Who is El Kaabi? Lillo trained him, he fired Emery and he is Mendilibar’s secret weapon | Relief
Landing Jose Luis Mendilibar Piraeus couldn’t have been better in terms of results and enthusiasm. After the Basque coach was sacked by Sevilla after some difficult early-season results, his new bench provided him with an unexpected challenge that he thoroughly enjoyed and in which he won another European final. In Greece, he was presented with a curious menu that makes his fans dream and, above all, strengthens the myth of the Zaldibar coach. An adventure seasoned with atypical talent and the superb performance of Ayoub El Kaabi, the standard of attack for Olympiacos.
Although the protagonist of these weeks seems to be “Mendy”, it is impossible not to look at the latest data of El Kaabi, who can confront, at least in the spotlight, the figure of the new coach. The 30-year-old Moroccan striker, a member of the Moroccan national team at the 2018 World Cup and one of his team’s historical monuments, is enjoying a pleasant moment at Olympiacos. Al Sadd, a team that included Javi Hernandez and Cazorla among others, released El Kaabi with a letter of freedom in August 2023 and he has been making a name for himself in Europe ever since.
He was born in Casablanca in 1993 and his origins are, to say the least, astonishing. Start off his career at Racing Casablanca, where he started playing as a full-back in defense, a position in which he gradually progressed and convinced himself to participate in attack. His conditions as a striker, even in Moroccan football, surprise him with his development and justify the change: 25 goals in the second division in 16/17. Football brought him to China on board Hebei Fortune; in Turkiye, in Khatayspor; and to Qatar, the previous stop being the aforementioned Al Sadd. In Qatar on the orders of the Spaniard Juanma Lillo.
In Greece he convinced all the Olympiacos coaches, where Mendilibar’s confidence in him grew and his teammate Fran Navarro’s inability to play in the Conference allowed him to stand out as a benchmark with virtually no competition.In 42 games played in the red and white shirt, the Moroccan scored 31 goals and 18 in the Greek Super League, where his efforts played a key role in finishing top of the league.
After arriving in Piraeus, the Moroccan became a great talisman for the Greeks, despite the small fortune they had nationally. Third in the concluded Greek Super League, in which PAOK were champions, and outside of the Greek Cup (the final will feature Aris and arch-rivals Panathinaikos), the Piraeus side seem confident of giving their best. and attack the competition where he is still alive in Europe, just one step away from winning the title.
Mendilibar, guide of the Greeks in Europe
And all this taking into account the fact that the path to the Conference was not at all easy. After falling in the group stage of the Europa League, the qualifying rounds that the Greek team went through forced them to eliminate Maccabi Tel Aviv on penalties in the round of 16; Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals; and finally, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, a strong opponent in the semi-finals, which they again overcame thanks to El Kaabi’s superb performance. A surprising 2-4 in Birmingham and a quiet 2-0 comeback in Piraeus put the tide in Mendilibar’s side’s favor, reviving the star the Basque has in international competition just a year after winning the Europa League with Sevilla in 2023. .
“Thank you to Sevilla for saying goodbye to me, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Olympiacos coach
Jose Luis Mendilibar believes in his team’s ability and wants to take on Fiorentina in the Conference League grand final. A special final because of the importance it has for the coach and players, as well as for the fans of the Piraeus team, who will hold the final in the neighboring city of Athens for greater motivation. Another opportunity to test the striker’s accuracy just outside the Rojiblancos’ home stadium in the European final.
El Kaabi’s goals are even more valuable in the Conference League
El Kaabi’s goal was particularly notable against Aston Villa, where the striker scored five goals in both games. The Basque coach believed in the striker’s abilities and, as happened with Youssef En-Nesyri during his time at Sevilla, the number “9” became a great attacking key to reach the final and overcome the difficulties that Mendilibar faced in this new adventure . .
“Thank you all for your support. I’m happy about the hat-trick and the victory, but we have to continue until the end.”
Olympiacos player
And El Kaabi lives not only on his goals against Villa. Thanks to what he achieved in the second leg of the semi-final against the Villains, the striker managed to score 10 goals in 8 Conference League matches. clearly the top scorer for Olympiacos and the competition itself. Only Eran Zahavi, the scorer for Maccabi Tel Aviv, already eliminated from the game, was close to the Moroccan striker’s performance before the second leg of the semi-final.
A more than outstanding performance that made his name one of the bright spots that explains Olympiacos’ success in the final minutes of the season. There are several seasons in which El Kaabi’s talent combined well with the Basque coach, when Olympiacos were just one step away from glory in the grand final in Athens. Another great international challenge, with Mendilibar as the architect and El Kaabi as the arrowhead.