Wednesday, May 24 marks the third anniversary of Real Madrid's La Decima -- a 10th European Cup victory -- in Lisbon, when they beat neighbors Atletico Madrid 4-1 in extra-time in one of the competition's most memorable finals ever.
Here's a look back at the events that led to Madrid finally ending their 12-year wait for the trophy, and Atletico coming so close to winning their first ever Champions League, in the words of those who were there at the time.
May 17:
Diego Godin's equalising header at the Camp Nou means Atletico Madrid draw 1-1 at Barcelona, and claim the club's first La Liga trophy in 18 years. The celebrations are tempered somewhat by injuries to key players Diego Costa and Arda Turan, both now big doubts for the following Saturday's Champions League final.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone: "[Fitness coach El Profe] Ortega will have to stay up all night working on a plan. We will keep working and find a way of responding, as we always do."
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo pulls out in the warm-up of Real Madrid's final La Liga game at home to Espanyol, furthering fears his long-running knee and hamstring problems mean he will not be ready just six days later in Lisbon.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti: "If today had been the final, of course Cristiano would have risked it and played but we didn't need to do that today."
May 20:
Word emerges that Costa has travelled secretly to Serbia to visit "medical miracle worker" Marijana Kovacevic, and undergo an alternative horse-placenta treatment on his hamstring.
Atletico full-back Juanfran Torres: "I was surprised like everyone. Hopefully he is feeling good and can recover. We all love Diego a lot."
May 23:
The week's buildup on the Madrid side also focuses on Los Blancos' "suffering" 12 long years of waiting for La Decima, with over $1 billion spent on players and 11 different coaches being hired and fired during that time.
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos: "This final is a reward for all the sacrifice over so many years. It's payoff for the work the team has put in."
At the pregame news conference, Ancelotti is asked about speculation he could be fired by club president Florentino Perez if they lose and finish the season with just a Copa del Rey success.
Ancelotti: "My future is tomorrow's game. I am used to this talk. A coach must be judged by those competent to judge his work. There is no problem, after tomorrow's game we will put a mark on season."
May 24, 19:30 local time in Lisbon:
Team news filters out at the Estadio da Luz that Costa is surprisingly named in the Atletico XI, with Raul Garcia in place of Turan on the right wing. Ancelotti rushes back in just fit again Sami Khedira -- not Asier Illarramendi -- to replace the suspended holding midfielder Xabi Alonso.
20:45: Game begins.
20:54: Costa has clearly been struggling from the first whistle, and he is replaced by Adrian with just nine minutes played.
Simeone three years later: "If I had it all over again, he'd play the final from the start again. How could our best player not play? It's like [Leo] Messi being at 50 percent and not playing for Barca in the Champions League final. For us, Diego Costa was our Messi."
21:17: Bale misses a great chance to put Madrid one up, as he seizes upon a misplaced Tiago pass and surges towards goal, only to shoot wide of the far post.
21:21: Goal! 1-0 Atletico! Real Madrid only half-clear a corner and Juanfran returns the ball towards the penalty spot. Iker Casillas decides to come for it but then starts to backpedal furiously as Godin's header soars over the stranded goalkeeper and nestles in the far corner.
Casillas: "Sometimes we can make mistakes, other times get things right. ... Luckily the fans will only remember that Madrid won La Decima in Lisbon. I cannot complain."
21:31: Referee blows for half-time, Atletico have the advantage, but can they hold on?
22:00: Ancelotti makes a double change early in the second half -- Isco and Marcelo for Khedira and Fabio Coentrao.
22:19: Bale misses his third shooting opportunity of the night, again pulling a shot wide from distance.
Ancelotti: "At half-time I said we had to play quicker and trust more in our offensive capabilities. What was most difficult was to get the equaliser. We didn't have any space, Atletico defended very well, but we tried every way possible, right to the end."
22:32: It's into stoppage time and Atletico are still holding on. They break up the pitch and win a free kick, which substitute Jose Sosa (remember him?) hits at goal but Casillas saves easily.
Gabi, the following August: "You still think about it, we had a free kick just before that corner. And we could have taken it a different way, or maybe someone gone down to the ground and used up some time."
22:34: 1-1! Luka Modric's 93rd minute corner is perfectly struck, and Ramos gets a clear run and can guide his header away from Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and into the far corner.
Courtois: "We were just one or two minutes away. It was such a pity to let in that goal in the 93rd minute."
UEFA's Man of the Match Angel Di Maria: "We knew that if we scored they would crap themselves a bit. I feel an incredible relief."
Ancelotti: "You can say I'm a lucky man in the end, or you can say that we tried to do everything until the last second of the game. This is football -- sometimes you have bad luck, sometimes good luck."
22:55: The first period of extra time is very tense and nervy. Madrid are on top but not making clear chances. It is still 1-1 with 105 minutes gone, and Atletico are holding on for penalties.
23:14: 2-1! Di Maria gets into space down the left side, Courtois saves but the ball spins it up in the air towards the back post where Bale is waiting to head into the net from three yards.
Bale: "Definitely it seemed like in slow motion. When the ball went up in the air, it felt like I was hanging there for two days. I just wanted to get a good contact on the ball. It is an amazing memory."
23:17: Almost 2-2! Atletico somehow find the energy for one last attack. Casillas does not deal well with a cross, but Tiago sends his shot over the bar.
23:21: 3-1. Marcelo surges straight through an exhausted defence and fires a low shot, Courtois gets a touch but can't keep it out.
23:23: 4-1. With Atletico in despair now, Ronaldo is brought down for a penalty which he takes himself, sending Courtois the wrong way for his record 17th Champions League goal of the season. After a quiet game personally, when he was clearly hampered by injury, he whips off his shirt in celebration for images which later appear in his personally financed biopic.
Ronaldo: "In your life you do not win without sacrifices and you must take risks. I did not want to miss the final of the Champions League. I was not fully fit, but I forced the issue. On a club level it went well. We won, I scored and the team achieved La Decima, which was what we all hoped for."
23:25: Angered by Raphael Varane booting away a loose ball, Simeone enters the pitch and is involved in an altercation with the French defender, just before the full-time whistle blows.
Simeone: "You can lose or you can win -- this time it's our turn to lose and we know we've given it our all. It's not sadness, it's bitterness. I feel bitter that I didn't reach our objective. I wish I could have won the way I wanted, but I couldn't -- though I can overcome this. I know that, once you've given your all, there's other players and another match. The supporters should be proud of an excellent season, they shouldn't waste a single second being sad."
Atletico captain Gabi: "We must be very proud for what this team has given. Fair or unfair, the truth is Real Madrid have won and we must congratulate them. Extra-time was very hard for us. I don't want to think of what might have been, just thank my teammates for all their effort."
Casillas: "This is so important, even bigger than the World Cup. So long waiting to win a final like this, La Decima, a perfect round number. We suffered, they got a lucky goal, but on chances we deserved to win."
Bale: "The way they lost was probably the worst way you could lose a final, but in a final there does always have to be a loser. We were ecstatic that it was not us, but you do feel for them. You look at them and see all the hard work they had put in, and to have that taken away from you in the last second is a bit cruel. But then that is sport. You have to take every opportunity you can."
Perez: "We had been many years without winning the European Cup and it had begun to become an obsession. But thanks to the effort of the players and the dreams of the fans, we have done it. It is not really for me to say it, but we are a legend and the fans are already thinking about the 'undecima' and the 'duodecima.'"
May 25:
The victorious squad flew back to Madrid from Lisbon after the game, arriving at the famous Cibeles city centre statue when celebrations were still going on around 6:30 a.m. local time. That evening there was another party at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Ronaldo presented the trophy to the fans.
Ronaldo: "I remember the first day I walked into the Bernabeu. Yesterday we were able to win the most important trophy that can be won with this club. One, two, three: Hala Madrid!"