Football is a game of results, or at least that’s what we like to think. The goal counts, the win is definitive, and the trophy is what remains. Everything else – the tension, the obsession, the prolonged agony, the feeling that overwhelms the body when a game goes off the rails – is often considered a by-product. Nevertheless, there are times when the result is less important than the actual game that unfolded.
The 2009 Greek Cup final between Olympiacos and AEK Athens was such a occasion. It wasn’t just a match decided on with a penalty shootout, it wasn’t even just a game that ended in the most absurd and outrageous way imaginable. It was something that felt like a collective existential experience, where 22 players and 50,000 spectators were driven to a point where football no longer made sense. It was a match that failed to obey any of the norms of the sport; a match that seemed to transcend its nature and become something completely different.
The first 45 minutes of the match resembled a “normal” final. AEK started better. Olympiacos looked sluggish and disorganized, like a team that didn’t quite understand that they were playing a final. AEK, on the other hand, had energy, the momentum and the right attitude. Argentine Ismael Blanco, a player who seemed to live specifically for nights like this, scored twice in the first eight minutes, giving AEK the kind of lead that coaches love to defend.
A 2-0 lead in a Cup final means the side leading is often calmer, more in control of the game’s tempo. Unless the opposing team is Olympiacos.
Olympiacos reacted the way teams that are imbued with a sense of survival react – they didn’t panic. The team did not immediately change its strategy, and its players avoided desperate moves. Olympiacos waited. One goal and everything would change.
When the Greek Cup final of 2009 turned into an emotional odyssey without logic, where football became an image of human perseverance
And then, chaos
Football is a peculiar sport. For the first 45 minutes AEK appeared dominant. For the next 45 minutes, reality was reversed. Olympiacos, slowly but surely, began to dominate more and more space on the field. Matt Derbyshire, an English striker who had no particular connection to Greek football before that night, subsequently became the type of player who becomes legendary when a match goes haywire.
In the 47th minute, Derbyshire scored with a header. In the 70th minute, Brazil’s Dudu fired a powerful shot into the net to tie the match, although no one had time to celebrate. Everyone knew that the game had not yet reached its climax.
AEK scored a third goal and again went again. The stadium was going crazy. The fans were holding their breath. But Olympiacos had not said its last word.
In the final minute of injury time, when it all seemed to be over, one last action by Derbyshire snatched the Cup from AEK.
Extra time
When the referee blew the whistle to end regulation time, no one celebrated. Neither the AEK players, who had almost tasted victory, nor the Olympiacos players, who had returned from the brink of defeat. They were all exhausted, both mentally and physically. The game’s tension had gone beyond the limit of tolerance. The fans, many of whom had already experienced an emotional roller coaster, were trying to realize what was happening.
The first few minutes of overtime resembled a fight for survival. The players weren’t just running, but stumbling, pushing themselves a little further, looking for a last gasp of strength. It was then that Olympiacos scored a go-ahead goal. Argentine Luciano Galletti cooly curled the ball into the net, and for the first time Olympiacos took the lead in the game.
Another chaotic phase erupted, replete with red cards, rough tackles and missed opportunities. No one in that stadium wanted the game to go into the penalty shootout.
AEK, however, would not give up. Yet another Argentine star, Ignacio “Nacho” Scocco, meandered his way past defenders and also curled the ball into the net, tying the game moments before the ref called time.
The penalty shootout
The penalty shootout started with the typical routine. The first penalty-takers stood across from the goalkeepers, took deep breaths and sent the ball into the net. The goals followed one after the other, but no one felt safe. The players weren’t celebrating, they just turned to their teammates, exchanging looks of dread and exhaustion.
When the shootout went beyond 10, 15, 20 attempts, those in the stadium were involved in a collective psychological stress test.
The sound of the ball hitting the post or the net was like a heartbeat, sometimes redeeming, sometimes damning. At some point, Olympiacos’ keeper, international Antonis Nikopolidis made a save that would be historic in the match, stopping the penalty by yet another Argentine, AEK’s Agustín Pelletieri. Moments later, with icy determination, he took the ball, shot and wrote the epilogue to the most thrilling Greek Cup final ever.
Matt Darbyshire celebrates after scoring his second goal – in the final minutes of regulation time – which kept Olympiacos alive in the most incredible game of recent memory. An Englishman who became part of the Reds’ history.
A memorable evening
That Cup final was a summary of all the emotions that football can yield. The pressure, the upset, the uncertainty, exhaustion and a triumphant conclusion shaped a match that will be remembered for decades.
Players such as Derbyshire, Nikopolidis, Scocco, Blanco and Galletti became the heroes of a night that defined the history of Greek football. For Olympiacos, this victory was not just a title, it was a moment of immortality.
