Tzolakis the Greek hero that saved 3 penalties against Fenerbahce

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Tzolakis the Greek...Duckadam, saved 3 penalties against Fenerbahce

Manos Staramopoulos • 22 de abril de 2024

Tzolaki was hero of Olympiakos in UEFA Europa Conference League against Fenerbahce. He saved 3 penalties and help at his team makes history.

Konstantinos Tzolakis, hero of Olympiakos Pirues against Fenerbahce for UEFA Europa Conference League

The night of Thursday, April 18, 2024 will be etched almost forever in the memory of the fans of Olympiakos Piraeus and especially of the 22-year-old goalkeeper, Konstantinos Tzolakis. The young goalkeeper reminiscent of the Romanian, Helmut Duckadam (he had saved 4 penalties in the UEFA Champions League final with Steaua Bucharest, against Barcelona, led his team to the trophy). Tzolakis therefore, even though Olympiacos had been defeated 1-0 (goal by Irfan Kahvetsi in the 14th minute) by Fenerbahce, (he equalized the score of the first game 3-2) sent the game to the penalty shootout. And there the young Tzolakis saved 3 penalties (Tadic, Uder, Bonucci) and sent Olympiakos for the first time in its 99-year history to the semi-final phase of a European competition. And in this case of the Europa Conference League, where he will face Aston Villa, which also has a Spanish coach, Unai Emery.

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Konstantinos Tzolakis was born in Chania on November 8, 2002. From a young age he loved football. In 2015 he went to small Platanias where he stayed for three years. In 2018 he moved to Olympiakos juniors and since then his improvement has been wonderful. He made his debut in the first team, in 2019, in the semi-final of the Cup against PAOK.

In the championship, he played for the first time in a match against Aris, replacing the French goalkeeper, Bobby Alain in the 78th minute. His next appearance was in a very crucial game against AEK in the cup final, when the main goalkeeper, Jose Sa, was injured, and Tzolakis took his place.

The young Tzolakis had some important saves keeping his clean sheet intact, where Olympiacos prevailed 1-0 and won the prestigious trophy. On October 7, 2020, the talented goalkeeper signed a new contract with Olympiakos until the summer of 2024. The following season, Tzolakis was mainly the 3rd goalkeeper of Olympiakos, but managed to play in a total of 6 games (5 in the league and 1 participation in the Cup against Aris).

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Now his value in the transfer market stands at 5 million euros and surely after his wonderful performance against Fenerbahce he will rise even more. Now Konstantinos Tzolakis has grown, grown taller and matured. From where he was almost with both feet outside Olympiakos, now no one is going to move him. With Agriogiannis (goalkeeping coach) changing the course of history in this case.

Tzolakis put his signature on a "golden" page in the history of Olympiakos. The renewal that will take place, we do not discuss it, is the least. The "lot" is that position "1" is already occupied. For many years to come...

His father's amulet

The young goalkeeper revealed what his secret behind the saves was. He emphasized that he had the... feeling but also a talisman that his father gave him during the match. On whether he knew where he would fall: "We did an analysis but I also had a feeling. The players are looking at penalties and you have to hit the right angle."

On the amulet his father gave him: "My father gave me an amulet and I thank him for following me this far.". About the final: "Step by step and of course we dream of it".