Who is Carlos Carvalhal?

By Stephen Kountourou

Another One Bites The Dust 

After only 5 months in charge, Diego Martinez has left Olympiakos. Despite the club originally allowing the Spanish coach time to bring in his players, and integrate his style and ethos, with a long-term project that could benefit Thrylos, the administrators have lost their patience. 

After two admittedly poor results against PAOK in the league and Freiberg in the Europa League Martinez's days in Piraeus were numbered. 

It certainly feels as though, with his departure, that Thrylos is back to square one. The project, which was supposed to be given time to be implemented, has been thrown out of the window in less than half a year. So in the wake of Martinez's departure, Olympiakos has hunted for a new manager on the familiar shores of the Iberian peninsula. In other words, Portugal. 

In steps, Carlos Carvalhal, a coach familiar with Greek football, has previously managed Asteras Tripolis from May to November 2008. But the question is, who is Carlos Carvalhal?

Experience

Carvalhal is an experienced manager who began his career in 1998, and until 2005, he bounced around numerous clubs in the Portuguese lower leagues. His first big break as a head coach was with his native club Braga in 2006, although his tenure lasted until November of the same year. 

Other clubs Carvalhal has managed over the years most notably include, Sporting Lisbon, Asteras Tripolis as said before, Besiktas, Swansea City, Rio Ave, Braga again, Al Wahda FC and most recently Celta Vigo. It is two of his three most recent clubs that could give Olympiakos supporters the most up-to-date look at what they can expect from the 57-year-old coach.

During his second spell at Sporting Braga, after returning in July 2020, Carvalhal had a relatively successful time in the two seasons he spent at the club. While he was unable to break the triopoly at the top of Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon at the top of the table, he was able to finish 4th in 2020/21 and 2021/22 and recorded victories over all three in the League. 

He also guided Braga to the Taça de Portugal (the Portuguese Cup) in his first season in charge, beating Benfica 2-0 in the final. In Europe too, Carvalhal impressed, taking his side to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2021/22, losing out to eventual finalists, Rangers.

After Leaving Braga to pursue other projects the Portuguese manager briefly managed in the UAE at Al Wahda but was dismissed after just five months in charge. He most recently took charge of LaLiga side Celta Vigo where he initially signed a contract until 2024. He managed to keep Celta Vigo in the Spanish top flight, only managing to do so on the final day of the season and left the club in the summer of 2023. 

Tactics 

Carvalhal tactically, prefers a possession style of football, usually lining his Braga side up in a 3-4-3 formation and allowing mobility in attack. He also preferred a 4-4-2 for Ceta Vigo during his 14 games in charge. So while these are not necessarily formations that Olympiakos have used consistently or successfully, according to totalfootballanalysis.com: “The Portuguese coach enjoys diversity and has developed the ability to adapt to different circumstances.” 

So there is always the chance that Carvalhal would maintain the style of football Olympiakos is used to, and with the players at his disposal currently, by setting up in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. 

Last Thoughts 

The question that a lot of Olympiakos supporters are asking is, is it the right time to change the manager? Well, only time will tell. There is always a risk with changing coaches midseason, as Thrylos fans know only too well. Carvalhal in particular has proven that he does not tend to hang around for very long, which is evident in the fact that he only signed an 18-month contract. 

Many have also observed that it would be more beneficial to keep Diego Martinez, not only to keep faith in the project Olympiakos are attempting to build but also to maintain the stability of the club and the players, who made their feelings clear in the most recent game against Volos, in which members of the team ran to the Spanish coach to celebrate scoring by embracing him. 

On top of this, and despite his shortcomings, Martinez feels like a better fit and higher quality manager than the names linked with the Thrylos job. Perhaps more so than even the incoming Carvalhal.

Unfortunately, it seems too little too late for Martinez and just like many before him, he is perhaps leaving Piraeus too soon. So with Carlos Carvalhal entering the hot seat of a job that feels like it is too good for any manager at this point, supporters will have to hope that, their new coach is given the time their old coach didn’t get.

Hellas Football

Stephen Kountourou