Ajax keeper hailed as hero after 'crazy' shoot-out

The total of 34 penalty kicks is the highest ever taken in a UEFA competition

THE HAGUE:

The 40-year-old goalkeeper of Ajax was being hailed as a hero Friday 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 on Sunday.

The longest shoot-out in history was the 56 kicks taken in the Israeli domestic competition between SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv.

Leverkusen, Stuttgart share spotlight in Supercup

Record-breaking Bayer Leverkusen will host Stuttgart in an historic DFL-Supercup on Saturday, in what will be the first season opener since 1993 to feature neither Bayern Munich nor Borussia Dortmund.

The 31-year record illustrates just how stunning last season was in German football.

Germany's equivalent of the English FA's Community Shield, puts the Bundesliga champions up against the German Cup winners or the second-placed league side.

Leverkusen, for decades the butt of 'Neverkusen' jokes as German football's perennial runners-up, won their very first Bundesliga title in spectacular fashion.

Xabi Alonso's side became the first team in German history to win the league unbeaten, a record which has eluded even 33-time champions Bayern.

Leverkusen also won the German Cup and made it to the Europa League final -- their 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the final was their only defeat in the 53 games they played last season.

Granit Xhaka, a key component of the midfield engine that helped drive Leverkusen to success last season, told AFP in an interview the champions were far from satisfied after their record-breaking season.

"We're at home against a very good team, for sure, but with our fans, our supporters, I believe we can win the trophy for our season, to take the first step," said the 31-year-old.

"The trophy gives you a lot of confidence for the first game in the Bundesliga. The hunger is here and we want this trophy."

The experienced Xhaka was the guiding influence on an array of young stars, including winger Nathan Tella, who also arrived last summer.

Tella, who scored six goals and laid on five assists in all competitions last season, told AFP at Leverkusen's pre-season camp that the team wanted to improve in 2024-25.

"The standards we set last year were so high... they were almost unbelievable.

"We want to get close to it again, if not beat those standards."

Saturday's clash will be the first test to see if Leverkusen can continue last season's stunning run.

Sleeping giants of German football, Stuttgart's achievements were particularly impressive considering their recent struggles.

In the season prior, Stuttgart were dead last before coach Sebastian Hoeness came in and steadied the ship, keeping them in the league thanks to a two-legged relegation play-off win against second-division Hamburg.

New striker Ermedin Demirovic, who replaced the Dortmund-bound Serhou Guirassy, said on Thursday the match was "much, much more than just a pre-season game".