José Luis Mendilibar says he hopes Olympiacos' Europa Conference League success is not just a flash in the pan.
The Spaniard was only appointed on February 12 but guided the Greek giants to Athens with the help of Ayoub El Kaabi's strike to break Fiorentina's hearts four minutes from the end of extra-time.
The 63-year-old has now won UEFA competitions in back-to-back seasons after leading Sevilla to Europa League glory in 2023 and in the process made history as Olympiacos became the first Greek club to win the continental trophy.
He told UEFA.com: “I am very happy and satisfied. It is an honor to make this whole community happy, I feel great joy and happiness that I made them (the fans) feel this way and I dedicate this victory to them.
“I am happy that we have achieved something that our team has never achieved before. We will celebrate it. We will celebrate it properly and start working on the next one.”
🇪🇸 José Luis Mendilibar becomes the second manager to win consecutive European Cups with two different clubs 👏#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/amFbAfwwvC
– UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 30, 2024
The victory at the AEK Stadium came just 107 days after taking charge of the Super League giants and Mendilibar admitted: “Everything was very fast, and I hope there is more time, and that by then I will be here, things keep moving. well and that this is not just a night light or a short time.
“I hope this gives us time to be here for a long time and do great things.”
Mendilibar said that the victory of the Red and Whites is a victory for all of Greece, adding: “The good thing is that it is not just about Olympiacos, but about Greek football.
“It will be very good for Greek football and for the people of Greece to believe in it. Greek football should believe more in its football.”
El Kaabi's 11 goals in the knockout stages of any UEFA competition is a new record – surpassing the record of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rademel Falcao by 10.
The Moroccan striker said: “We all won it together. We thank all our people: together, one family.”
Teammate Giorgos Masouras added: “It's been a lifelong dream to win something like this. I wanted to win the European title, and I told myself that I could. We did it and I'm so happy. You have to chase dreams to achieve things.”
TEAMS 🏆🎉#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/SHqbqpNpNL
– UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 29, 2024
Olympiacos defender Rodinei said: “I have been telling myself that I am winning European titles since I arrived in Greece.
“I thought that Olympiacos is the best team in Greece and one day I will get something like this, and recently I started to believe more and more.”
“It's the best feeling I've ever had in football,” said Olympiacos defender Panagiotis Retsos. “I have faced a lot of bad things in my work, but I am happy to be here, where I grew up.
“It's a great gift for us, for everyone involved in the first 99 years of the club's history because next season we'll be celebrating our 100th anniversary.”
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