Olympiakos was the champion of Greece 47 times, played in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (1999) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1993), but had never before been among the top four in any European competition. Until this season.
Our Stevan Jovetić's club, through the penalty drama and the hell of Istanbul, overcame Fenerbahçe and advanced to the semi-finals of the Conference League.
A historic moment for the "red and whites" from Piraeus, but as the creator of this year's fairy tale, Spanish expert José Luis Mendilibar, says, Olympiakos does not want to stop there.
"I'm glad that such an important result came right when I'm here - I know how important everything is for the club. However, when we've already come this far, I hope we don't stop there," said Mendilibar in the press after the match with Lantern.
The hero was the 21-year-old goalkeeper Konstantinos Colakis, who in the penalty shootout "removed" the shots of Dušan Tadić, Džengiz Under and Leonardo Bonuci.
"The players of the eleven are very much connected with the ability of the goalkeeper, especially when he defends them as Colakis did now. When the ball ends up near the goal or hits the post, luck is responsible for that, but when the goalkeeper defends penalties, then it is definitely his merit", he explained. Spanish expert.
Mendilibar won the Europa League last season with Sevilla, and now in the semi-finals, he faces a clash with Aston Villa and Unai Emery - a countryman and the man who brought three cups to the club from Andalucia, the second-highest quality UEFA competition.
Bonus video:
