“Long live the mother who gave birth to all the Greeks!” José Luis Mendilibar said in front of a microphone at the massive party that followed Olympiacos’ victory over Fiorentina last night in the Conference League final. At 63 years old, the Spanish coach had achieved the feat of winning two European titles in less than a year. A goal from striker El Kaabi in the 116th minute defeated the Italians, who lost their second consecutive final in the competition. It was the beginning of a magical night for Mendilibar. “Until now I have fought for other things. In a few years I will think about everything we did and I will put my hands on my head,” said the Basque coach.
Mendilibar, who was dismissed from Sevilla at the conclusion of the ninth matchday of this same season, has made history with Olympiacos, the most popular club in all of Greek football. He has achieved the first European club title in the history of the team and also of Greek football itself. And he has done it in less than a year after winning the Europa League with Sevilla against Mourinho’s Roma. There are 14 European matches played between the Europa League and the Conference League and two titles won. An exceptional case in the world of football. “He is touched with a wand,” recalled Vicente Iborra, an Olympiacos player who had the pleasure of winning the Conference League in his own city, Athens, and in the stadium of one of his direct rivals, AEK.
In the run-up to the final, mendi He received a visit and hug from Ernesto Valverde, the Athletic coach and former Olympiacos coach. There is also a detail that should not be forgotten and that is now being talked about in Seville, his penultimate football season. Mendilibar’s Sevilla came close to defeating Pep Guardiola’s City in the European Super Cup and only bowed on penalties. Curiously, this final was played in Athens and in the stadium of his current team. Quite a wink of destiny. Furthermore, only Mourinho and Rafa Benítez have won two different European competitions with two clubs in this century.
The triumph of Mendilibar is the triumph of simplicity. With 30 years of experience on the bench, his method is direct and forceful. “I’m not a First Division coach, I’m a soccer coach. I’m the modern anti-coach, I don’t carry a tablet. It is easier to talk about statistics than about what happens on the field of play,” admitted the player himself. mendi in an interview with EL PAÍS when he was coach of Eibar.
Mendilibar signed for Olympiacos last February, replacing Carlos Carvahal. The Hellenes already wanted to hire him last autumn, when he left Sevilla, but the Basque resisted. It is his first experience outside of Spain. The coach, from the beginning, fit like a glove in an entity as special as the Greek one, with an enthusiastic fan base and property of Evangelos Marinakis, a shipping magnate. Third in the Greek League, his best performance was in the Conference, where Olympiacos eliminated Ferencvaros, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahçe and Aston Villa with Emery on the bench and Monchi in sports management. Al Maccabi, for example, after coming back from 1-4 at home with a 1-6 in the second leg. The last stage was Fiorentina.
The Basque has led a very discreet life in Athens. Every day he has taken him from his apartment on the beach to the facilities of the Olympiacos sports city. Without knowing English, he has been lucky enough to connect with a staff that 80% understands Spanish. He is already an idol in the capital of Greece, where he cannot take a step because everyone wants to take a photo with him. Renewed by the Greek club until 2025, all of his players already know what their classics are volatas. The cartwheels they have to do on the grass when they do an exercise wrong. He is the new king of Greece.
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