Ajax Triumphs in Record Breaking Shootout Against Panathinaikos: 34 Penalties in UEFA Europa League Qualifier
Ajax had broken the previous record set by UEFA after a thrilling 34-penalty shootout victory over Panathinaikos in their Europa League third qualifying round encounter.
The previous record of 32 penalties, set during the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 when the Netherlands defeated England by the same scoreline, was broken in this epic shootout, which ended with an Ajax victory of 13–12.
After their Europa League third qualifying round match ended 1-1 after two legs and extra time, Ajax set a tournament record on Thursday by defeating Panathinaikos 13–12 in a lengthy shootout that required 34 penalties.
After losing to Panathinaikos 1-0 the previous week, Ajax gave up in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, setting a record for the most attempts in a penalty shootout when the Netherlands defeated England 13–12 in the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007.
When Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv needed 56 penalties to break their semi-final promotion playoff tie, they set a record for the longest shootout in history in May.
Reutersto assist the hosts in winning the shootout while Dutchman Brian Brobbey failed to convert two penalty kicks. “Yes, five is a good number. I don’t suppose you often encounter something as bizarre as this, although I do save a penalty every now and again,” Pasveer remarked.
“I always believed that we would succeed. We’ll do it, brobbey behind the ball. He usually scores during training, but he missed.”
Finally, it was Ajax’s defender Anton Gaaei who scored the clinching penalty. Later this month, the Eredivisie team will play Jagiellonia Bialystok, a Polish team, in the playoff round.
