It's no longer a crazy dream (as dictated by the song on the lips of Olympiacos' friends, who grew up in the last generations), it's not a joke, it's not even a goal, as Olympiacos has already achieved repeated, solemn, shocking European transcendences! This is a match! A match that separates Olympiacos from the crack of its own time, significantly approaching 100 years of history. The "red and whites" of Jose Luis Madrid presented modern, attacking, efficient football at "Villa Park" and shocked Aston Villa consecutively with a historic 2-4 victory!
Olympiacos is free from the burdens, the complexes, the hesitations of the past and is in such a situation, according to which it can itself write the script of such a crucial match. The impressive thing is not that he took a 0-2 lead in a difficult venue, a "temple" of European football. The amazing thing about Olympiacos is that they did not give in to Villa's "knife" goals, before the end of the first part and after the start of the second. What would the typical Greek team or the old "good" Olympiacos do in the face of such a setback? He would collapse and be left to remember the impressions and the... tap taps of the opponents on the back, before leaving with an empty bag for Piraeus. But here something different has been created. A team that is programmed according to the Medilibar plan and does not deviate even when things are not going well, as Vaskos has calculated.
Mendilibar is a breath away from the pantheon of Olympiacos technicians, although he only has 18 (!) matches on the "red and white" bench. Speaking of coaches who have left their mark on the Olympiacos bench and indeed in European matches, the senior Mendilibar is not footballingly "naive" like Bajevic, he is not impulsive like Valverde, he has caught the pulse of the platform like Lemonis, he has surpass Martins' technical abilities. From February 15 until today, he managed to "resurrect" the entire football department of Olympiacos and now has the visible goal of leading it to the end of the journey. How did he do it? The reality is lost among many… wiring of the training and competition routine of Olympiacos , however, Mendilibar is credited with the existence of a clear game plan and the inclusion of more and more players in a real rotation. This turned the heavy and indifferent roster into a dynamic format with many active faces, insatiable and united.
As far as the competitive image of Olympiacos against Aston Villa is concerned, it is hard to find a fault. Olympiacos, having less time with the ball at their feet and competing on an English field, managed to remain cool and threatening. Two elements that, as simple as they seem, are so difficult to apply on the playing field. The "red and white" are at the peak of their competitive readiness, they combine freshness and efficiency, while the positive results and the qualifiers have boosted their confidence. Olympiacos' players stranded and subdued a team whose market value reaches 640 million euros (!) and is among the 20 most valuable rosters in Europe! The qualifiers and achievements of this year's European season, culminating in the victory at "Vila Park" are small trophies for Olympiacos, which decorate the route to the big, real cup, which seems ever closer!
*Tell me about Panagiotis Retsos and his appearance at "Villa Park". Before we "cross" a player (it's best not to anyway) let's thoroughly examine his performance in relation to teammates and opponents. In the biggest match of the season, he was unerring. In particular he had 2/2 duels won on the ground, 3/4 in the air, 16/21 successful passes, cleared 4 phases, had 2 tackles, a blocked shot, won a penalty.
* Such nights, such victories, such a season is capable of making players whose contracts expire this summer (they are many and important) to think again and add several reasons to stay, rather than leaving the big port!
Patience, concentration, self-restraint and keep the ball low until May 9 and the rematch with Aston Villa in Faliro!
