Ajax Amsterdam needed 17 penalty kicks, a “marathon series”, to beat Panathinaikos (13-12) goals, after the match ended in a (1-1) draw in the aggregate of the first and second leg matches, in the third round of the European League qualifiers.
The Dutch team had won the first leg (1-0) in Athens, but lost at home by the same score, with a goal scored by the Brazilian Tite a minute before the end of regular time, forcing the match into extra time, in which the score remained the same, at the Johan Cruijff Arena in the capital Amsterdam.
Each team took 17 penalties before Denmark’s Anton Gaye settled the score in Ajax’s favour.
The Dutch team’s victory is largely due to its veteran goalkeeper, Remco Pasveer (40 years old), who excelled by stopping five penalty kicks and successfully converting one kick into a goal for his team.
What happened in the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Panathinaikos became an exceptional event, as it set a record in European championships, which had never happened before in any football competition on the old continent.
The penalty shootout in the Netherlands-Greece clash broke the previous record of 32 penalties in the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2007, and that streak ended with the Netherlands beating England (13-12) also by one goal.
Ajax Amsterdam qualified for the play-off stage to determine the qualifiers for the Europa League, and will face the Polish team Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Source: RT
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2024-08-17 16:06:02
