Jose Mourinho -- 'The Special One'.

Alex Ferguson -- 'The Hairdryer'.

Cristiano Ronaldo -- 'The Prodigal Son'.

The Oscars aren't until February 24 -- but the latest Champions League blockbuster and its all star cast didn't disappoint.

The intrigue, the subplots, the glitz and glamor of two European giants steeped in glorious history.

This had everything. The master and the apprentice ably played by Ferguson and Mourinho.

The love affair between the two, the cozy drinks and the bottles of red wine, the terrible children cast as Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

The best of 'frenemies' is how the pair are described. If only Ferguson hadn't admitted to leaving his finest claret on the airplane.

Enter stage left, Real Madrid --the nine-time winner of the European Cup led by the man who once wore the red of United with such distinction.

Ronaldo -- all $124 million of him -- is the man who lives a movie star existence, scoring goals for fun, 183 in 180 appearances since his move from Manchester in 2009.

Real, the first club to ever break the $650.5 million revenue barrier in a single year and the most successful club side in the history of European football.

Then of course there's Mourinho, the man constantly linked with a move to Manchester when Ferguson eventually retires.

Suave and sophisticated with his film star looks, Mourinho's departure from England in September 2007 is still mourned to this day. A natural on camera, a wonderful way with words and his ability to charm, made him a favourite with the country's football aficionados.

With Real 16 points behind Barcelona in the league and Mourinho already stating that his next club will be in England, perhaps this duel with Ferguson could be considered an audition.

If so, then perhaps it is the elder statesman who holds the aces.

Ferguson has always claimed that United's three European Cup titles are not enough for a club of its magnitude.

Whether it will add to that collection this year remains open to question, but after securing a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, it will retain lofty ambitions.

This contest had everything.

There were goals; Ronaldo scoring against his former club, moments of controversy, world class saves.

It was pulsating, breathless, two heavyweights of the beautiful game slugging it out at the very highest level amidst one of the most dramatic settings in world football.

A cauldron of noise and expectation greeted the players and yet, in one single movement of Danny Welbeck's head, the Bernabeu was silenced.

Rooney, on the periphery of the action for much of the night, sent in a corner and Welbeck rose highest to plant a header into the far corner.

First blood to United

So many had predicted Real would use their attacking prowess to blow holes in a United side deprived of warrior-like defender Nemanja Vidic.

But this is Manchester United -- this is a club which knows how to fight, to survive when the odds are stacked heavily against it.