| Event | 1987–88 Greek Football Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Afterextra time Panathinaikos won 4–3 onpenalties | |||||||
| Date | 8 May 1988 | ||||||
| Venue | Olympic Stadium,Marousi,Athens | ||||||
| Referee | Meletis Voutsaras (Athens) | ||||||
| Attendance | 73,375 | ||||||
←1987 1989 → | |||||||
The1988 Greek Cup final was the 44th final of theGreek Cup. The match took place on 8 May 1988 at theOlympic Stadium. The contesting teams wereOlympiacos andPanathinaikos. It was Olympiacos' twenty-fourth Greek Cup final in their 63 years of existence and Panathinaikos' seventeenth Greek Cup final in their 80-year history.[1] Both clubs were extra motivated for the title since were out of the championship race and were looking for a ticket to theUEFA competition. The match went intopenalty shoot-out where the goalkeeper of Panathinaikos,Nikos Sarganis emerged as the hero for his team, saving two penalties and scoring one. In a future interview, the Greek goalkeeper revealed that the owner of Olympiacos,George Koskotas attempted to bribe him for reduced performance in the final.[2] That would be the second time Koskotas was accused for attempted bribery, as he did the same as well onTheologis Papadopoulos andVasilios Vasilakos ofAEK Athens at the round of 16.[3]

This was the sixth Greek Cup final held at theAthens Olympic Stadium, after the 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 finals.
The Athens Olympic Stadium was built in 1982. The stadium is used as a venue forPanathinaikos,Olympiacos andGreece and was used forAEK Athens on various occasions. Its current capacity is 80,000 and hosted aEuropean Cup final in1983 and aEuropean Cup Winners' Cup final in1987.[4]
Olympiacos had reached the Greek Cup final twenty-three times, winning seventeen of them. The last time that they won the Cup was in1981 (3–1 againstPAOK). The last time that they played in a final was in1986, where they had lost to Panathinaikos by 4–0.
Panathinaikos had reached the Greek Cup final sixteen times, winning nine of them. The last time that they played in a final was in1986, where they had won against Olympiacos by 4–0.
The two teams had met each other in a Cup final seven times in the 1960, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1975 and 1986 finals.[5]
| Olympiacos | Round | Panathinaikos | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
| Agrotikos Asteras | 4–0 (H) | First round | Chalkida | 2–0 (H) | ||||
| Bye | Additional round | Kavala | 7–2 (H) | |||||
| Olympiacos Volos | 6–0 | 1–0 (A) | 5–0 (H) | Round of 32 | Panserraikos | 2–0 | 0–0 (A) | 2–0 (H) |
| AEK Athens | 4–1 | 1–1 (H) | 3–1 (A) | Round of 16 | PAS Giannina | 10–3 | 2–1 (A) | 8–2 (H) |
| Apollon Kalamarias | 2–1 | 0–0 (A) | 2–1 (H) | Quarter-finals | Irodotos | 6–0 | 4–0 (A) | 2–0 (H) |
| OFI | 3–1 | 3–0 (H) | 0–1 (A) | Semi-finals | AEL | 4–1 | 1–0 (H) | 3–1 (A) |
| Olympiacos | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Panathinaikos |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Penalties | ||
| 3–4 | ||
![]() ![]() ![]() Olympiacos | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Panathinaikos |
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Assistant referees: | Match rules
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