zidane, who won the title as a player with Real Madrid in 2002 and is seeking to win it again in his first year as the club's coach, has shown a knack for innovation and motivation on the field as well as destruction of his trousers on the sideline. Zidane endured worldwide exposure twice in April when his tight suit pants ripped during particularly aggressive exhortations from the bench area during Champions League matches.

Diego Simeone, Atletico's coach, hasn't had a similar wardrobe malfunction, although it does sometimes appear that he might burst a blood vessel, particularly when he is stomping around after a referee's decision goes against his team. He has already struck one match official during this year's competition.

The roads to the final were very different

There isn't much debate: Real Madrid had a softer draw on the way to the final, beating Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City in the knockout rounds. Atlético, meanwhile, started off with PSV in the round of 16 before dispatching the defending champion, Barcelona, in the quarter-finals and the 2013 winner, Bayern Munich, in the semi-finals.

Real Madrid has had the more tumultuous year overall, however, as the team's tempestuous president, Florentino Perez, fired Rafael Benitez as manager in January following an inconsistent start. Zidane, who had never led a first-division team, was tasked with replacing him, and he responded by winning 21 of 26 matches, although the club fell just short of catching Barcelona in La Liga.

Many words have been spoken about this game

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos, on Zidane: "I think when you have been a player you have a way of focusing on things in football that is different to a coach who hasn't been. Perhaps, that's why although he has only been in charge for a short time, it seems like he has for 30 years."

Atletico Madrid's Koke, on his team's strategy: "I think we have to defend well and take advantage of their errors, because in these games they commit very few."

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