Olympiakos: Jose Luis Mendilibar takes Rangers to new heights

Following the dismissal of Argentinian Jorge Sampaoli, Mendilibar and then some other names responded to Sevilla’s call.

Within a few days the Spanish side had eliminated Manchester Utd in the Europa League quarter-finals, salvaging a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford with the last two goals and then winning the second leg 3-0 in Andalusia.

They then managed to get past Juventus in the semi-finals after extra time and went the distance in the final, defeating Roma on penalties. It was a result that then-Roma manager Jose Mourinho insisted he would not accept, expressing his disappointment at Mendilibar’s capture of the trophy and his belief that the result was unfair.

However, the honeymoon did not last long and he was sacked just four months later after a poor start to the season.

Incredibly, 12 months later he received another call, this time from Greece. Olympiacos needed a coach and Mendilibar accepted the offer.

He returned to continental competition within days and guided the Greek giants to their first European final.

He had to overcome continental specialist and countryman Unai Emery en route by beating Aston Villa in the Conference League semi-finals before making more history by beating Fiorentina in the final in Athens.

This meant that Mendilibar followed Rafa Benitez in winning back-to-back European trophies with two different clubs.

But perhaps more importantly, it meant that a Greek club had won the European cup for the first time, ending a 13-year rivalry between the big four leagues at a time when these tournaments and teams were growing from strength to strength.

Since Porto beat Braga in the second tournament in Dublin in 2011, only clubs from Spain, England, Italy and Germany have been able to participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Until Olympiakos, of course.

This success eased domestic disappointment as the club finished third in the Greek Super League behind fourth-time champions PAOK and neighbors AEK Athens.