Olympiacos-Real Madrid: aiming for the twelfth European Cup

Real Madrid and Olympiacos meet again in a European Cup final for the fifth time in history. Two years after the epic comeback in Kaunas, which Llull sealed with an eternal basket with 3.1 seconds left, Scariolo’s men will aim to lift the Twelfth in a unique setting like Athens to continue enhancing the best record in the competition.

The rivalry between madridistas and Greeks will experience its 57th chapter in Europe’s top competition since they first faced each other in 1979. The balance is in our favor with a 36-20 record after great duels in the Regular Season, playoffs, semifinals, and finals. They have met four times in the title game, three of which ended with Madrid being crowned champion: 1995 in Zaragoza (73-61), 2015 in Madrid (78-59), and 2023 in Kaunas (78-79). The latter was one of the greatest finals ever, where our team invoked the epic to overturn a 7-point deficit in the last five minutes with 8 consecutive points from Sergio Rodríguez and the final basket by Llull over the giant Fall.

Fourth final in 5 years
This season, both teams won their respective home games. Madrid triumphed at the Movistar Arena 89-77, while Olympiacos prevailed in Piraeus 102-88. For our team, this will be their fourth final in the last five years (2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026), while for the Greek side, it will be their third in this period (2022, 2023, and 2026). Bartzokas' team plays in their city, although not in their arena, which belongs to eternal rival Panathinaikos, but they will have strong fan support at the Telekom Center, as seen in the semifinals where they defeated Fenerbahce (79-61).

Aiming for another feat
The King of Europe, in their 22nd final, will have to call on their sense of solidarity. Without centers following Garuba's injury and the absences of Tavares and Len, the team will need to show unity, as they did in the semifinal against Valencia Basket (90-105), where everyone played at their highest level. Olympiacos has been very solid and consistent all season but will also face the pressure of playing in Athens and the fact that they haven’t won a title in over a decade. Tonight, the quest for the Twelfth continues.

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.