Greek triumph in Rethymnon with Hadzi’s “golden” penalty

From his leg Nikos Hatzis the triumph of the National mini-soccer team in the 2nd SOCCA Aegean Cup was written, the curtain of which fell on Wednesday night at the Sochora stadium in Rethymnon.

In the very competitive and inconclusive final, the Greek representative group defeated Croatia, surviving the penalty shoot-out 2-1, while the end of regular time found the two teams tied 1-1, with the goals of Army Bubble at 12^the minute and his Ivan Hazic at 19^the.

What followed was the – as usual – penalty shoot-out process in which the National Team remained standing thanks to scorers the Bubble Army in the first execution and the Nikos Hadzi in the third, while his misplaced attempt intervened Raphael Tousa.

On the other hand, on the Croatian side, O Pasco Kujakwhile they failed o Svonimir Filipovic and the Josip Bozinovich.

“The moment I saw the ball hit the net, I felt like a 100kg weight was lifted off me” emphasized Nikos Hatziswho competes in Diana Ilioupolis.

“Awe dedicate the victory to the wonderful world of Rethymnon who once again not only supported us with fervor, but launched us. We won the title, we did justice to the fans and we continuepointed out Bubble Army.

THE George Bastakis underlined the value of the ongoing process: “We are very happy for the gold medal, we deserved it. Titles and successes boost the team’s confidence, make it stronger and at the same time bring people to the stadiums. After six competitions, from 2013 onwards, the public of Rethemnia knows mini football well and our goal is to introduce it and make it popular throughout Greece” commented the coach of the national team with an eye on Camcún, Mexico, where the TUI SOCCA World Championship will be held, from November 28 to December 7, 2025.

The final was held in front of an enthusiastic audience in the packed stands of the Sochora stadium, with the tones rising early, thanks to the dance performance of the “Vrakoforos” Club and the aura brought by the presence of the “hero” of the National team at Euro 2004 and ambassador of the TUI SOCCA Champions League and SOCCA Aegean cups, Angelos Charisteaswho awarded, in the midst of a pallaic apotheosis, the trophy to the National Team, together with the Mayor of Rethymno George X. Marinaki.

The SOCCA Aegean Cup MVP title was awarded to the captain of the Greek team, Bubble Armywhile the Croatian was named the top goalkeeper Teo Kiliancic.

The bronze medal in 2^the Men’s SOCCA Aegean Cup was won by Bulgaria, who defeated South Africa 6-2 in the “small final”.

On Wednesday morning, in their third match in a row, the Greek team defeated Bulgaria 3-0 Patiniotis 21′, Hadji 29′, Tosa 36′) while Croatia prevailed against South Africa with 8-3.

Greece is third, Poland is the winner in the women’s category

In its maiden participation in an International Tournament, the Women’s National Team took third place, with two wins and two losses.

The Greek team prevailed twice against Lebanon (3-0 in the premiere and 2-0 in the match for third place), while they were defeated by Poland 5-0 and by Hungary 3-0.

The title in the Aegean Women’s Cup was won by Poland, who in the final beat Hungary 2-1 on penalties, as the end of regular time found the two teams tied 1-1, while the MVP was Nautical Ogichi.

The Moldovans prevailed in the Veterans Tournament

The gold medal in the category of Veterans over 40 years of age was won by Arsenal Geothermal from Moldova and followed in second place by Bulgaria Hashove and in the third Rethemniotiki Platanos Tours.

Voulgaros was declared the most valuable player Ivan Ivanov (Hashove) and first scorer o Victor Bulat (Arsenal Geothermal).