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Showing posts from February, 2024

Ferencváros TC vs Olympiakos: UEFA Conference League Playoff Preview

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Ferencváros TC vs Olympiakos: UEFA Conference League Playoff Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Conference League Playoff Second Leg: 22/02/24 Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time Venue: Ferencváros Stadion  Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 2 HD If there was a way to make the best possible impression on Olympiakos supporters, it would be the start to life in Piraeus Jose Luis Mendilibar has made as the new manager. Not only has the Basque native got victories in both of his first two games in charge, one at home in Europe and the other being a convincing derby win away in Thessaloniki, but he has breathed new life into a Thrylos team that looked down and out before the Super League playoffs had even begun.  While fans of the Piraeus side cannot get too ahead of themselves, it is a breath of fresh air to see the team playing without fear, without the weight of the red and white shirt and working together as a team rather than just a group of individuals slapped together.  But these early succes

Olympiakos vs Ferencváros TC: UEFA Conference League Playoffs Preview

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 Olympiakos vs Ferencváros TC:  UEFA Conference League Playoffs Preview By Stephen Kountourou There is a time of uncertainty currently surrounding Olympiakos. Performances in the derbies this season have left a lot to be desired. The team is in transition with a revolving door of players, managers and even sporting directors, which is the only consistency of the past two seasons.  The club's legal representatives are also fighting on multiple fronts. Firstly with CAS regarding the derby against Panathinaikos in Karaiskakis. Secondly, the vice-president and legal adviser Alexis Kougias was summoned to the Professional Sports Committee regarding comments on the corruption in Greek football.  With that all being said, European football returns for the Piraeus side, and fans will be back in the stadium to cheer their team on. The side standing in front of Olympiakos and the UEFA Conference League round of 16, is Hungarian giants Ferencvaros.  While not the toughest opponent that Thrylo

Who is José Luis Mendilibar?

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Who is José Luis Mendilibar? By Stephen Kountourou Another one bites the dust. After just two months, Carlos Carvalhal was shown the door at Olympiakos. Once Sotiris Silaidopoulos takes charge of the game against OFI, and with the new manager to begin work after that, Thyrlos will have had eight managers in 18 months. A damning number that shows the instability of Thrylos as an organisation and as a team right now.  Sporting Director Pedro Alves was also shown the door with his replacement being former Olympiakos player Darko Kovačević, who was previously in the Sporting Director role from 2010 to 2018. This will be the third in the role this season. In short, Thrylos is a mess and needs to be rebuilt.  As Michalis Tsochos sited on Gazzetta.gr, Thrylos need to change their tune, to not think about the title until they have sorted out their internal issues and become a competitive team again. This will take time and patience. Something the Olympiakos hierarchy has severely lacked since

Interview with Abiola Dauda

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  Interview with Abiola Dauda By Nikolas Fil I had the pleasure to talk to Ionikos striker Abiola Dauda. Talking about his move to Sweden, his first taste of Greek football with Atromitos and his biggest regret. How was it going from Nigeria to Sweden at the age of 18? It wasn’t easy to leave Nigeria at 18yrs old, but I knew if I want to be a professional and follow my dreams, I will have to make these sacrifices and I was glad that I did.  Going to Sweden was fantastic for me and I made a lot of friends there and people who helped me in my early days and am still in touch with these people. I learned so much being in Sweden for 7yrs and definitely I will be going back there in the future.  Firstly, you came to Atromitos, your first club in Greece. How did that come up and what do you keep from this experience? Yeah, I came to Atromitos 2017 January, and it was a good decision for me because after some difficult time in Holland, it felt good coming to Greece to be able to find joy agai

Ljubicic to AEK and Olympiakos continued on the Iberian track

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  Ljubicic to AEK and Olympiakos continued on the Iberian track By ANDREAS MITSIS                      Ljubicic on the right in picture together with former teammate Josip Sutalo. AEK managed on the last day of the transfer window to land the signing of Dinamo Zagreb's Robert Ljubicic for a sum of almost five million euros. Olympiakos, in turn, has had a transfer window characterized by signings linked in one way or another to the Iberian peninsula, so also on transfer deadline day. AEK pounced towards the end of the January transfer window by signing Dinamo Zagreb's versatile midfielder Robert Ljubicic.  "Enosis" had not been particularly active in the winter market but quietly worked on the transfer of the Croatian-Austrian. Ljubicic will cost the reigning league and cup champions close to five million euros and the contract will be valid for the next 5.5 years.  An important role in the transition was played by AEK's owner Dimitris Melissanidis, but also to a l