15 LaLiga winner’s medals. That’s how many you can find in a dressing room in Athens, where eccentric Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis is bringing together some of the biggest names in Real Madrid history in Marcelo and Míchel. And he’s also brought in James Rodríguez too.
That’s not all either. Other former LaLiga stars include goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík, once of Sevilla, while he has new arrival Šime Vrsaljko in front of him after he joined from Atlético this summer. In midfield, Pep Biel has gone from gracing the Real Zaragoza midfield in years gone by to playing alongside James at Olympiacos. In attack, former Barça prodigy Konrad de la Fuente is providing crosses from out wide to Granada legend Youssef El Arabi and ex-Villarreal striker Cédric Bakambu.
Míchel has been the latest man to arrive in the Greek capital after Spanish coach Carlos Cobreran was dismissed after only 48 days in charge. Two wins in 11 games were enough to condemn the man who started out his coaching career in the Villarreal youth system.
Now, Marinakis has offered an opportunity to Míchel, who was last seen disappearing down the tunnel at Getafe with a grand total of one point from eight games. “We’ve proven that we had a good squad, but a bad coach,” Azulones president Ángel Torres said of Míchel’s time at the club months later as Quique Sánchez Flores salvaged the team after a dreadful start.
The Spaniard is not an unknown quantity at the Giorgos Karaiskaki Stadium, having previously won two Greek Super Leagues during his stint between 2013 and 2015. He’s yet to start more than one full season in any other jobs.
It’s been some journey since he was gliding through midfield as he racked up 537 appearances for Real Madrid through the 1980s and 1990s, and he’s connecting with some modern day Real Madrid legends.
Among those is Marcelo, the left-back who racked up even more matches, with nine games more for the club than his new coach. The Brazilian joined after his contract at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu expired in the summer, putting pen to paper on 3rd September, but five games later, he is still yet to make a matchday squad. Still reportedly getting match fit, the international break is coming at a time which will allow him to up his efforts in the hope of being fit to make his debut against Atromitos.
One man who did make his debut, in a 2-1 defeat to Aris Saloniki, is James Rodríguez. The Colombian, who turned 31 this summer, is returning to Europe after a spell with Al-Rayyan in Qatar, and does so wearing the number 10 for the Greek side.
“They are people who teach us to compete and always respect our opponents,” coach Míchel said about the pair at his presentation. "I can assure you that we can expect very good afternoons from Marcelo and James, and above all, that they are going to leave a legacy at this club, they are very special people.”
For fans of LaLiga, there could be few better teams to keep an eye out for beyond the Spanish shores this season than Olympiacos as they seek to make it four Greek Super Leagues in a row.