Portuguese veteran Bruno Gama marks 100th Greek league appearance with historic winner against Olympiacos [video]
Aris 2-1 Olympiacos
Well-travelled Portuguese winger Bruno Gama has truly found his home in Greece with Aris FC. The former Porto man played his 100th Super League match for the club at the weekend, and could not have hoped for a better way to mark the occasion as he scored the winner to end champions Olympiacos’ unbeaten record.
Gama came off the bench with just under twenty minutes remaining at the Charilaou Ground on Sunday, and produced a vintage free-kick to complete a sensational turnaround for Aris, who had initially trailed to Pedro Martins’ imperious league leaders. The win was Aris’ first against Olympiacos in 24 attempts.
Widely touted as a possible star of the future during his extensive displays for Portugal’s youth teams, Gama left Porto in 2006 and has since played for Braga, Vitória Setúbal and Rio Ave in his homeland, as well as Deportivo La Coruna (twice) and Alcorcon in Spain, as well as Dnipro in Ukraine before landing in Greece in 2017.
Now 34, Gama is still an influential figure at the club, having featured in 20 of the team’s 26 matches this season, contributing five goals. Now under the guidance of Diego Simeone’s former assistant German Burgos, Aris have three straight wins and are set to compete in the end of season Championship play-offs.
Veteran Portuguese midfielder Bruno Gama ended Olympiacos’ unbeaten record this season with the winner for Aris ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/KJQ0NTGKpc
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen16) March 7, 2022
The match was also notable for an incident involving Olympiacos coach Martins and former Benfica midfielder João Carvalho just before the break. Carvalho received a caution from the referee and appeared risked a second yellow card with dissent, leading Martins to replace the Portuguese two minutes before the break. A frustrated Carvalho ignored his manager’s offer of a handshake, but reports suggest Martins will show disciplinary leniency with his new arrival.
Martins’ men still lead the table by 12 points as they search for a third straight league championship.
By Sean Gillen