x

Greece

Olympiakos Sealed Its 20th Champions League Entry

September 30, 2020

GENEVA  — Olympiakos sealed its 20th Champions League entry by drawing 0-0 in Cyprus against Omonia for a 2-0 aggregate win.

Ferencváros ended a 25-year wait to return to the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, giving Hungary a rare place on European club soccer’s biggest stage.

A 0-0 draw at home to Molde in the second leg of the qualifying playoffs took Ferencváros through on the away goals rule after a 3-3 draw in Norway last week.

Coach Serhiy Rebrov’s team will be the first from Hungary in the 32-team group stage since Debrecen 11 years ago.

Ferencváros, which last played in the group stage in 1995, will be the lowest-ranked team in Thursday’s draw in Geneva.

It began the season ranked No. 135 in Europe by UEFA and had to advance through four qualifying rounds, beating the champions of Sweden, Scotland, Croatia and Norway..

Rebrov’s former team, Dynamo Kyiv, also advanced Tuesday by beating visiting Gent 3-0 to complete a 5-1 aggregate score.

Dynamo scored from the penalty spot in each half to seal its first group-stage place in four years under new coach Mircea Lucescu. The veteran coach was a Champions League regular during a long spell at Dynamo’s main rival Shakhtar Donetsk.

At age 75, Lucescu is set to become the oldest coach in a Champions League match when the group stage begins. Jupp Heynckes was 72 as Bayern Munich's coach in the 2017-18 competition.

The last three playoff matches are played Wednesday. All qualifying games in UEFA club competitions are being played without fans in the stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.

RELATED

One of America's greatest soccer players is spending the week in Greece working with kids and reminding everyone that the most important moments in sports don't always end with a group of champagne-soaked winners holding up a trophy.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

Over 100 Pilot Whales Beached on Western Australian Coast Have Been Rescued, Officials Say

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.

Cretans are known for loving their guns but the island has the dubious record of having the highest rates of suicide in Greece over the last 25 years, averaging 2.

ATHENS - Forgetting the 2010-18 economic and austerity crisis that saw people so desperate they were picking food out of rubbish and supermarket bins, Greeks are among the European countries with the ignominious title of food wasters.

PARIS (AP) — The second retractable roof at Roland Garros will be inaugurated on the opening day of the French Open next month, organizers said on Thursday about a project planned with the Paris Olympics in mind.

ISTANBUL (AP) — A court in Turkey sentenced nine rail officials to more than 108 years' imprisonment over a crash six years ago that killed 25 people, local media reported on Thursday.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.