Greek Fairy Tale Turns Into Tragedy

Spain's late equaliser and 4-2 penalty win give Perrone, 39, hope of perfect send-off

- David Lee

They rallied from 2-6 down to lead 7-6, and a berth in the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) men's water polo final was within sight. But the Greek fairy tale turned into tragedy when they conceded an equaliser in the final second of their semi-final before world No. 2 Spain went on to win the penalty shoot-out 4-2 on July 22.

While the vocal Greek fans were left in shock and tears, the Spaniards will go into the July 24 final against Hungary hoping to win a World Cup and WCH double in the same year, and give stalwart Felipe Perrone the perfect send-off.

The Brazil-born 39-year-old Perrone, who has six WCH medals with Spain, including gold in 2022, told The Straits Times: "It was a really emotional game. We really struggled... we scored six goals and we couldn't score one more.

"Then we scored in the last second to draw and won on penalties. This is the beauty of the game, and people who watched this game saw how all the players, not just us but also the Greeks, gave our hearts and souls.

"Never in my best dreams did I think I would be in the world championships final in my last tournament. I'm 39 and it is not easy.