Cristiano Ronaldo provided the perfect example of how hard work pays off with his spectacular goal in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Juventus on Tuesday night.
The 33-year-old produced one of the most memorable goals in Champions League history by scoring with an acrobatic overhead kick past Gianluigi Buffon in the 64th minute of the quarter-final first leg.
And Ronaldo was spotted practising the incredible volley the day before the match, with pictures showing him executing a near-identical effort during a Madrid training session on the Juventus Stadium pitch on Monday.
Ronaldo's strike sparked incredulous celebrations from Madrid fans, including manager Zinedine Zidane who held his head in disbelief at the goal.
The goal was Ronaldo and Madrid's second of the night before Marcelo's strike effectively ended the quarter-final as a contest.
Zidane refused to say whether he thought Ronaldo's goal was better than his own strike in the 2002 Champions League final for Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen.
'I played here and I know how good the fans are,' said Zidane. 'It is a great thing for the sport. It was a spectacular goal and I take my hat off to him.
'The Leverkusen goal was beautiful, but the most important goal is the last one. Only Ronaldo can score this type of goal.
'It is one of the most beautiful goals in the history of the game. I can't say it is better than 2002.'
Ronaldo became the first player ever to score in 10 consecutive Champions League matches in the process and has now scored 21 goals in the competition's quarter-final stage alone.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is bidding to lead Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League success after they became the first team in the competition's history to defend their title last season.