Brand new Olympiacos in the creation process
 

It’s all change in Piraeus. Following a dreadful 2017/2018 campaign, fiery Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis is an angry man, determined to take his beloved Thrylos back to the top of the Greek pile. AGONAsport takes a look at the situation

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Having won seven Super League titles in a row, Olympiacos entered the previous season with confidence, but it turned out to be their worst year in recent memory. It all started in September, when boss Besnik Hasi was booted out of the door after a dramatic 3:2 derby defeat to AEK in the Greek capital. As a replacement, veteran manager Takis Lemonis did take Olympiacos back to first place of the domestic championship, however he failed to prevent the team from dropping five defeats in six UEFA Champions League group stage games. New full-time coach Oscar Garcia then endured a nightmare when taking over in January, losing his job within a matter of months and unable to bring an eighth consecutive Super League crown to Piraeus. A mix of poor management, disappointing transfers and apparent lack of commitment resulted in Olympiacos finishing in third place of the league, in turn resigned to UEFA Europa League football next season.

PEDRO MARTINS TAKES CHARGE

Before the 2017/2018 campaign drew to a close, club owner Evangelos Marinakis appointed Pedro Martins the incoming head coach, a 47-year old who has rich experience working in his native Portugal. The question on Olympiacos fans’ lips is this - how long will Martins get to stamp his authority in Piraeus? Boasting an infamous record of firing coaches, Marinakis isn’t a man blessed with patience, something which has seen the Thrylos go through an extortionate amount of managers.
 

Martins’ first task is to shift dead wood and bring in capable, motivated players to make Olympiacos competitive again. Already, we have a clear picture of which figures will be packing their bags and leaving the club. In fact, the list is rather large: Silvio Proto, Ivica Ivusic, Alberto Botia, Guillaume Gillet, Andre Martins, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Emmanuel Emenike, Kevin Mirallas, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Sasa Zdjelar and Jagos Vukovic are all practically certain to depart Olympiacos, with rumours suggesting Ehsan Hajsafi, Igor Silva, Felipe Pardo, Seba, Marko Marin and Omar Elabdellaoui will join them. The media are also linking Konstantinos Fortounis to a Besiktas transfer, although it’s looking more likely that the talented 25-year old will stay put. 

LAZAROS AND GUERRERO BOLSTER ATTACKING OPTIONS

While further outcasts aren’t excluded, Olympiacos are busy attempting to give the roster a huge overhaul by signing high quality players to take the club to the next level. We’re only in June, but the biggest Super League transfer has already taken place, as Lazaros Christodoulopoulos decided to become an Olympiacos player after spearheading AEK to glory. Despite his inconsistency, Christodoulopoulos is almost unplayable on his day, holding the ability to terrorise opposing defences with his pace on the right wing. He’s a superb striker of the ball too, scoring the goal of the 2017/2018 season in a game between AEK and Olympiacos at the Olympic Stadium.
 

In order to bolster the forward line, 27-year old Miguel Angel Guerrero joined Olympiacos last week, signing for the Thrylos on a free from Spanish outfit Leganes. Physically strong, Guerrero will add required aggression to Olympiacos’ forward line, well-known for his clever link-up play and capability to bully defences. Last summer, Olympiacos signed Serbian striker Uros Djurdjevic to partner Karim Ansarifard, but he failed to live up to expectations and will struggle for game time if he remains in Piraeus. On the other hand, Ansarifard enjoyed a great campaign, registering 17 goals to bag a place on Iran’s FIFA World Cup squad. The Iranian will be expected to find chemistry with Guerrero and continue his fine scoring form at the same time.
 

GIANNIOTIS, TSIMIKAS, MANTHATIS RETURN

Andreas Gianniotis, the imposing Greek goalkeeper taken back by Olympiacos from Atromitos Athens, will battle for the number one spot, especially given that Silvio Proto is moving on. Loanees to return include left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas, fresh from a fantastic season in the Netherlands with Willem II. Winning the fans’ hearts in the process, Tsimikas shone on the left flank in the Eredivisie, popping up with his fair share of goals and catching the eye of Pedro Martins. Right winger Giorgos Manthatis played the entirety of the 2017/2018 campaign with PAS Giannina, but he is currently training with the first team ahead of the pre-season camps.
 

OLYMPIACOS ANGERED WITH SIOPIS

Diminutive, pitbull defensive midfielder Manolis Siopis was loaned out to Panionios in summer 2017, standing out with the Nea Smyrni outfit and forcing his way into Pedro Martins’ plans. Sticking to the schedule, Siopis arrived at training last week, but all of a sudden, the 24-year old is supposedly trying to leave Olympiacos for Lech Poznan in Poland. Naturally, Olympiacos are furious with his behaviour and some are saying that Siopis has issued a transfer request. More developments are expected.
 

NEW ARRIVALS AT TRAINING

On Friday, Andreas Bouchalakis, Mohamed Camara, Giannis Fetfatzidis and Dimitris Manos were all present at the team’s first gathering of the pre-season, but Olympiacos are yet to announce any of the transfers. Bouchalakis didn’t receive many opportunities with Nottingham Forest, but with Marinakis owning Nottingham and Olympiacos, the businessman is willing to give the midfielder a second chance in Greece. 21-year old Guinean midfielder Camara is a promising prospect for the future, competing in 45 matches for AC Ajaccio in France in two years, helping the club reach the Ligue 2 promotion playoff final. Gifted attacker Fetfatzidis is travelling back to his parent club from a spell in Saudi Arabia with Al Ahli, and OFI hitman Manos was key in the Cretans’ surge to the Super League, netting a huge 27 goals in a mere 26 Football League matches. Nevertheless, according to reports in the Greek media, OFI would like to take Manos back on loan for the 2018/2019 Super League.
 

THRYLOS INTERESTED IN MARKOVIC

Moving forward in the transfer window, more targets are lined up. At the moment, Olympiacos’ main goal seems to be picking up Lazar Markovic, the Serbian attacking midfielder out of favour at Liverpool. Unfortunately for Markovic, it’s all gone wrong in England, shifted out on loans to Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht. The latter are keen on keeping Markovic, but Olympiacos are the frontrunners in the race to land the Serbian, engaging in negotiations with Liverpool.
 

KUNDE CLOSE TO JOINING

Alongside Markovic, Olympiacos are close to taking 22-year old Cameroon midfielder Pierre Kunde on loan from Atletico Madrid. In Spain, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe are chasing him, but it’s almost a guarantee that Kunde will transfer to Olympiacos for the 2018/2019 season. In the last campaign, Kunde competed in 37 Segunda Division matches as a loanee at Granada, chipping in with five goals. In other news, Nottingham Forest forward Barrie McKay was ready to pen a contract with Olympiacos, until the Scot heard of interest from different teams and is now on the verge of joining Reading. 

LOPEZ MOVE POSSIBLE, EVANGELOU SIGNS

After the Rodrigo Moledo link came to nothing, Olympiacos have turned their attentions to Benfica centre-back Lisandro Lopez, a tall Argentinian stopper. Eager to get the transfer over the line before the first training camp in Austria, Olympiacos have offered Lopez a tempting contract and are confident of sealing the deal. In a boost to Olympiacos’ chances, the Thrylos are in good relations with Benfica.
 

19-year old Stefanos Evangelou, out of contract with Panathinaikos, is said to have concluded a four-year agreement with Olympiacos and can be considered a player of the Erythrolefkoi. Will he continue developing at Olympiacos? Considering the competition within the team, it’s far from certain Evangelou will play on a regular basis and he might he sent out on loan. Evangelou can start training with Olympiacos on July 1 after his Panathinaikos contract ends.

CUELLAR CLOSING IN ON BECOMING OLYMPIACOS PLAYER

Returning from Atromitos, Gianniotis has high hopes of making the Olympiacos goal his own, but he will have stern competition. In Spain, the media are reporting that veteran 34-year old goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar has agreed on personal terms with Olympiacos and will ask Leganes to allow the transfer to become a reality. In his homeland, Cuellar has been on the books of Merida, Atletico Madrid, Eibar, Sporting Gijon and Leganes, participating in 35 La Liga matches this season.
 

Let’s take a look at Olympiacos’ possible first team roster for the 2018/2019 season:

Goalkeepers

Andreas Gianniotis
Lefteris Choutesiotis
Ivan Cuellar (possible signing)

Defenders

Konstantinos Tsimikas
Dimitris Nikolaou
Leonardo Koutris
Bjorn Engels
Pape Abou Cisse
Stefanos Evangelou
Lisandro Lopez (possible signing)
New signing
New signing

Midfielders

Athanasios Androutsos
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos
Konstantinos Fortounis
Mohamed Camara
Andreas Bouchalakis
Giannis Fetfatzidis
Giorgos Manthatis
Lazar Markovic (possible signing)
Pierre Kunde (possible signing)
New signing

Forwards

Karim Ansarifard
Miguel Angel Guerrero
Dimitris Manos
Uros Djurdjevic
Nikolaos Vergos
New signing
 

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: to10.gr

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