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2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 12 min

2024 UEFA Europa Conference League
Final's official match programme
Event2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League
Olympiacos Fiorentina
Greece Italy
1 0
After extra time
Date29 May 2024 (2024-05-29)
VenueAgia Sophia Stadium, Athens
Man of the MatchAyoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos)[1]
RefereeArtur Soares Dias (Portugal)[2]
Attendance26,842[3]
WeatherCloudy
21 °C (70 °F)
51% humidity[4]
← 2023
2025 →

The 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, the third season of Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was held at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, Greece, on 29 May 2024,[5][6] between Greek club Olympiacos and Italian club Fiorentina.

Olympiacos won the match 1–0 after extra time for their first UEFA Europa Conference League title, becoming the first Greek club to win a European trophy.[7] As winners, they qualified for the league phase of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. Meanwhile, Fiorentina lost their second consecutive final, becoming the first team to lose two consecutive finals since Benfica in 2012-13 and 2013-14 UEFA Europa League finals. In extra time, Olympiacos got the winning goal with a header by Ayoub El Kaabi assisted by Santiago Hezze.[8]

Background

[edit]

This was Olympiacos' first European final and only the second to feature a Greek team, the other coming in the 1971 European Cup final which Panathinaikos lost to Ajax. Five weeks prior to this final, Olympiacos' under-19 team had won the 2023–24 UEFA Youth League, the first UEFA competition win for a Greek club at any level. Fiorentina became the first club to play in two UEFA Europa Conference League finals and the first to contest them consecutively.[9] Fiorentina were looking to win their first major trophy since winning the 2000–01 Coppa Italia, and their first European title since winning the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Both managers were seeking their first Europa Conference League title, with Olympiacos' José Luis Mendilibar the more experienced in winning a European trophy, having won the previous year's Europa League final with Sevilla. With a win, Mendilibar would become the first manager to win two different major European trophies in consecutive seasons since fellow Spaniard Rafael Benítez won the 2003–04 UEFA Cup with Valencia and the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League with Liverpool.

Previous finals

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Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
Greece Olympiacos None
Italy Fiorentina 1 (2023)

Venue

[edit]

The Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, known as the OPAP Arena for sponsorship reasons, was home of AEK Athens, one of Olympiacos' local rivals. The stadium opened in September 2022,[10] and had a capacity of 31,100.[11] The match was the eighth single-leg UEFA club final to be played in Greece, having hosted three European Cup/Champions League finals (in 1983, 1994 and 2007), three Cup Winners' Cup finals (in 1971, 1973 and 1987) and the 2023 UEFA Super Cup.

Host selection

[edit]

On 21 June 2022, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the 2025 final. Interested bidders could bid for either one or both of the finals. The proposed venues had to include natural grass and be ranked as a UEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of between 30,000 and 50,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:[5]

  • 21 June 2022: Applications formally invited
  • 31 August 2022: Closing date for registering intention to bid
  • 7 September 2022: Bid requirements made available to bidders
  • 3 November 2022: Submission of preliminary bid dossier
  • 23 February 2023: Submission of final bid dossier
  • 28 June 2023: Appointment of host

The UEFA Executive Committee appointed the Agia Sophia Stadium as the host during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 28 June 2023. As the stadium is new and has never been operated by the club for international competitions, the venue is subject to an observation period until November 2023 for matches played in UEFA club competitions and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. Should the venue meet the requirements, the appointment will be officially confirmed in December 2023.[12]

Route to the final

[edit]
Further information: 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League and 2023–24 UEFA Europa League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Greece Olympiacos Round Italy Fiorentina
Europa League Europa Conference League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying phase (EL, ECL) Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Belgium Genk 2–1 1–0 (H) 1–1 (A) Third qualifying round Bye
Serbia Čukarički 6–1 3–1 (H) 3–0 (A) Play-off round Austria Rapid Wien 2–1 0–1 (A) 2–0 (H)
Opponent Result Group stage (EL, ECL) Opponent Result
Germany SC Freiburg 2–3 (H) Matchday 1 Belgium Genk 2–2 (A)
Serbia TSC 2–2 (A) Matchday 2 Hungary Ferencváros 2–2 (H)
England West Ham United 2–1 (H) Matchday 3 Serbia Čukarički 6–0 (H)
England West Ham United 0–1 (A) Matchday 4 Serbia Čukarički 1–0 (A)
Germany SC Freiburg 0–5 (A) Matchday 5 Belgium Genk 2–1 (H)
Serbia TSC 5–2 (H) Matchday 6 Hungary Ferencváros 1–1 (A)
Group A third place
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 England West Ham United 6 15
2 Germany SC Freiburg 6 12
3 Greece Olympiacos 6 7
4 Serbia TSC 6 1
Source: UEFA
 Final standings Group F winners
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Italy Fiorentina 6 12
2 Hungary Ferencváros 6 10
3 Belgium Genk 6 9
4 Serbia Čukarički 6 0
Source: UEFA
Europa Conference League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Hungary Ferencváros 2–0 1–0 (H) 1–0 (A) Knockout round play-offs Bye
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 7–5 1–4 (H) 6–1 (a.e.t.) (A) Round of 16 Israel Maccabi Haifa 5–4 4–3 (A) 1–1 (H)
Turkey Fenerbahçe 3–3 (3–2 p) 3–2 (H) 0–1 (a.e.t.) (A) Quarter-finals Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 2–0 0–0 (A) 2–0 (a.e.t.) (H)
England Aston Villa 6–2 4–2 (A) 2–0 (H) Semi-finals Belgium Club Brugge 4–3 3–2 (H) 1–1 (A)

Pre-match

[edit]

Identity

[edit]

The original identity of the 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 1 September 2023.[13]

Ticketing

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The stadium has a capacity of 32,500, and 27,100 were made available of which 21,000 were on sale to the general public. Each club in the final received an allocation of 9,000 tickets each.[14]

Match

[edit]

Summary

[edit]

After a goalless ninety minutes, the match went into extra-time. In the 116th minute Olympiacos went in front when Ayoub El Kaabi got the only goal of the match when he stooped low to head the ball into the left corner of the net after a cross from the left by Santiago Hezze.[15] After a lengthy VAR check the goal was eventually awarded and Olympiacos went on to win their first European trophy.[16]

Details

[edit]

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.

Olympiacos Greece1–0 (a.e.t.)Italy Fiorentina
  • El Kaabi 116'
 Report
Attendance: 26,842[3]
Olympiacos[4]
Fiorentina[4]
GK 88 Greece Konstantinos Tzolakis
RB 23 Brazil Rodinei
CB 45 Greece Panagiotis Retsos
CB 16 Angola David Carmo
LB 3 Argentina Francisco Ortega downward-facing red arrow 91'
CM 32 Argentina Santiago Hezze
CM 8 Spain Vicente Iborra
RW 56 Portugal Daniel Podence Yellow card 28' downward-facing red arrow 106'
AM 6 Portugal Chiquinho downward-facing red arrow 77'
LW 7 Greece Kostas Fortounis (c) downward-facing red arrow 73'
CF 9 Morocco Ayoub El Kaabi Yellow card 117' downward-facing red arrow 120+2'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Greece Alexandros Paschalakis Yellow card 95'
GK 99 Greece Athanasios Papadoudis
DF 18 Spain Quini upward-facing green arrow 91'
DF 27 England Omar Richards
DF 65 Greece Apostolos Apostolopoulos
DF 74 Greece Andreas Ndoj
MF 5 Portugal André Horta upward-facing green arrow 77'
MF 15 Greece Sotiris Alexandropoulos
MF 19 Greece Georgios Masouras upward-facing green arrow 106'
MF 20 Portugal João Carvalho
FW 11 Morocco Youssef El-Arabi upward-facing green arrow 120+2'
FW 22 Montenegro Stevan Jovetić Yellow card 94' upward-facing green arrow 73'
Manager:
Spain José Luis Mendilibar
GK 1 Italy Pietro Terracciano
RB 2 Brazil Dodô
CB 4 Serbia Nikola Milenković
CB 28 Argentina Lucas Martínez Quarta Yellow card 42'
LB 3 Italy Cristiano Biraghi (c) Yellow card 99' downward-facing red arrow 106'
CM 6 Brazil Arthur downward-facing red arrow 74'
CM 38 Italy Rolando Mandragora
RW 10 Argentina Nicolás González downward-facing red arrow 106'
AM 5 Italy Giacomo Bonaventura downward-facing red arrow 82'
LW 99 Ivory Coast Christian Kouamé Yellow card 79' downward-facing red arrow 82'
CF 20 Italy Andrea Belotti downward-facing red arrow 59'
Substitutes:
GK 53 Denmark Oliver Christensen
DF 16 Italy Luca Ranieri upward-facing green arrow 106'
DF 22 Italy Davide Faraoni
DF 33 Italy Michael Kayode
DF 65 Italy Fabiano Parisi
MF 8 France Maxime Lopez
MF 19 Argentina Gino Infantino
MF 32 Ghana Alfred Duncan upward-facing green arrow 74'
MF 72 Czech Republic Antonín Barák upward-facing green arrow 82'
FW 9 Argentina Lucas Beltrán upward-facing green arrow 106'
FW 11 France Jonathan Ikoné upward-facing green arrow 82'
FW 18 Angola M'Bala Nzola upward-facing green arrow 59'
Manager:
Italy Vincenzo Italiano

Man of the Match:
Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Paulo Soares (Portugal)
Pedro Ribeiro (Portugal)
Fourth official:[2]
Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Reserve assistant referee:[2]
Mahbod Beigi (Sweden)
Video assistant referee:[2]
Tiago Martins (Portugal)
Assistant video assistant referee:[2]
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Support video assistant referee:[2]
Marco Fritz (Germany)

Match rules[17]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time
  • Maximum of three substitution opportunities, with a fourth allowed in extra time

Statistics

[edit]

Post-match

[edit]

After the match Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a post on social media platform X, describing Olympiacos as "a true legend". This win caused a big celebration with several thousand Olympiacos fans gathered in Piraeus, Greece.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "El Kaabi named official UEFA Europa Conference League final Player of the Match". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Referee teams for 2024 UEFA club competition finals announced". UEFA. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Full Time Report Final – Olympiacos v Fiorentina" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 29 May 2024" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Invitation to bid for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 UEFA Europa Conference League finals and the 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League final". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 40/2022. Union of European Football Associations. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  6. ^ "International match calendar and access list for the 2023/24 season". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 65/2022. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Olympiacos 1–0 Fiorentina (aet): El Kaabi swoops in to secure Greece's first major European title". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Olympiakos 1–0 Fiorentina: Ayoub El Kaabi scores winner in extra-time to secure Europa Conference League title". Sky Sports. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Olympiacos vs Fiorentina Europa Conference League final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups". UEFA.com. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Η ΑΕΚ επέστρεψε σπίτι της! Λαμπερά εγκαινία στην υπερσύγχρονη OPAP Arena - Όλα όσα έγιναν στη γιορτή της Ένωσης" [AEK returned home! Sparkling opening at the state-of-the-art OPAP Arena – All that happened at the Union's celebration]. Ethnos (in Greek). 30 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  11. ^ "OPAP Arena". AEK Athens F.C. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Lisbon to host UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2025". Union of European Football Associations. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  13. ^ UEFA.com (1 September 2023). "2024 UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League final identities revealed | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. ^ Calcutt, Robert (9 April 2024). "12k fans for each side in Europa League final and 25k fans at 90k Wembley". talkSPORT. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Olympiakos win Europa Conference League after El Kaabi floors Fiorentina". Guardian. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Olympiakos 1 Fiorentina 0". BBC Sport. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa Conference League, 2023/24 Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 May 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Passionate Olympiakos fans celebrate historic victory". Reuters. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
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Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_UEFA_Europa_Conference_League_final
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