Jose Luis Mendilibar is looking to complete a hat-trick of European trophies as he leads Olympiakos against Rangers on Thursday, writes Liam McLeod.
Jose Luis Mendilibar may not be a household name to football fans in Scotland, but the Olympiakos manager has been writing quite the tale in the twilight of his career as he prepares to welcome Rangers to Athens' port city of Piraeus and their Europa League clash.
Within days, the Spaniard's side had knocked Manchester Utd out of the Europa League quarter-finals, scoring two dramatic late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford before winning the return in Andalusia 3-0. Incredibly, 12 months on, he received another call, this time from Greece. Olympiakos needed a manager and Mendilibar accepted the challenge.
This meant that Mendilibar followed Rafa Benitez in winning back-to-back European trophies with two different clubs. That success tempered the club's domestic disappointment as they finished third in the Greek Super League behind champions PAOK, who won the title for just a fourth time, and neighbours AEK Athens.Olympiakos are the most successful club in Greece. They have been Champions League regulars and are now European title holders.
Olympiakos also boast one of the top strikers in Europe in the shape of Ayoub El Kaabi, whose 11 goals, including the only goal in the final, helped them to their Conference League win last term.
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