Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
All this after Panathinaikos had emerged from Amsterdam cradling a 1-0 first-leg advantage. Were the Greek side poised to avenge the 1971 European Cup final, won 2-0 by Ajax at Wembley? When the teams reconvened a quarter of a century later, Ajax were defending champions and targeting a fifth title. No change in the Dutch team’s kit design, though: that evocative white jersey with a red stripe carved through its centre. Lovely striped collar and cuffs too, with the name of the sponsor given some innovative sideways treatment.
Panathinaikos had the thick end of 73,000 fans at their backs in Athens. And they had green shirts on those backs, save for white adidas stripes across the shoulders, plus a wavy diamond pattern on the vertical reminiscent of a Caterpillar track mark. In truth, they got steamrollered by Ajax, with Litmanen's double and a third goal by Nordin Wooter clinching a 3-1 aggregate result.
The fortune required to stop Louis van Gaal’s side? That belonged to Juventus, who denied the dazzling Dutch successive European crowns with victory on penalties in the final.
Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
All this after Panathinaikos had emerged from Amsterdam cradling a 1-0 first-leg advantage. Were the Greek side poised to avenge the 1971 European Cup final, won 2-0 by Ajax at Wembley? When the teams reconvened a quarter of a century later, Ajax were defending champions and targeting a fifth title. No change in the Dutch team’s kit design, though: that evocative white jersey with a red stripe carved through its centre. Lovely striped collar and cuffs too, with the name of the sponsor given some innovative sideways treatment.
Panathinaikos had the thick end of 73,000 fans at their backs in Athens. And they had green shirts on those backs, save for white adidas stripes across the shoulders, plus a wavy diamond pattern on the vertical reminiscent of a Caterpillar track mark. In truth, they got steamrollered by Ajax, with Litmanen's double and a third goal by Nordin Wooter clinching a 3-1 aggregate result.
The fortune required to stop Louis van Gaal’s side? That belonged to Juventus, who denied the dazzling Dutch successive European crowns with victory on penalties in the final.
Unity, nature and good luck: the three positive properties represented by the shamrock on the Panathinaikos jersey. That said, the Athens club have had more than one occasion to dwell on whether they should have upped the fortune ante with a four-leaf clover instead – and that consideration certainly applies to meetings with Ajax.
The seed of the idea for the crest was apparently planted after marathon runner Billy Sherring wore a white vest decorated with an oversized shamrock in winning gold at the 1906 Athens Olympics. A mere 90 years later, Ajax forward Jari Litmanen’s second goal overturned a 1-0 semi-final deficit inside the city’s Olympic Stadium. At that point, the ordinarily undemonstrative Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar embarked on a jubilant sprint that would have given 1996 Olympic 100m champion Donovan Bailey a run for his money.
