Around 14:00, on Monday afternoon, Olympiacos FC hosted the presentation of Mr. Michel, the side’s new Spanish head coach. The event took place at the club’s HQs in Alexandras Square and it was Olympiacos President, Mr. Vangelis Marinakis, who introduced the newly signed head coach to the Press.
The club’s President stressed that: “I would like to welcome Mr Michel to the Olympiacos family for the next 2.5 years. He is a football legend; he was Real Madrid’s captain for many years and the magnitude of his career will help him comprehend the glory of Olympiacos. That was the reason we took this transcendental leap forward.
The second reason has to do with the way he perceives football: attacking and displaying a great show. There are some things we have to understand in Greece and not burn everything to the ground. His personality will be of great assistance to the club. Mr. Michel’s arrival will be the trigger for changing many things with respect to the indifference and laxity displayed by some players. None wants to see players limping along.
Mr. Michel has worked with Football Academies and has brought to the forefront players such as Chelsea’s Mata, Valencia’s Soldado and QPR’s Granero. This is fitting to our philosophy. Mr. Michel has had an illustrious career in the Primera Division, which I consider to be the top championship”.
Then, following questions by the Press, he pinpointed:
“As you may understand, it is difficult for a coach to take on a squad amidst the season. We have a tough schedule ahead but this is life for Olympiacos. Let our opponents worry for the schedule. We will all support the head coach and his assistants, whom I welcome to the club. We want to continue registering wins and displaying well. He will be the boss in the team. I wish him the best. I will be there to support him”
“Competitive both in Greece and Europe”
Bearing the “aura” of an athlete with an outstanding career in a major club, such as Real Madrid, Michel made an opening statement and explained to the Press:
“I would like to thank the President for giving me the opportunity to work in the great club. I am committed to give an extra boost to the international prestige of the club, as it is suitable to a squad with so many successes. I want to make Olympiacos a bit better than it is now. It is a challenge that I am passionate about. I already had a hint about the grandeur of Olympiacos, and from the little time I’ve been here I became aware that this is a great club.
One might think that I came here just for a while. I work with passion and wholeheartedly. We came here to be successful and nothing sort of that. Olympiacos holds huge expectations and what matters for me, and the President, is that we become better. The ambitions and objectives have been the reasons that made me decide to come here, as Ernesto Valverde also told me; and that fills me with passion.
It would be unfair to talk about yesterday’s match (note. against Atromitos), because the result was not good and it wouldn’t be right to weigh ourselves up to that encounter. There are things I would like to improve. I want to make Olympiacos competitive not just in Greece, but also in Europe. Let us not stick to yesterday’s match, I’ve watched more than 14 matches and I believe we have great players to achieve our goals”
Then, the Press submitted questions to him, and he quoted:
“You think we have already made it to the final. You hold high hopes for us (laughter). There are only a few days left before the Europe League leg against Levante, but the next championship match comes first. We will face Levante not as an opponent better than us, but we’ll go there to play football. If we manage to qualify, we’ll see about Atlentico Madrid. This is the way of thinking I’d like us to have; that we are competitive against everyone, that we focus on defending Olympiacos’ emblem.
My original contact was with Darko Kovesevic roughly a year ago. Back then, I had to choose between Sevilla and Olympiacos. I went to Sevilla. For me, it is very important that I am now in Olympiacos.
It would be unfair to compare today’s circumstances with the ones back then. What I want is for Olympiacos top moments to become a habit. My philosophy I no different that the one I had when I was a player; that is, to play good football, be competitive and win.
I like playing in an offensive-minded manner football and the Greek football. I love the way the Greeks had won the European Cup. They had had a top goalkeeper (note. Antonis Nikopolidis). With respect to line-ups, it is important that Olympiacos has new players. We want to play in an offensive-minded way. We shall give opportunities to players from the Academies. We will search for players who will be promising and able to offer things to this club. We always have great chances to be the winners in a match, but we want to be competitive.
These are two individual things. The first is to win the championship as soon as possible; we also want to get the Cup, of course. The second thing is to earn time and experience in order to build an even better team in June. And this is a huge challenge for me, to become better than Mr Valverde because for the time being I am just taller than him. I wish that, once I leave, I will have built the same good image as Mr. Valverde. This is not first time I work outside Spain. I’ve worked outside Spain in the Media and I am experienced”.
