Panathinaikos to play Ajax in preseason friendly



Panathinaikos will matchup against last year’s UEFA Champions League semi-finalists, Ajax, in a tough preseason friendly.

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Panathinaikos FC announced on Wednesday evening that they will play Ajax in a preseason friendly ahead of the new campaign. The Prasini and last year’s UEFA Champions League semi-finalists will face off in Amsterdam on July 22nd.

The two clubs have a rich previous history having met in the 1971 UEFA Champions League Final (then named the European Cup) and in the 1996 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The last time these two historic clubs met in a European competition was in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stages with Ajax getting the better of Panathinaikos in both matches.

The July 22 friendly will serve as a massive test for the Greens ahead of the new season. The match will also serve as great exposure for Panathinaikos in a time where the club struggle with many off the field issues and lack of European presence.

Panathinaikos released an official announcement on Wednesday

“One of the top teams in Europe this past season, a consistent superpower of world football, a model club for operations, Ajax, will be Panathinaikos’ opponents in a friendly to be held on 22 July at the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam.

The 34-time Dutch champions, 4 Champions League/European Champion titles, 2 European Super Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup, and 1 UEFA Cup title holders, will host the Trifylli in the same location where the two teams faced off on 24 November 2016 in the Europa League group stages, a match that was won by the Dutch club with a 2-0 scoreline.

This past season, Ajax impressed all football fans with their performances in the Champions League, where they were literally just a few seconds from advancing to the final of the competition (were eliminated in the semi-finals by Tottenham Hotspur with goals in stoppage time). Domestically, Eric Ten Hag’s men won the domestic double in the Netherlands.”