Portuguese international João Mário scored the winning goal that clinched the Greek league title for AEK Athens on Sunday, describing the achievement as the most memorable personal moment of his career.
“It’s always hard to become a champion, wherever you are. I will always remember this because I think it’s one of the – or the most special personal moment of my career. Scoring a goal that gives a title to a big and important club with so many fans is something I’ll never forget, and with my family here, it’s incredible,” the midfielder told reporters in the mixed zone after the match.
“It’s incredible. I think we deserved to win the league; we were the best team, we showed it on the pitch, and I’m very happy to have contributed one percent of this title. This group of men was incredible throughout the whole season. I found a family at AEK, and I’m happy for them and for myself. But especially because I found a united family,” he added.
“It was hard to reach this title. We respected our opponents, this group worked very hard, and I think achieving it with two games left in the league shows the value of this group,” João Mário said.
AEK defeated Panathinaikos 2-1 in the fourth round of the championship playoff, with João Mário netting the winner in the 90+3rd minute. The victory lifted AEK to 70 points, eight more than PAOK and Olympiakos, and 19 ahead of Panathinaikos.