José Luis Mendilibar

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José Luis Mendilibar
Mendilibar as manager of Eibar in 2017
Personal information
Full name José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria
Date of birth (1961-03-14) 14 March 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth Zaldibar, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Olympiacos (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1982 Bilbao Athletic 106 (14)
1982–1985 Logroñés 88 (11)
1985–1993 Sestao 275 (34)
1993–1994 Lemona 28 (4)
Total 497 (63)
Managerial career
1994–1996 Arratia
1996–1997 Athletic Bilbao (youth)
1997–1999 Basconia
1999–2000 Bilbao Athletic
2000–2001 Basconia
2001–2002 Aurrerá
2002–2004 Lanzarote
2004–2005 Eibar
2005 Athletic Bilbao
2006–2010 Valladolid
2011–2013 Osasuna
2014 Levante
2015–2021 Eibar
2021–2022 Alavés
2023 Sevilla
2024– Olympiacos
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Super League Greece club Olympiacos.

He played no higher than Segunda División, making 290 appearances and scoring 34 goals mainly for Sestao. He also represented Logroñés in that league.[1]

Mendilibar managed for over 15 years in La Liga for Athletic Bilbao, Valladolid, Osasuna, Levante, Eibar, Alavés and Sevilla, winning the second division with the second of those teams in 2006–07 and the Europa League in 2023 with the last.

Playing career

Mendilibar was born in Zaldibar, Basque Country. He enjoyed an average career as a player, never appearing for a club in La Liga and successively representing Bilbao Athletic, Logroñés, Sestao and Lemona.[2]

Mendilibar was a key player in midfield for Sestao during the side's Segunda División years – playing eight seasons with them in that level and appearing in nearly 300 competitive matches – narrowly missing out on promotion in 1986–87 under Javier Irureta.[3][4][5]

Coaching career

Early years

After retiring in 1994, Mendilibar worked in the youth categories of Athletic Bilbao before having spells as head coach at Aurrerá de Vitoria,[6] Lanzarote and Eibar.[7] His success with the latter in the second division, on a very limited budget, translated into a narrow miss on promotion in 2005.[8]

Athletic Bilbao

Mendilibar returned to Athletic in June 2005.[9] His debut was the first European match of his career, a 1–0 away loss against Romania's CFR Cluj on 2 July in the second round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup (aggregate draw, elimination on penalties).[10][11] His first top-flight game was a 3–0 home win over Real Sociedad in the Basque derby on 27 August.[12]

Having not added any more victories in the ensuing nine games of the season, Mendilibar was its first manager to be sacked. He was replaced by Javier Clemente on 31 October.[13]

Valladolid

In June 2006, Mendilibar was appointed at Real Valladolid in the second division.[14] His team won promotion as champions in his first season, earning a record 88 points and going on a 29-game unbeaten run to secure their place in the top flight with eight fixtures remaining.[15] In the same campaign, they reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey with aggregate victories over Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Villarreal from the league above.[16]

Mendilibar's team retained their league status from 2007 to 2009. On 1 February 2010, after a 1–1 home draw against Almería left them one point above the relegation places, he was dismissed.[17]

Osasuna

In February 2011, Mendilibar returned to work, replacing the fired José Antonio Camacho at Osasuna on a deal until June of the following year.[18] His first game in charge was a 4–0 home defeat of Espanyol on 20 February,[19] and the Rojillos stayed up on the final day of the campaign with a 1–0 win over Villarreal also at the El Sadar Stadium.[20]

Mendilibar added a further year to his contract in March 2012,[21] and again in May of the following year.[22] On 3 September 2013, he was relieved of his duties after three losses in as many matches to kickstart the new season.[23]

Levante

On 29 May 2014, Mendilibar was appointed at Levante, signing a one-year contract with an option for a second season.[24] On 20 October, after only one win in eight games, and no goals scored and 14 conceded from four home fixtures, he was dismissed.[25]

Eibar

Mendilibar returned to Eibar on 30 June 2015, replacing Gaizka Garitano.[26] In 2016–17, he led the team to a best-ever quarter-final finish in the domestic cup before an injury-stripped squad lost 5–2 on aggregate to Atlético Madrid;[27] he and Asier Garitano of Leganés were joint recipients of the year's Miguel Muñoz Trophy for best manager.[28] The following year they came ninth in the league, again a club record.[29]

In May 2021, shortly after the team's relegation, Mendilibar announced that he would not renew his contract.[30]

Alavés

At the turn of the calendar year, Mendilibar returned to the top division at relegation-threatened neighbours Alavés.[31] He was fired less than four months later, with the side in last place.[32]

Sevilla

On 21 March 2023, Mendilibar replaced Jorge Sampaoli at the helm of Sevilla.[33] In the first European games of his career since Athletic's Intertoto elimination by Cluj in 2005,[34] his team beat Manchester United 5–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League;[35] they eventually won the competition, defeating Roma in Budapest 4–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw.[36]

On 8 October 2023, Mendilibar was dismissed after winning only two of eight league matches of the new season.[37]

Olympiacos

Mendilibar signed as manager of Olympiacos on 12 February 2024.[38] He made his debut three days later, defeating Ferencváros 1–0 in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.[39] The following week, he managed a 4–1 derby away win against PAOK in the Super League Greece, taking the opposition from the top of the table.[40]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 18 April 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Arratia Spain 1 July 1994 30 June 1996 76 41 14 21 126 67 +59 053.95 [41]
Basconia Spain 30 June 1997 31 May 1999 82 39 27 16 123 79 +44 047.56 [42]
Athletic Bilbao Β Spain 31 May 1999 1 July 2000 38 15 10 13 45 35 +10 039.47 [43]
Basconia Spain 1 July 2000 30 June 2001 38 16 8 14 65 59 +6 042.11 [44]
Aurrerá Spain 30 June 2001 1 July 2002 38 12 18 8 38 33 +5 031.58 [45]
Lanzarote Spain 1 July 2002 1 July 2004 95 40 25 30 145 110 +35 042.11 [46]
Eibar Spain 1 July 2004 21 June 2005 43 20 14 9 53 39 +14 046.51 [47]
Athletic Bilbao Spain 21 June 2005 31 October 2005 13 3 3 7 12 16 −4 023.08 [48]
Valladolid Spain 20 June 2006 1 February 2010 156 62 43 51 210 206 +4 039.74 [49]
Osasuna Spain 14 February 2011 3 September 2013 102 33 26 43 110 147 −37 032.35 [50]
Levante Spain 29 May 2014 20 October 2014 8 1 2 5 4 20 −16 012.50 [51]
Eibar Spain 30 June 2015 25 May 2021 248 76 66 106 299 353 −54 030.65 [52]
Alavés Spain 28 December 2021 4 April 2022 12 1 4 7 9 23 −14 008.33 [53]
Sevilla Spain 21 March 2023 8 October 2023 28 10 11 7 44 33 +11 035.71 [54]
Olympiacos Greece 12 February 2024 Present 14 10 0 4 32 16 +16 071.43 [55]
Total 991 379 271 341 1,315 1,236 +79 038.24

Honours

Valladolid

Sevilla

Individual

References

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  2. ^ Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (24 June 2005). "Futbolista blando, entrenador duro" [Soft player, hard manager]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  3. ^ Alcaide, Jesús (16 February 1986). "3–2: Amarró los dos puntos el Castilla" [3–2: Castilla bagged two points]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. ^ Soler, Jaume (22 October 1990). "Palamós dió por bueno el punto" [Palamós happy with point]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  5. ^ Hoyos, Javier (22 November 1992). "El Mallorca sentencia al final" [Mallorca decider in the end]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  6. ^ Hurtado, José Luis (29 May 2023). "Mendilibar, el genio normal: "Nunca le vi vestido con un traje"; "me decía 'pichafría' por hacer sólo un cañito"" [Mendilibar, the normal genius: "I never saw him wearing a suit"; "he called me 'yellow' for performing just one nutmeg"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2023.
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External links