Europa League: Ajax, Panathinaikos set Uefa record with 34 penalty kicks to settle contest
- The shoot-out broke the previous mark of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship in 2007, but far short of the world record of 56 kicks
It took 34 penalties for Ajax to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shoot-out on Thursday, setting a Uefa competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.
Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shoot-out that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007, when the Netherlands beat England 13-12.
The world record for the longest shoot-out was set in May when Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 penalties to resolve their promotion-playoff semi-final tie.
Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer made five saves and scored on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shoot-out as Dutch international Brian Brobbey missed two penalties.
“Five is quite a lot, yes. I save a penalty every now and then, but I don’t think you often experience something as crazy as this,” Pasveer said.
“Every time I thought we would do it. Brobbey behind the ball, we will do it. But he missed, while he always scores during training.”
Defender Anton Gaaei ultimately delivered the winning penalty for Ajax. The Eredivisie club will now face Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoff round later this month.
