On Wednesday, May 29, the final of the Europa Conference League will be played between Olympiakos and Fiorentina. At the Agia Sofia Stadium, also known as the OPAP Arena in Athens, Olympiakos will play in their home country of Greece, but Fiorentina also has a good chance of lifting the trophy. Read all about the match here.
Conference League
The UEFA Europa Conference League is the third most important European club competition in Europe, after the Champions League and the Europa League. The tournament has only existed since the 2021-22 season, and was first won by AS Roma. Fiorentina was also in the final last year, but lost 2-1 to West Ham United. The winners of the competition are allowed to compete in the Europa League next year. Only three teams have participated in this tournament every year so far: Belgian side Gent, Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, and Slovenian club Slovan Bratislava.
Olympiakos Piraeus
This football club from the city of Piraeus is the largest Greek sports association, with successful football, basketball, and volleyball teams. The club was founded on March 10, 1925, and is also one of the most popular in Greece. In total, the club has won the Greek national championship 47 times and the Greek cup 28 times. Although the football club has not yet won any European titles, it has participated 24 times in the Champions League and 11 times in the Europa League.
Olympiakos finished in 3rd place in the Europa League, behind West Ham and Freiburg. With 7 points from 6 matches, they still managed to stay above FK TSC. This allowed Olympiakos to progress to the Conference League. Against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the Greek team had a steep fall, as the first match ended 1-4 in favor of the Israelis. The Greeks knew what they had to do and won the second match 1-6. The quarterfinal was equally thrilling, with Fenerbahce ending the second match in a draw. After penalties, Olympiakos won 2-3. In the previous round, Olympiakos achieved a feat in England by defeating Aston Villa, and they were also too strong in Greece.
Coach José Luis led his team to third place in the Greek league this year. The absolute top scorer for Olympiakos is Ayoub El Kaabi. The Moroccan player has scored 17 goals so far. Close behind him is Daniel Podence, who scored 11. Olympiakos is only the second Greek team ever to reach the final of a European competition. In 1971, Panathinaikos, a club from Athens, reached the final of the European Cup I or Champions League. They lost to Dutch side Ajax 0-2.
ACF Fiorentina
This Italian football club was founded on August 29, 1926, and plays in the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence. The club colors are purple and white, with purple being the main color. The players are therefore also called “La Viola” or “the Purples.” Fiorentina has won the Italian national title twice, in 1956 and 1969. In total, they have participated in the Champions League 3 times, the Europa League 4 times, and the Conference League 2 times. They have yet to win any of these tournaments.
This year’s Conference League has gone well for the Italians. After 6 matches, they won their group, which included Ferencvaros, Genk, and Cukaricki. They then progressed to the round of 16, where they faced Israeli team Maccabi Haifa. The two matches ended with an aggregate score of 5-4. The quarterfinal was more challenging, with a draw first at Viktoria Pilsen’s ground. Fiorentina won the next match 2-0. In the previous matches against Club Brugge, Fiorentina won 3-4 on aggregate.
Fiorentina’s coach is Vincenzo Italiano. He led his team to 8th place in Serie A. In their last match, Fiorentina won 5-1 against Sassuolo. Fiorentina took the lead after a quarter of an hour thanks to Riccardo Sottil, but the real action came in the second half. In about 12 minutes, a total of 5 goals were scored. The main goal scorers for Fiorentina are Nicolás González, Giacomo Bonaventura, and Lucas Beltran. They have scored 9, 7, and 6 goals respectively.
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