When the going gets tough, the tough get going
When describing the 2019-20 Olympiacos season, one word comes to mind: vindication. After a three-year hiatus from the pinnacle of Greek football, the Erythrolefki have quietly put together one of the most successful campaigns of their illustrious history.
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The team owner, Evangelos Marinakis, received a lot of criticism for the way he has handled the operation since 2016. After taking control of the club in the summer of 2010, Marinakis immediately went to work and retooled a roster that needed help. Olympiacos had finished in 5th place in the 2009-10 season, and the entire management had their work cut out for them.
After hiring back fan-favorite Ernesto Valverde, Marinakis and the board made several shrewd moves that ensured the Reds would once again be competitive. Fast-forward to six years later, and the trophy case in Piraeus had six additional league championships and three domestic cups. In the process, Olympiacos slew many giants in Europe; Juventus, Marseille, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Benfica were amongst the teams that were victims to glorious Olympiacos triumphs during that time period. Marinakis was accomplishing what he had set out to do from the start, make the club an even bigger name across the globe.
The landscape had changed, and the Legend seemed to have built an indestructible platform of success, but things began taking a shift for the worse in the summer of 2016. First came the 2016 Cup Final debacle with AEK; the team felt unprotected after numerous postponements of the game had them playing the game after six weeks of inactivity while AEK had the benefit of playing weekly competitive games due to the Superleague playoffs.
What ensued was a summer of tragic decisions. Manager Marko Silva mysteriously left the club in early July and was replaced by a feeble choice, Victor Sanchez. Sanchez had an eye for talent and was a good trainer but was overwhelmed by the task of leading a monster club like Olympiacos. The loss to Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Champions League qualifiers seemed inevitable, and a slow, downward spiral began. History will show that Olympiacos won the 2016-17 Greek Championship, their seventh in a row while tying a previous record the club held between 1996 and 2003. Looking at the season closer, you will notice a much more different picture.
Though the 2016-17 season may have started ideally with first-round derby victories over AEK, Panathinaikos, and PAOK, the second half of the season was lethargic. In an attempt to salvage what was left and to lift locker room morale, Olympiacos brought back legendary manager Takis Lemonis for the rest of the season. The hiring assured the club of a steady finish and a league championship.
In the off-season, the board felt that Lemonis wasn’t the right person moving forward. Besnik Hasi was introduced as the new team manager. Unlike Lemonis, Hasi had an underwhelming past, and his motivational skills were subpar. In late September, Lemonis was back and in his first press conference shocked the world when he claimed, “By January 1st, this team will be in first place”. Many pundits laughed at that his prophecy; Olympiacos were five points behind league-leaders AEK, and the club looked in shambles. Lemonis’ prediction eventually became a reality, but the manager was inexplicably relieved of his duties in early January when the club hired Oscar Garcia to become the “permanent” bench boss. What followed was utter chaos with the Gavros finishing in third place, unable to win any derbies the rest of the way.
As the season was winding down, Olympiacos hired Pedro Martins as their manager for the next season. They tried to acclimate the Portuguese manager to the Greek Superleague by having him sit in the stands for the team’s last few games of the season. To couple Martins’ hard work, the administration hit a hard reset button on the roster and began to piece together the 2018-19 season.
Looking at the season on paper, the Legend’s biggest achievement came when they eliminated AC Milan from the Europa League. The club didn’t win any hardware, but strangely, they did more than that. The 2018-19 season was the catalyst for the incredible season we are witnessing this year. The old Marinakis might have sacked Pedro Martins in the summer of 2019 and scrambled to find an entirely new coaching staff along with a new roster of footballers. Instead, faith was put into Martins and this roster. That decision has paid huge dividends.
Olympiacos went into the “Covid-19 break” undefeated in the Greek League, in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup, and still in strong contention for the Europa League. The team looks certain to win their 45th Greek Championship, and with the two-year contract extension of Pedro Martins, their leadership structure is set.
Marinakis hasn’t always been perfect – his impulsiveness in the onset of his ownership was rightfully criticized – but he has shown the willingness to adapt. The shipping tycoon wears his heart on his sleeve, but he ultimately always looks out for the team he has been in love with since he was a little boy. Nowadays, he continues to be financially and emotionally invested in the club but has left some of the more “football decisions” to be made by “football people.” This decision has been Marinakis’ best, and it has vindicated him – big time!
