A fan turns unlikely hero 

Two years back, when Real Madrid had defied the odds almost in each of the knockout rounds to be in Paris for the Champions League final against Liverpool, Joselu was just another face amid the thousands cheering for Los Blancos and watching them win the most elite European competition for a record 14th time. 

Plying his trade for Alaves at that time, Joselu was there at the Stade de France just as another passionate Real Madrid fan with his father, donning the proud white kit.

Little did he know that two years later, at the age of 34, he would be the one propelling Real Madrid to their sixth Champions League final in 10 years and 18th overall. 

Joselu's journey is probably as magical as the incredible story he helped Real Madrid script in yet another Champions League night on Wednesday, scoring a brace, in the 88th and 91st minutes, after coming in on as a substitute with the LaLiga champions elect trailing Bayern Munich 1-0 at home. 

"Not even my sweetest dreams are as big as what happened today," Joselu told Real Madrid TV after their 2-1 win on the night and a 4-3 aggregate victory. "I don't know about hero, but I am very happy... it was incredible, something spectacular."

It indeed was something spectacular, especially for Joselu, who was playing for clubs that eventually got relegated from the top flight at an age when footballers usually enter the twilight of their careers.  

It is fitting that the 34-year-old is getting adulation and fame at a club with which he scored his first Spanish top-flight goal in his LaLiga debut back in 2011, coming in on as a substitute for the very player he had come in to replace this year: Karim Benzema.

He had since been around the world -- from Real Madrid to Germany's Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Hannover 96 before moving to Premier League side Stoke City and then to Newcastle with one season on loan in Spain sandwiched in between. It came to a full circle when Real Madrid finally came calling to get him as a loanee from relegated side Espanyol.        
Be it for his own performance or the club's overall plight, Joselu could never settle himself in one place for long. But for now, he has made a home in Madrid, with his name now being one of the favourites for fans to chant at the spectacular Bernabeu.

As it so often happens for Real Madrid, they somehow find a way to go through when it comes to the Champions League. And on this occasion, they roared back into the game and into the final through Joselu, who made the Madridistas witness yet another miracle, adding another chapter to the long list of unfathomable comebacks by this team on European nights.

Just seven minutes after being subbed on for Federico Valverde, the striker pounced on a rare Manuel Neuer spill -- the only mistake the veteran Bayern goalkeeper had made in an otherwise flawless outing -- to bring Real Madrid back in the game. 

Neuer would surely be rueing that one moment of lapse, but Joselu denied attributing the goal solely to the goalkeeper's mistake. 

"The first goal is about being smart, they were tired, in a low block, and you could see that," Joselu said about his first goal. 

Two minutes later, Joselu was there again, tapping in a cross from Antonio Rudiger as the cheers at the Bernabeu turned deafening. Maybe he was smart about being in the right position for the winner as well as he got only two touches inside the Bayern penalty box last night, turning both into goals.  

Joselu has now scored 16 goals in 46 games across competitions -- a tally that was little expected of a player who was brought in on loan at the start of the season to partially fill the void of Real Madrid stalwart Benzema, who had left the club, by being part of the forward line missing a proper striker. 

Realising that the striker is just one goal shy of equalling his career-best campaign despite making sporadic appearances from the bench at the most prestigious and demanding club in the world is what makes his contribution more staggering. 

While the brace on Wednesday night might prolong Joselu's love affair with the Madridistas, to his coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Spaniard has long been a reflection of professionalism. 

"He is a fantastic reflection because he's a player who's contributed a lot this season even if he hasn't played many minutes," the Italian manager said after the match.

"But he's the perfect reflection of what this squad is: players who contribute a lot without losing confidence (if they're not playing) and the idea that they can offer the team something."

Even though there remains an option to buy in his current loan contract, it is unsure if Joselu will be at the club in the coming season with Real Madrid set to get the long-awaited signature of Kylian Mbappe. 

However, regardless of where he would be, Joselu has already made a permanent place in the Real Madrid folklore and the hearts of Los Blancos fans. 

INTERESTING FACTS

**Real Madrid reached their 18th European final (European Cup and Champions League), the most, and seven more than AC Milan.

**Carlo Ancelotti will be managing his sixth Champions League final, two more than any other coach in the history of the competition.

**The loss was Bayern Munich's 11th defeat against Real which is the most a side has lost against a particular opposition in the Champions League.

**Real came back to win a game after conceding the first goal on four occasions in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since the Los Blancos's record of doing it in five matches in the 2016-17 when they went on to lift the trophy.

**Manuel Neuer's error leading to the second goal was his first in the competition since he made a meal out of Kylian Mbappe's shot in Bayern's first-leg quarterfinal against PSG in 2021.