The Managerial Merry Go Round at Olympiakos
The Managerial Merry Go Round at Olympiakos
By Stephen Kountourou
After a year of instability and four managers in one season, Olympiakos is once again on the hunt for a coach who, it must be said, has a huge job to do. With names flying about everywhere right now, who is the right person to man steady the Olympiakos ship back to success in the port of Piraeus?
Gennaro Gattuso
Many have identified his strengths being the ability to maintain a cool head in the toughest of situations. He is also passionate and committed to his job to win at all costs. These are qualities that would be vital when taking charge of Olympiakos. He also sets up his sides normally in a 4-2-3-1 formation, to be well-organised and difficult for opponents to break them down.
While he does have experience managing big clubs on his CV, his tenures have never been long enough to implement a rebuild of a squad and truly make it his own.
There is a fear that if Olympiakos were to bring Gattuso in, it would not be for a long-term project. If things go south early Thrylos will be in the same position that they find themselves currently.
At the time of writing Gattuso has reportedly asked Olympiakos for time to think about their offer. If Thrylos wants to spend big on the Italian manager they have to make sure not only are they fully committed to Gattuso, but that Gattuso is fully committed to Olympiakos.
Steven Gerrard
Having managed Liverpool under 17s after he retired as a player, Gerrard's first job was in charge of Scottish giants Rangers. The English manager did what many thought couldn't be done and ended Celtics nine year title-winning run. He most recently managed Premier League Aston Villa which ended in disappointment and Gerrard's dismissal. At the time of writing, he has a 59% win rate as a manager.
Stylistically Gerrard has always favoured the 4-3-3 formation but has also used 4-2-3-1. His sides have played a more attacking style with technically gifted players on the wings so the ball can be carried quickly toward the opposing goal.
Where he has his limitations as a manager became more apparent during his time at Aston Villa. Without members of his backroom staff at Rangers, including Michael Beale who now manages the Scottish side, Gerrard's ability to make tactical changes during games came more into question in the Premier League. He was also rumoured to have created divisions in the Aston Villa squad, particularly with England international Tyrone Mings.
While he did succeed at Rangers who have similar aspirations to that of Olympiakos, more recent evidence would suggest without a strong backroom behind him, Gerrard struggled to get the best out of an Aston Villa side that is now thriving under his successor Uni Emery with almost the exact same squad.
The name of Steven Gerrard would bring huge media attention to Piraeus if he did sign. But even with his evident qualities as a manager, the former England captain could be seen as a risk for Olympiakos due to what the club needs to rebuild and it might be too big a job for Gerrard at this stage of his career.
Bruno Lage
Having started off as an assistant manager for numerous clubs, Lage finally got his chance to manage Benfica's B side. He was eventually promoted to head coach of the senior side where he won the Liga NOS title. After 18 months he left to join Premier League side Wolves, replacing fellow Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo. After a decent first season with the midlands side, a poor start to the 2022/23 campaign saw Lage lose his job at Molineux. He has averaged nearly a 56% win rate as a manager.
Lage has tended to adapt to the teams he has coached. With Benfica, he deployed his team in a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 formation. With Wolves, however, he maintained what was left by Espirito Santo and used 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. This shows a level of flexibility and ability to adapt to the squad he is given. Regardless of the formation Lage has always attempted to implement an attacking style to his teams but was also lorded too for Wolves’ excellent defence in 2021/22.
Where he fell short more recently was his ability to get his teams to finish their chances. While this has continued to be a trend for Wolves post his departure the team reportedly felt disillusioned over time with his training methods and as well as one win in 15 his fate was sealed.
Despite his recent shortcomings, Lage could be an intriguing choice for Olympiakos if he was to become the head coach.
Jesse Marsch
Finally, he took charge of the energy drinks company footballing crown duel, RB Leipzig. Sadly after a poor start to the 2021/22 season, Marsh was shown the door. His most recent job was replacing Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United in the Premier League. After barely keeping them up last season, Marsch was sacked in February 2023 with Leeds on 17th and just above the relegation zone. He averaged around a 50% win rate over his managerial career.
Having adopted what was seen as the ‘Red Bull way’ of playing football Marsch tends to set up his teams in a 4-2-2-2 formation with two attacking midfielders in a very counter-pressing style. The 46-year-old gets his teams to press with high intensity up the field to regain the ball in high areas and then attempt to create a goal-scoring opportunity.
Ironically the biggest issue particularly at Leeds was Marsch getting his teams to finish those chances. Also with such a high line when attacking, this left his teams exposed to sides who were able to quickly regain the ball and score on the counter.
While Marsch has had success in Austra in particular it would be a very big stylistic change for Olympiakos if they were to bring the American coach in this summer.
Serhiy Rebrov
The most left-field potential manager on this list, Rebrov has previously had successful spells in his native Ukraine with Dynamo Kyiv where he won two league titles, two Ukrainian Cups and one Ukrainian Super Cup. He also won three successive league titles in Hungary with Ferencváros and most recently with his current club Al Ain in the UAE, he won the double last season. He has averaged nearly a 64% win rate over his career.
Rebrov sets his teams up in a 4-2-3-1 formation to play a fluid attacking style of football while also getting his sides to switch mid-match to a 4-4-2 before breaking on the counterattack.
While he may not have managed the prestigious clubs of his other candidates on this list, the 48-year-old has been a proven winner at every club he has managed. If given the job and time to rebuild Olympiakos could do worse than Rebrov.
Esteban Cambiasso
It is seen as certainly the biggest risk of all the candidates and even with his knowledge of the club as a former player, perhaps some professional managerial experience would benefit Cambiasso before he one day takes the helm of the current Greek champions.
@SteveKountourou
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