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IN SEVENTH HEAVEN . . . Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrates victory after the UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff on Saturday

CARDIFF. — Real Madrid dominated the front and back pages of Spanish newspapers yesterday after they beat Juventus 4-1 to win their 12th European Cup.

“Masters of the universe,” ran the headline on the front page of Spanish sports newspaper Marca, which added: “Real Madrid thrash Juve to win the 12th!”

“The 12th for the insatiable,” read a wraparound cover on AS, which hailed the decisive Cristiano Ronaldo as the most valuable player of Saturday’s final and said he was “a step away from his fifth Ballon d’Or”.

The Portuguese striker scored twice to become the Champions League top scorer with a total of 12 goals in the competition, reaching a milestone 600th career goal.

Even media in Barcelona found it within themselves to praise Madrid, with Diario Sport calling them “Just champions” on their cover, while Mundo Deportivo acknowledged Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane’s part in the triumph, labelling the Frenchman “historic”.

On Saturday, both publications had openly expressed their desire for Juventus to win at the Principality Stadium but they acknowledged Madrid’s triumph with more grace on Sunday.

“Kings 12 times,” splashed La Razon, while Spain’s oldest newspaper, ABC, wrote “Real Madrid without limits”. El Pais said “Real Madrid enter a new golden era,” referencing their third Champions League triumph in four seasons.

The praise spread further afield, with France’s L’Equipe labelling the winners “Unreal Madrid”, while Portugal’s E Bola featured a picture of Ronaldo leaping in celebration with the headline “Jump to eternity”.

Cristiano Ronaldo understandably took the accolades as his two goals helped to fire Real Madrid to a 12th European Cup but fundamental to their triumph over Juventus on Saturday was midfielder Luka Modric.

Madrid ran out 4-1 winners in the final at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium but endured a tough first half with Juventus dominating the play until Croatian Modric took control of the game.

The score was at 1-1 after Ronaldo had netted against the run of play and Mario Mandzukic had equalised but Juventus were creating the better chances and Gianluigi Buffon’s net had otherwise gone untroubled.

However, with Modric’s steadying influence increasing, the tide turned in favour of Zinedine Zidane’s side and they stormed to victory, firing more goals past Buffon than the three he had conceded in the rest of the tournament.

Gareth Bale, like Modric a former Tottenham player, had been the focus of the build-up to the game but Modric proved crucial to Madrid’s successful defence of the title.

“The first half was even. Juventus came out strong. We didn’t have possession,” Zidane told reporters. “The second half was better. I told them to continue with what we were doing but putting more pressure on them and playing with more width.”

With Madrid playing a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield and featuring no traditional wingers, the onus fell on Modric and Toni Kroos to occupy wider spaces.

Modric created Ronaldo’s second goal from the right wing, elegantly skipping towards the byline before pulling back the ball for Ronaldo to smash home and effectively kill the game.

Beyond his assist, the 31-year-old’s elegance on the ball, his eye for a pass and capacity for making the right decisions, helped to open up angles for Real Madrid to hit Juventus time after time on the break.

“(Zidane) said that we need to be more aggressive, to not allow Juve to keep the ball easily like they did in the first half after our goal,” Modric told reporters.

“We feel we are an amazing team and need to just keep doing what we are doing because I think we can win many more titles in the future.”

While Ronaldo is the man who applies the killer blow, Modricis the team’s strategist, quietly working to create avenues and openings for Madrid to capitalise on.

Modric created his own piece of history too, becoming the first Croatian to win the competition three times, moving ahead of former AC Milan defender Dario Simic, who lifted the cup in 2003 and 2007.

Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane can stay at Real Madrid for life, club president Florentino Perez said on Saturday, after the Frenchman became the first manager to win the Champions League two years in a row with a dominant show over Juventus.

Real produced a ruthless second-half display after an evenly matched first 45 minutes. They put more goals past Juventus in 90 minutes than the Italian champions had conceded in their previous 12 Champions League games.

The impressive win crowned a remarkable first full season in charge for former Real midfielder Zidane, who led the team to a first La Liga title in five years, delivering the club’s first European Cup and league double since 1958.

“Zidane can stay at Real Madrid for the rest of his life,” Perez told radio station Cadena Ser. “Every Real Madrid fan is so grateful to him, he lifted our level of talent when he arrived in 2001 and was the best player in the world.

“Now he is the best coach in the world. He has been our coach for 17 months but he has done everything possible.” It was Zidane’s stunning volley against Bayer Leverkusen that won Real the 2002 title in Glasgow, while last year, five months after replacing Rafael Benitez as coach, he breathed new life into a demotivated team and took them to the Champions League trophy.

“I can’t say whether I’ll stay for the rest of my life but I’m so grateful for the club for everything it has given me,” Zidane told a news conference.

“I played here for a long time and I feel part of the furniture. I’m also lucky to be part of this club and with this squad. Every player in the squad has played their part, and that’s been the key factor this season.”

Real made a sluggish start to the final and while they took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo’s low finish they were soon pegged back by Mario Mandzukic’s spectacular overhead kick. — Reuters