Olympiakos Makes History by Winning Europa Conference League and UEFA Youth League in the Same Season

In the 2023/24 season, which European club stood out as having the most unforgettable season?

Bayer Leverkusen spring to mind after their Bundesliga and German Cup double. Real Madrid, European champions yet again, have a compelling case too. But what about Olympiakos?

The Greek side became the first club in their nation's history to lift a senior European trophy when they won the Europa Conference League in May. A month earlier, their U19s had managed an even unlikelier success in claiming the prestigious UEFA Youth League.

A long list of European giants were vanquished along the way. The senior side saw off Fenerbahce in the quarters, Unai Emery's Aston Villa in the semis and Fiorentina in the final. The youngsters overcame even bigger fish in Inter, Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

"Thirty-seven days," smiles Sotiris Silaidopoulos to , specificying the time between the two finals as he re-lives the whirlwind. As head coach of their U19s and, since February, a member of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar's first-team staff, he had a hand in both successes.

"Sometimes, what happens in real life is even bigger than you can imagine," he says. "To be part of two glory days for Olympiakos, a club with a 100-year history, was really amazing. The only words I can find are that I am blessed to have lived these historical moments."

The twin successes made for an incredible finale to a turbulent campaign. Mendilibar became the club's third manager of the season when he arrived in February. His successors, Carlos Carvalhal and Diego Martinez, lasted only two and five months respectively.

By that point, though, optimism was already building around the prospects of their younger cohort in the UEFA Youth League, essentially the academy version of the Champions League.

Their subsequent success, in a competition previously won by Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid, was secured with a stunning 3-0 win over AC Milan at UEFA's Swiss headquarters.

It was a momentous feat for the club, even more so because of the manner in which it was achieved.

UEFA's technical reports from the tournament highlight the quality of the side's pressing and build-up play. A far cry, then, from the agricultural style associated with Greek football after the national team's European Championship success in Portugal in 2004.

"The way that we succeeded was not really a typical Greek way and that is very important for us," explains Silaidopoulos. "Anyone who followed us during the tournament will have seen that we had a clear tactical plan and strong principles in all phases of the game.

"We saw a profile of dominating, of pressing, which is a really strong point of the team. It showed that, even as a Greek club, we have the methodology and knowledge to succeed at this level and be really competitive against clubs like Bayern, Inter and Milan.

"Even in those games, against really big opponents, we never felt like we were the underdog. You could see that we had confidence, that we trusted in ourselves to play football in a good way, and that we could also win in our way."

Silaidopoulos highlights the role of club chief Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Nottingham Forest, and whose ambition and academy investment were key to the achievement.

"He was the first one who believed we could win these European titles, both the youth team and the first team," he says. "When we are talking about youth football, it has to be a long-term progress, starting many years before in the academy. He understood that."

One focus, Silaidopoulos adds, was to prioritise homegrown talent.

"We were the only club in the UEFA Youth League who had no foreign transfers in our team," he says.

"That is very special for us. Our team is totally Greek, with players who have spent many years in the academy. It means they understand and share the values and vision that we have, just like everybody else in the club, from the technical director to the kitman."

The alignment running through the club is intended to strengthen the pathway for the young players who shone in Silaidopoulos' U19 team to step up to the senior side.

"That is the ultimate goal, to bring these players to the first team," he says. "That is also the idea of Mr Marinakis. His vision is to bring our own players through from the academy.

"Don't forget that in the Conference League final against Fiorentina, there were three players from the academy who started - Panagiotis Retsos, Konstantinos Fourtounis and Konstantinos Tzolakis - and another three who were on the bench.

"So, it's a process that the club is already doing really well. But I think after this success, the pathway will be even more open for the guys in the U19s to be a part of the first team."

Silaidopoulos's appointment to Mendilibar's senior coaching staff in February was made with that pathway in mind and he is relishing the opportunity to work with the Spaniard.

"There isn't much I can say about his coaching. What he has done, winning two European titles, first with Sevilla and now with Olympiakos, says enough. It's like being at university being next to him and part of my job now is to help the young guys step up."

Some of last year's U19s have already made the jump, with striker Charalampos Kostoulas, 17, starting their opening game of the new season, a 2-0 win away to Volos NFC, and midfielder Christos Mouzakitis, of the same age, among the substitutes.

Slaidopoulos is helping to mentor both.

"I always say that it takes nine or 10 years for a player to reach the first team, but it might take only two or three minutes to be evaluated and succeed or not at senior level. Everything is totally different, so they have to be helped and prepared."

The Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina, secured by Ayoub El Kaabi's goal in extra-time, brought a tribal bonus - held as it was at the home of their rivals AEK Athens.

But Silaidopoulos hopes Olympiakos's European successes, at both youth and senior level, can be harnessed by the entire country as a catalyst in the progression of Greek football.

"We had a big success with the Greek national team in 2004, winning the European Championship, but we didn't really make any big steps in European football.

"For me, the combination of winning the Youth League and the Conference League shows that Olympiakos is a club that is working really well. We must be proud of being, in a way, a 'European' club in terms of how we are run and how we do things.

"That is something a lot of other clubs in Greece have to use as an example, but another aspect is that we have created a legacy and a path of faith for all young Greek players, by showing that we have the capability to do big things and be on a higher level.

"I think these two big achievements fill us with responsibility for what we have to do in the future, to continue the process. My hope is that we can show the road for other Greek teams and Greek organisations to build and become successful."

For now, though, the memories of last season are theirs to savour.