ATHENS: Setting off wild celebrations in Athens, Olympiakos won Greece’s first European club title by beating Fiorentina 1-0 after extra time with a late winner from Ayoub El Kaabi in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.

In a match that was high on intensity and physicality but low on quality in front of goal, neither side could find the net in the regulation 90 minutes before El Kaabi provided the dramatic ending, diving to net the winner in the 116th minute, that allowed Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side to make history in the home of local rivals AEK Athens.

Prior to Olympiakos’ success, Panathinaikos were the only club from Greece to make a European final when they lost to a Johan Cruyff-inspired Ajax Amsterdam in the 1971 European Cup decider.

“Praise be to God, we promised our supporters we’d do this today and we did it,” El Kaabi said.

With the game seemingly headed to a penalty shootout, El Kaabi — who finished as the competition’s top scorer — got in front of his marker to head home Santiago Hezze’s cross but the players and fans had a long, nervous wait for VAR to check for offside before the goal was awarded.

It was the Morocco striker’s 11th goal in the Conference League this season, all of them in the knockout stages, and 16th in Europe after he also scored in the Europa League qualifiers and group stage.

The Greek fans in the AEK Arena erupted when the ball went in and the volume went up once again when VAR confirmed the goal which ensures Olympiakos play in the Europa League next season.

“I’m really happy. The team has made history. Mendilibar has made us a strong team. He told us we have to play as a family,” said midfielder Hezze.

The trophy presentation was also a moment to treasure for Olympiakos manager Mendilibar, who won the Europa League with Sevilla last season and took over the Greek club only in February.

“It’s an honor to have made all these people happy, I feel immense joy and happiness to have made people feel this way and I dedicate it to them,” Mendilibar, 63, said.

“We have achieved something that our club has never achieved before. We will celebrate it and celebrate it the way we should. Then we will start working on what comes next.”

Tens of thousands of Olympiakos fans joined boisterous celebrations across the Greek capital after attending outdoor viewing parties. Youths held up lit flares in the port city of Piraeus, near Athens, where the team is based.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Olympiakos as “a true legend,” adding in an online post: “Olympiakos has won the Europa Conference League and made history! A sensational night for the club itself, but also for Greek football as a whole.”

The result marked a second consecutive defeat in the Europa Conference League final for Fiorentina, who had reached this season’s summit clash without losing a single game, after losing last year to West Ham United.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side also lost the Coppa Italia final last season, marking three heartbreaking cup final defeats in two years as the wait for a first trophy since 2001 continues.

“We created chances and had the opportunity to lift the cup but unfortunately it didn’t happen — I’m sorry,” Italiano said. “In Europe it’s not an easy thing to get this far and lose.”

The third-tier European club competition took place amid a massive security operation, with some 5,000 police officers forming concentric cordons around a northern area of the capital — amid Europe-wide security concerns this summer for major sporting events including the Paris Olympics and European soccer championship in Germany.

The final was briefly marred by scuffles between Fiorentina fans inside the stadium and riot police next to them.

Although the visitors dominated the early stages of the final, Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano kept his team in the game with two impressive fingertip saves to block on-target shots from Daniel Podence in the fourth minute and Stevan Jovetic in the sixth minute of extra time.

El Kaabi had been largely sidelined by Fiorentina’s unyielding four-man defence but stooped to head home Hezze’s cross and dropped to his knees as he waited to see if the goal would stand.

The roar that greeted the validation of El Kaabi’s goal in the 120th minute from the majority Greek fans in Athens showed what the occasion meant to the club.

“Amazing, for Olympiakos and me. Really proud of my guys,” 34-year-old forward Jovetic, who spent five years at Fiorentina, said. “We did great all year and deserved it. I have to compliment Fiorentina. [Losing] two years in a row, a shame for them.”

Olympiakos players celebrated with 15,000 fans after the game, some holding their young children as golden confetti was fired into the air around the awards podium.

“It’s the best emotion I’ve felt so far in my career,” defender Panagiotis Retsos said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs but I’m very, very happy to be here.”

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2024