Olympiacos all set for the start of pre-season training
 

This afternoon, Olympiacos gathered for the first time ahead of the 2018/2019 season, but head coach Pedro Martins wasn’t in attendance.

Watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Greek Commentary with the AGONAsport TV 2018 World Cup Pass. All matches included Details here!

At 18.00 Greek time, the players arrived at Olympiacos’ Renti training centre for the first installment of pre-season preparations, but new head coach Pedro Martins surprisingly didn’t join them. Instead, vice-president Savvas Theodoris was there to greet the team, speaking on behalf of Martins and sharing the incoming manager’s expectations. All players were handed a detailed program with daily training routines and a strict diet plan which must be followed.

Over the next ten days, Olympiacos players will go through medical testing and hold training sessions, before leaving for the first pre-season camp in Austria on June 25. The second will take place in Belgium in mid-July.

In Greece, media outlet SDNA reported that these following players were witnessed at Renti on Friday:

Lefteris Choutesiotis, Andreas Gianniotis, Dimitris Skafidas, Athanasis Androutsos, Andreas Bouchalakis, Konstantinos Fortounis, Leonardo Koutris, Giorgos Manthatis, Dimitris Manos, Dimitris Nikolaou, Manolis Saliakis, Manolis Siopis, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Marios Vrusaj, Nikos Vergos, Seba, Mohamed Camara, Pape Abou Cisse, Uros Djurdjevic, Omar Elabdellaoui, Bjorn Engels, Jagos Vukovic, Felipe Pardo, Alaixys Romao, Marko Marin. 

Interestingly, Olympiacos are yet to confirm the arrivals of Bouchalakis (Nottingham Forest), Manos (OFI) and Camara (AC Ajaccio), but they were seen at the club’s training base today. On the other hand, newly signed Spanish striker Miguel Angel Guerrero was not at Renti, having requested a few extra vacations due to the La Liga’s late ending to the season. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Giannis Fetfatzidis cannot be with the squad because they do not hold the right to train with Olympiacos until July 1.

Silvio Proto, Andre Martins, Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe and Emmanuel Emenike are all heading for the exit door and weren’t summoned to Renti by the club’s management. The situation surrounding Brazilian defender Igor Silva remains unclear, while Ehsan Hajsafi and Karim Ansarifard are on FIFA World Cup duty with Iran.
 

At the moment, Olympiacos have five friendly matches planned for the two training camps in Austria and Belgium, including a game against Nikolaos Karelis’ Genk:

Austria (25/06/2018 - 05/07/2018)

June 30 - Olympiacos vs. WGC Wattens
July 4 - Olympiacos vs. FC Botosani

Belgium (13/07/2018 - 21/07/2018)

July 14, Olympiacos vs. KVV Thes Sport
July 15, Olympiacos vs. KAS Eupen
July 21, Olympiacos vs. Genk

On the transfer front, Olympiacos haven’t released an announcement about the signing of Fetfatzidis, although it’s widely known he will wear the Erythrolefkoi jersey next season. Nottingham Forest striker Barrie McKay was a sure bet to sign, however he has since received other offers and is weighing up his options. 

Former Panathinaikos defender Stefanos Evangelou has passed his medical tests with Olympiacos, but according to the LiveSport Greek newspaper, the move has been put on hold due to unknown reasons. The 19-year old has already agreed on personal terms with Olympiacos after leaving arch-rivals Panathinaikos. 

FURTHER SIGNINGS

Experienced Bologna defender Vassilis Torosidis, who is now 33 years of age, is hoping to move back home to finish his career, but a transfer to Olympiacos depends largely on the future of Omar Elabdellaoui. Fellow right-back Giannis Masouras, currently on AEL’s books, is being watched closely by Olympiacos and the Thrylos could force Larissa to sell.

Talented 24-year old midfielder Lazar Markovic is hearing his name linked with Olympiacos. After transferring to Liverpool from Benfica in 2014, it hasn’t really worked out for the Serbian, as he’s been shifted out on several loans to Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht. Unfortunately for Markovic, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp doesn’t have him in his plans, willing to let him go on another loan for the 2018/2019 campaign with Olympiacos keen on taking him to Piraeus. In a boost to Olympiacos’ chances of landing the winger, Markovic isn’t against a move to Greece.
 

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: to10.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook , follow us on   Instagram, and Twitter  for all the latest news in Greek Sports!