Real Madrid beating Liverpool in Champions League final would make them the greatest-ever club side in history

THEY can go down as the greatest club side of all time.

Real Madrid are just 90 minutes from mastering the most difficult, the most challenging, the most arduous competition in European club football for a third successive season.

A hat-trick of Champions League successes would set Zinedine Zidane’s side apart. Better than the Real Madrid side inspired by Alfredo Di Stefano, who won the European Cup five times in a row when the competition launched in the 1950s.

Better than the Liverpool teams who dominated the competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they triumphed over Borussia Monchengladbach, Bruges, Real and Roma.

Better, even, than the Barcelona side coached by Frank Rijkaard when they beat Arsenal in 2006 and then refined by Pep Guardiola in 2009 and 2011.

They were all outstanding but the pressure placed on Real’s players at the start of each season is extraordinary.

The Spanish club are expected to win this trophy, placing it above their own domestic league title in terms of importance.

To travel across Europe, to come through six group games followed by the perils of knockout football, is the ultimate test for the modern player.

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The great Madrid side of the 1950s needed just seven games to win it (with the exception of one-off play-offs against Rapid Vienna and Stade Riems). In its current guise, the winner must play 13 games to get their hands on the trophy. It is relentless.

The demands inside that Real Madrid dressing room, with the history of this club and the constant reminders of their illustrious predecessors, are extraordinary.

Everybody is out to beat them. To keep coming back for more in the modern era, when the trappings of fame and fortune can distract and destabilise the best players, is unique.

Real, operating under those intolerable demands, are a remarkable force. The final is Cristiano Ronaldo’s stage, the only player in Champions League history to score in 11 successive games in this tournament. Even at 33, his appetite is undimmed.

In the centre of midfield, the ball works overtime when Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are in possession. As a pairing, they are unrivalled.

Sergio Ramos, who would be regarded the best defender in the history of the sport had he not been sent off 24 times, is the security blanket.

The motivation is remarkable. The Champions League is their competition, taking ownership of it with a penalty shootout victory over Atletico Madrid in 2016 and a 4-1 win over Juventus last season.

Real Madrid come alive in Europe. The route to this final has been treacherous, with the knockout rounds full of danger after being drawn against European football’s elite.

They came through unscathed, beating big-spenders Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s finalists Juve and Bayern Munich in the semi-final.

Ronaldo’s overhead kick in the Juventus Stadium, beating the great Gianluigi Buffon with one of the best goals of his career, was a jaw- dropping moment.

Juve’s fans acted on impulse, rising from their seats to applaud one of the most dedicated sportsmen of all time He had earned it. So, too, have Real Madrid as they close in on this achievement.

Zizou, their ice-cool head coach, only won this trophy once as a player, scoring a belter for the Galacticos in a 2002 final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Whatever the misgivings about his coaching ability, his players will be immortalised if they win tomorrow.

At some stage someone will stop them. Liverpool, five-time winners of the ultimate prize in club football, stand in their way of a staggering 13th European Cup triumph in Kiev.

Nobody outside of Anfield seems to fancy them. Real look so comfortable in this environment, soaking it all up and preparing to finish the job before they all head off to the World Cup. By then, these boys could be the greatest of all time.

IT'S A BOL BREAKER

ANOTHER old West Ham hang-out is in danger of going to the wall after the tenants called time at The Boleyn pub opposite the Bobby Moore statue.

The legendary East End boozer used to be jammed solid on matchdays.

Punters would sup their ale and have a good old sing-song before they made the short walk up the road to watch their beloved Hammers at Upton Park.

Those tills used to be ringing from the moment the doors opened, with West Ham fans flocking there to enjoy a few  pre-match pints with their Irons pals.

In a few weeks’ time a new publican will try to revive this famous old place when he flings open the doors, but he will do well to find some business on those deserted streets.

JUST REWARDS

THE Premier League gave Arsenal a special gold-plated trophy when the Invincibles finished with 90 points for going an entire season unbeaten.

Manchester City, the first club in Premier League history to  finish the season with 100 points, are still waiting for the clamour to begin to commemorate their special achievement.

To be fair to them, they have a point.

LAMP'S LIGHT ON

CHELSEA are missing a trick by allowing Frank Lampard’s name to be linked with every vacant job in the Championship.

The club’s 211-goal record scorer, who is still worshipped by  Chelsea fans, should already be in the system at Stamford Bridge.

Like Pep Guardiola, who began his coaching career with Barcelona B, and  Zinedine Zidane, who coached Real Madrid  Castillas, Lampard should already be an important part of the club’s succession planning.

Instead, they are in  danger of letting the 39-year-old club legend slip away.

LOFTY HEIGHTS

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK’S inclusion in the England squad is one of the reasons Harry Kane was confirmed as the country’s captain for the World Cup.

Kane, who was formally appointed by Gareth Southgate when the squad got together at the start of the week, is  guaranteed to start every game in Russia.

Although Jordan Henderson’s leadership skills, which include captaining Liverpool to tomorrow’s Champions League final, impressed Southgate, his place will come under pressure as the tournament evolves.

Loftus-Cheek played on the left of Crystal Palace’s midfield in the second half of the season and Southgate expects him to compete with Henderson for his spot.

England’s head coach is determined to explore all his midfield options before the start of the World Cup and Loftus-Cheek will get his chance next week.

Henderson is due a rest after the Champions League final, which opens up the possibility of Southgate experimenting in midfield against Nigeria next Saturday.

If Southgate goes through with the plan, Loftus-Cheek can play his way into the World Cup team.