Leverkusen – Olympiacos: The time for the great transcendence at the BayArena

24 Φεβρουαρίου, 2026 στις κατηγορίες English Edition,

Leverkusen – Olympiacos: For those of us who have lived through decades of European travels, we know well that the “red-and-white” nights never end before the final whistle. Olympiacos is called tonight in Germany to write yet another golden page in its history, chasing the comeback and the qualification to the “16” of the Champions League against the powerful Leverkusen.

The appointment of Tuesday (24/02, 22:00) at the BayArena is not just a football match; it is a test of character. After the result of the first match, Jose Luis Mendilibar’s players know that their mission is difficult, but not impossible. The experienced coach, who has proven that he knows how to manage the “weight” of the great European competitions, asks his players for courage, aggressiveness, and concentration.

In the press conference he granted, Mendilibar clarified that the team is not looking at the past, but at the present. The experience of the 30+ generation, which has seen Olympiacos achieve epic “away wins” in inhospitable grounds, constitutes the guide for the psychology of the stands, but also of the players inside the pitch.

🔴⚪🗣️ Mendilibar: “We’ve come here with hope and belief. We need to show the necessary courage, be aggressive, and play our game if we want to win”.
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🔴⚪🗣️ Μεντιλίμπαρ: «Έχουμε έρθει με ελπίδα και προσδοκίες. Θέλουμε να έχουμε το θάρρος που χρειάζεται και να είμαστε… pic.twitter.com/MfGMyMW37J

— Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) February 23, 2026

The press conference in detail:

SOURCE: Official website of Olympiacos FC

Question: After two matches at “G. Karaiskakis,” what have you seen in view of the match in Germany now and what must Olympiacos do to chase the qualification?

Mendilibar: “To have the courage needed to play our own game, to be aggressive and to steal the balls we must in order to have more ball possessions compared to the two previous matches. We must have better ball possession to play a better game.”

Question: February had good and bad moments, what is your psychology before such an important match?

Mendilibar: “We have come with hope and expectations to play a new match, we do not dwell either on the match we won or on the one we lost. We are focused on the future not on the past and we do not dwell either on the positives or the negatives of the past.”

Question: Will you use in your speech to the players parts of what you had said to the players before the match with Maccabi?

Mendilibar: “No, I will not use that speech because time has passed, but it was also a different competition and with another opponent. We will not be thinking about 그 qualification, but the qualification we want to achieve now. The positive thing is that this ‘must’ does not exist and we must take advantage of it. We want to play a good game and win the match, if we can win with more than two goals and the qualification comes, even better.”

Question: Do you consider it of pivotal importance which team will qualify? And if Olympiacos is that team, do you prefer 0-1 in the 20th minute or 0-1 in the 70th minute of the match?

Mendilibar: “I do not think of such details and I do not dwell on which minute the goal will be scored. You cannot predict such things in football. At ‘G. Karaiskakis’ it took them an hour to score a goal against us, but within a few minutes they scored two. We must not give the opponent the advantage of having the ball and the chances in the match. We must play our game and we must not be limited to the fact whether the goal is scored in the 20th minute or is not scored in that minute.”

Question: The opposing coach said that he has to face an excellent opponent, also in the previous league match he did rotation in his team, how do you perceive all this?

Mendilibar: “All this shows that they respect us, but at this level we all respect our opponents. It also shows that nothing is over and he wants to convince the players that they must try to get the qualification, because what they won in the first match does not mean that the qualification is over.”

Question: Reference was made to what you will say to your players and to the victories of the past, Olympiacos throughout this time has achieved great ‘away wins,’ does this give a confidence to the team?

Mendilibar: “I think that this exists only in the sense that you have achieved it again, it is however difficult. It is like when a team wins the UEFA Champions League, when you have won the UEFA Champions League once it does not mean that you are a favorite to always win it. We are here to claim our chances. The fact that we have done it in the past does not make us favorites to achieve it again.”