EUROPA LEAGUE winner Jose Luis Mendilibar is set to take over as Olympiacos’ new manager.
Mendilibar helped steer Sevilla away from relegation when he was appointed late last season in March as Jorge Sampaoli’s replacement.
And the Basque tactician led the Spanish giants to a record seventh Europa League title, earning qualification to this season’s Champions League.
This poses as a huge appointment for Olympiacos amid a turbulent campaign that has seen the Piraeus outfit plummet to fourth place.
SunSport understand Mendilibar will sign a contract until the end of the season with the option to extend for another year.
Sources also report the ex-Athletic Bilbao manager’s deal is worth €1.5million (£1.3m).
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The Spaniard is arriving in Greece today and will attend his new team’s Superleague clash against OFI in Piraeus this evening.
Mendilibar is then set for baptism by fire as he will make his debut on Thursday’s crunch Europa Conference League play-off clash at home against Ferencvaros.
The experienced coach stunned Europe last season as he eliminated Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United in the Europa League quarter-finals and then offloaded Juventus in the semi-finals.
He then beat Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the final on penalties after a 1-1 draw despite Sevilla’s many struggles.
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Sevilla then almost upset Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Super Cup at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece, which is the home of his new team.
Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring before Cole Palmer’s equaliser took the game to a penalty shootout where City prevailed after Nemanja Gudelj missed his spot-kick.
Mendilibar was sacked in October as Sevilla’s struggles continued with a poor run of five losses and just two wins in 13 matches across all competitions.
Olympiacos have a long history of appointing managers with immense European success.
That includes the likes of ex-Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde, Monaco hero Leonardo Jardim and current Fulham boss Marco Silva.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
