Saliaka’s goal in the 90’+2’ of the match isn’t just a win for Olympiacos. The Piraeus side thus secured the “three points” and remained close to the top of the table, while also gaining some peace of mind ahead of the upcoming break. This peace of mind allows Imanol Alguacil to work under the best possible conditions as the season resumes.
After all, let’s not forget that the 55-year-old coach came to Greece (working in Europe for the first time outside of Spain) and was immediately thrown in at the deep end. Just 24 hours later, he took his place on the bench for the match against OFI (0-1), and four days after that, he made his European debut with the “Red-and-Whites,” getting off to a winning start (2-1) against Jagiellonia, and in a similar timeframe, he celebrated his first victory with an away win (0-1) against Levadiakos.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The former Real Sociedad coach wants to start instilling his philosophy in the players (some differences are already apparent), but his emphasis on “the best possible conditions” is due to the upcoming absences. Since the training facilities will be empty due to the 15 national team call-ups—as, in addition to Retsos and Saliaka—who are with our national team—Karmo (Angola), Puerta (Colombia), Froiler (Switzerland), Gonzalez (Mexico), Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Popovic (Montenegro), Pedersen (Norway), Tikhnizian (Armenia), Bruno (Nigeria), Smailović (Bosnia), as well as Tsombanidis, Koutsogoulas, and Bakoulas with the U-21 team. In addition, Silva and Sa are sidelined due to injury. The good news is that Bailey will remain here to train, as he is absent from the Jamaican national team’s commitments.
Olympiacos’ next game is the “eternal” derby against Panathinaikos on October 11 for the league. The “Red-and-Whites” had Monday off; they return to Renti today and will train continuously through Friday, followed by a three-day break, and during that time they’ll have another three-day break (October 3–5).
Beyond that, it remains to be seen whether any moves will be made to sign a player from the free-agent pool by September 29, when the relevant deadline expires. Although until recently, it didn’t seem like there were any serious possibilities. However, as reported in “Fos ton Sport,” the “Red-and-Whites” are keeping an eye on the market. In Turkey, there has been talk of Guerreiro, who became a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich, but on the left wing there are Bruno and Tiknizian, though, of course, they aren’t getting as much as Olympiacos would like from those specific players. In midfield, they’re down one player, since Garcia signed with Atromitos and Al-Musrati—who has been rumored many times in the recent past to be a free agent— while it remains to be seen whether the club will look to strengthen its attacking midfield—specifically on the wings—with Zaha, Sancho, and Januzaj among the players currently without contracts.
*photo source: AP
