Greek Superleague: Playoffs and Greek Cup … A Final Wrap Up
Posted by evdomada on May 19, 2008
Olympiakos defeated Aris 2-0 on Saturday evening in the Greek Cup. The game was played in the northern Greek capital Thessaloniki which could have been seen as an advantage for Aris but Olympiakos were too dominant and too powerful.
Olympiakos scored in the 33rd minute when Kovacevic netted an impressive header from a perfectly delivered cross from the Argentinian man of the match Galeti. A similar situation was given to Olympiakos in the 53rd minute when another well-delivered cross from Galeti was met with a powerful header by Zevlakov that ended up in the back of the net.
It was another impressive performance from the Superleague champions and definitely the strongest team in the competition this season.
Olympiakos has been criticised all season for its supposed poor form despite the Superleague title and now the Greek Cup title – that’s their 13th double. It’s an interesting notion for a team that also made it further through in the European Champions League this year than other Greek teams have been able to in the past 5 years.
Thanks to this performance the Greek Superleague again has 2 spots in the Champions League next season. Olympiakos will be joined by Panathinaikos who were able to top the inaugural Superleague Playoffs.
AEK had challenged their claim on the Superleague title stating their superiority and the best Greek club this year because they defeated Olympiakos 4-0 in their final meeting. They unfortunately laid their claim on the Kalamaria inquiry to the European CAS, hoping for a decision that would give back the points to Kalamaria, stripping Olympikaos of 3 points and leaving AEK in the top spot.
Who can forget Rivaldo’s “4-finger” salute to the crowd at their last match against Asteras Tripolis?? The salute was a direct message to his ex-team and a premature celebration of claiming the title. Once the title was in dispute, the AEK players even threatened to boycott their appearance in the Superleague Playoffs, since they were the “rightful” champions.
The Greek Superleague intervened and based on its own facts, decided that Olympiakos were the rightful Superleage Champions.
AEK in the meantime decided to appear at the Superleague Playoffs and the “superior” team defeated Panionios 5-0 but then proceeded to lose 4-1 to Panathinaikos and then 4-0 to Aris.
Panathinaikos topped the Playoffs in first place and so get a ticket to the Champions League along with Olympiakos. AEK will participate again in the UEFA Cup, and Aris also get a spot in the UEFA Cup with their second spot in the Greek Cup.
prof@sklyproductions.com
