A Football Empire For the Future
Evangelos Marinakis, a lifelong fan of the club, took over Olympiacos FC in the summer of 2010. He arrived at the club with a promise to the fans – he would deliver success. That success would be in the form of maintaining the club as the biggest, most successful club in Greece and bringing success in Europe. It cannot be denied that he has delivered on his promise – winning the Greek Super League on ten occasions in his fourteen-year tenure and culminating in the two European titles this summer. His work, however, is not complete. Ever the pioneer, he strives for further success – personally, for the club and for Greek football in its entirety.
In 2017 Marinakis took over English football club, former two-time European champions, Nottingham Forest. The successful businessman was taking the first steps towards to building a football network. Such initiatives are becoming more prevalent in modern football – with the City Group, spearheaded by Manchester City, as the most famed example of this. Forest at the time of takeover were playing in the English Championship and in 2022 were finally promoted back to the Premier League after languishing in the second and third tiers of English football for 23 years.
The network was further expanded this past season with Marinakis taking over as majority shareholder of Portugal’s Rio Ave. A portfolio clubs is being built with an eye to the future. In the years of dual ownership, we have already seen several players move between Olympiacos and Nottingham. With Rio Ave now also in the fold, this summer has seen players making the move between the Greek and Portuguese clubs as well as from England to Portugal.
Many understandably question the legitimacy of these practices, but in modern football where finances are stretched, often to breaking point, it is nothing more than good business sense. The ability to share resources, exchange best practice and keep better control of your assets is vital to building a stronger, more sustainable model – benefiting all stakeholders. Such moves won’t bring overnight success, it would be foolish to think so, this model is built with a long-term vision. Given time, all members of the network will stand to benefit.
The network being built by Evangelos Marinakis is proving to be a shrewd investment, with clubs across different leagues and of differing statures within those countries. In Nottingham Forest he has a club with a large, passionate and loyal fan base competing in the richest and most-watched league in the world. Rio Ave, while a smaller club in size, have been a mainstay in the top tier of the Portuguese football league system – a league renowned for being a hotbed of talent and developing players to be sold for profit to bigger leagues further up the footballing food chain. Then there is Olympiacos, a club so large it cast a shadow over the entire nation of Greece – a club that craves success, anything other than winning titles is deemed failure. Each member of the network has a different place on the footballing landscape, each bringing different strengths and benefits into the mix. This summer has also seen talk of the network expanding further, with rumours emerging of possible interest in taking over teams in countries such as the Netherlands and Italy. If there is any substance to these stories, then this would only strengthen this model. Marinakis succeeds in all he sets out to do and this network will prove to be no different.
Building a stronger future for the club is not solely down to the purchasing of footballing talent of football clubs, a strong investment in the youth is also becoming more apparent at the club. This was realised in April as the club reigned victorious as champions of Europe at a youth level. For years Olympiacos has invested in youth, all over Greece the club have searched for the best young talent. Many never make it but by joining the biggest club in Greece with the best facilities the country has to offer are all given the best possible start to a footballing career. Olympiacos has scouts and coaching schools across the country. This dedication to investment of youth came to fruition with the success of this summer. While other European giants search the globe and fill their academies with the top prospects from around the world, the Olympiacos academy is almost entirely made up of Greek prospects. This itself is enduring to the fans. As the new season dawns, for the first time we have seen a serious amount of game time given to some of these successful youth prospects in pre-season. It is understood that at least three will be considered as first team players for the 2023-24. There is serious optimism that positive change is starting to happen, the club is building on its former success for further success.
Domestic Pressure and International Aspirations
The future starts now, however. There is no place for the club to rest on their laurels after the European success of 2024. While the club lived its greatest moment this summer, for the second year running we failed in our quest to be crowned champions of Greece. Since being crowned Greek champions in 1997 the club hasn’t gone three consecutive seasons without tasting success in the league. A barren spell between titles in 1987 and 1997 still lives long in the memory of fans, with that title in ‘87 the sole title in a thirteen-year period. As previously mentioned, this club demands success. League titles are the only currency, failure to deliver isn’t an option. Lifting a European title to mask the disappointment isn’t something that can be achieved every year, there is no hiding the fact that Olympiacos simply must return to winning ways in the league.
The season starts away at Volos this weekend and it’s reported that as many as 9,000 Olympiacos fans will be in attendance. Jose Luis Mendilibar simply must hit the ground running. In thirty years of coaching, while he has tasted success on the European stage in the most recent two seasons, he has only successfully won a league campaign twice. These successes came at the second and third divisions in Spain, both a decade apart in the 90’s and 00’s. Mendilibar has never won a league title at first division level. On a personal level this is something he will only be too aware of and is something that will be a challenge to himself. He will never have a better opportunity than with Olympiacos and guiding them to their 48th league title.
Olympiacos cannot afford to enter the play offs come the Spring sitting in fourth place with a mountain to climb. We must be leading the way to give ourselves the best possible chance to bring that Super League trophy back to Piraeus. After spending the last year in Athens and now residing in Thessaloniki, there is no possible outcome other than a return to the port.
Although success at a domestic level this coming season is a necessity, the club is faced with further continental and global tests. As reward for Conference success the club automatically qualified for the 2024-25 Europa League. A new format for the competition begins this season with a league scenario consisting of 36 teams. Olympiacos will play eight different teams from around Europe, four home and four away, with the final two group games to be played in the new year of 2025. In previous seasons to ensure European football after Christmas you would have needed to finish in the top two or three of your four-team group.
Under Mendilibar in 2024 the side proved they can more than compete and succeed on the European stage. The club has the ability and should be able to achieve a finish in the top 24 of the 36-team league. If a top 24 finished were achieved you would be guaranteed to feature in the knockout rounds of the competition, gaining the club at least ten European ties this coming season. This season’s Europa League is shaping up to host a formidable line-up of participants. Such storied names as Manchester United, AS Roma, Porto and Rangers having already qualified for the competition show there is going to be plenty of glamour and tough opposition in Europe’s second tier competition this coming season. For the first time, this season won’t see sides exiting the Champions League and entering the knockout stages of the competition – thus ensuring teams can continue to compete on a more level playing field with their peers.
The club’s international exposure for the coming season doesn’t end with the Europa League. The eyes of the world will once again be on the Red & White of Olympiacos as our youth side travel to Brazil later this month. The Under-20 Intercontinental Cup final takes place in the world renowned Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 24th August. In its third year, this competition pairs the winners of the UEFA Youth League with the winners of South America’s U-20 Copa Libertadores – giving the winners the unofficial title of “Youth Club World Champions”. The previous winners of this competition were Benfica and Boca Juniors, our Thrylos youngsters could put the name of this great club amongst the very best in the world. Whatever the outcome in Brazil every one of those players will have experienced something very few in world football have – the opportunity to compete in an inter-continental final. In one of the world’s most famous cathedrals of football. The experience will only further strengthen the development of the youngsters and prepare them well for the defence of their UEFA Youth League title this coming season or first team senior football, whichever path lies ahead for each individual player.
On-Field Developments
On a personal level, for me the most exciting development this off-season has been the developments being made on the field. Every season I find it extremely frustrating the scattergun approach of the club to recruitment. The number of players brought into the club and moved on is always questionable and I believe shown no real strategy in place.
This summer has proven to be different with a much more measured and calculated approach being made. It is believed Jose Luis Mendilibar’s wish has been for a squad of 23 outfield players in addition to his goalkeeping options. While some key figures have departed last year’s successful squad there remains a solid core that Mendilibar worked with last term to build upon for the coming season. There have been much needed incomings to the team and with the transfer window still open until the end of this month there are further pieces still required from recruitment.
The club, unlike other summers, has methodically assessed what is required and gone about their business in a much quieter fashion than is normally seen. It hasn’t been a summer full of big-name players linked to the club. I have long believed that as a club the strategy we should adopt is to search the eastern European, Scandinavian and Balkan markets for our players. So bringing in players this summer that played and succeeded last year in countries such as Poland and Serbia has been extremely pleasing. Searching in these leagues can deliver undiscovered gems at a good age, often with plenty of first team experience with a real potential for sell-on value. It has never sat comfortably the club's reliance on recruiting players in their late 20’s or around thirty years of age after a career playing in the topflight of Spain or Portugal. This has never seemed to be good business. While we have still looked to Spain and Portugal this summer it seems to be done with a more measured approach. Vicente Iborra left this summer after proving crucial in last season’s run in, Dani Garcia was brought in to replace Iborra as that combative protection in midfield in front of defence. Injury has meant Garcia hasn’t featured in pre-season as we would have hoped, and the signing may ultimately not work out as planned. Signings will still fail, no club has a 100% record, but the season is long, and time will tell on this matter. The key is to adopt a sensible approach to recruitment which can be seen this off-season. Another player brought in from Portugal has been Costinha. A 24-year-old right back from Rio Ave, this is the perfect profile of a player to bring in from Iberia. Featuring in the Liga Portugal’s team of the season for 2023-24, so a player with undoubted quality and given his age and nationality has the potential for the club to receive a good fee after a solid couple of seasons at the club.
Another opinion of mine has long been that Olympiacos should look to what the Portuguese big-three clubs do and copy their model. Rather than signing players nearing the end of their career, often on much bigger salaries, the club should search foreign markets for younger talents. Bring them to the club, nurture them, achieve success with them, sell them on for profit and continue the cycle. With an effective scouting setup identifying the top young talent across the continent this success can be achieved in Greece as it is in Portugal. While that standard across the top four or five squad is often high, the standard of the league on the whole, in truth, isn’t that strong. As a result, there is no reason why a player in their late teens or early 20’s can’t thrive. Throwing any youngster into the Super League won’t work, it’s still a tough league competed in by solid pros with a career in football behind them. The Super League is, however, a league where true talent can succeed – whatever the age of the player.
One of the most exciting scenarios ahead of the coming season is our very own youth given the opportunity to play and succeed. Historically the club has never managed its young talent as well as it could have. Much of this is down to the need to provide immediate success. In Mendilibar though, it appears the club has a manager that is more than willing to offer youth its opportunity if it is deserved. Of the successful UEFA Youth League team, five players have trained all summer with the first team. Antonis Papakanellos, Isidoros Koutsidis, Charalampos Kostoulas, Christos Mouzakitis and Theofanis Bakoulas have been in the first team fold all summer – during the training camp and games in the Netherlands, trips to Italy & Cyprus and the home friendly against Nottingham Forest last season. The fanbase is understandably excited to see Olympiacos’ own academy products given the opportunity to break through. It is thought that Mendilibar is to promote at least three of them to the full senior squad for the 2023-24 season. All five of the youngsters have been given a considerable number of minutes in the pre-season games to stake their claim. Midfielders Bakoulas and Mouzakitis have caused excitement and optimism throughout the club with their performances catching the eye.
2024-25 - Let’s go!
Although the finishing touches to the squad will still be undertaken for the remainder of the month until the transfer window concludes, the club is very much at the starting blocks ready to kick off the 2024-25 season this weekend.
As the last season finished with a day and night long party in the streets of Greece this party has stopped. The club has paraded the two European trophies around the country on a summer-long tour. The party shows no signs of ending yet though as the new season dawns. The 2024-25 season sees the club reach a prestigious milestone as it enters its 100-anniversary year.
Fervor exists amongst the fans at this time as they look to celebrate the centenary of this great club. The club itself is paying special tribute with a commemorative new club crest having been created for this one-off season. This crest has already been seen on the new shirts worn during pre-season.
During a recent exclusive Thrylos 7 International interview with Olympiacos FC Vice President, Kostas Karapapas, it was announced that in March the club will also be unveiling a special edition home shirt to commemorate the centenary.
The success of 2024 has proved that Olympiacos is a club that is making great strides and is a club in ascendency. Great work can be seen to be taking place on and off the field. As the club turns 100 everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction, to bring the club its 48th league title - when this is paired with the reasons to celebrate with the club currently, there really is no better time to follow Olympiacos.
Pame Olympiakara!
Comments