1998 Greek Football Cup final

This was the fourteenth Greek Cup final held at Karaiskakis Stadium, after the 1957, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1997 finals (Karaiskakis also hosted the replay match of the 1960 final between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos and the second leg of the 1992 two-legged final between PAOK and Olympiacos). Karaiskakis Stadium was built in 1895 and renovated once in 1964. The stadium is used as a venue for Ethnikos Piraeus and was used for Olympiacos and Greece on various occasions. Its current capacity is 42,000 and hosted a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in 1971 and the first leg of the Intercontinental Cup final in 1971. ==Background==

Panionios had reached the Greek Cup final five times, winning one of them. The last time that they had won the Cup was in 1979 (3–1 against AEK Athens). The last time that they had played in a final was in 1989, where they had lost to Panathinaikos by 3–1. Panathinaikos had reached the Greek Cup final twenty three times, winning fifteen of them. The last time that they had won the Cup was in 1995 (1–0 against AEK Athens). The last time that had played in a final was in 1997, where they had lost to AEK Athens by 5–3 on penalties, which came after a 0–0 draw at the end of the extra time. The two teams had met each other in a Cup final two times in the 1967 and 1989 finals. ==Route to the final==