THE HAGUE (AFP) – The 40-year-old goalkeeper of Ajax was being hailed as a hero yesterday after the Dutch giants won a “crazy” penalty shoot-out 13-12 to advance into the Europa League play-offs.
Remko Pasveer saved five penalties and scored one himself to squeeze Ajax past Greek side Panathinaikos in one of the longest penalty shoot-outs in history.
The total of 34 penalty kicks was the most taken in a UEFA competition, beating a game between the Netherlands and England in the under-21 European Championship, where 32 were taken.
It was a “bizarre” shoot-out, Pasveer said after the match. “So many penalties and every time someone missed, the other team missed.”
“This was crazy,” said Ajax coach Francesco Farioli. “But it was also a great evening. We are now definitely playing in Europe.”
He joked that Pasveer could expect to be immortalised in the corridors of the Ajax stadium where pictures of some of the greats of Dutch football hang.
“Remko asked why there was never a picture of a goalkeeper who has kept a clean sheet. I told him he should maybe play a bit better,” quipped the coach.
“But now I think we should quickly hang up a picture of him.”
It was a welcome win for Ajax, who are trying to bounce back from one of the most disappointing seasons in their illustrious history.
At one point the 36-time Dutch champions were bottom of the Eredivisie and suffered humiliating losses to rivals Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven. With new coach Farioli at the helm, the Amsterdam-based club is hoping for a turnaround in fortunes and won their first Eredivisie match 1-0 against Heerenveen tomorrow.
