What Evangelos Marinakis has in store for Nottingham Forest pending Champions League qualification
What Evangelos Marinakis has in store for Nottingham Forest pending Champions League qualification
Nottingham Forest have one of the most ambitious owners in the Premier League in Evangelos Marinakis, which is clearly shown in how he runs Olympiacos too.
With how well Forest are doing on the pitch this season, attention has been brought to the work of their owner as even long-term adversary Martin O’Neill has respect for Marinakis’ ambition.
Marinakis is already putting in the work to prepare the Reds for the increasingly likely Champions League qualification, with Ioannis Vrentzos removed as a Forest director to remove any chances of UEFA spotting any links with the board of the club and Olympiacos.
Jim White has also been impressed by Marinakis’ ambition as this run under Nuno Espirito Santo seems increasingly like it has been in the works by the Forest owner ever since promotion in 2022, which is especially possible given how those at Olympiacos talk about him.
Olympiacos chiefs are in awe of Evangelos Marinakis’ work
Marinakis acquired the Greek giants before his purchase of Forest, giving him time to hone a winning machine in Piraeus.
Owning the two sides has seen Marinakis do business between his sides, with David Carmo moving on loan to Olympiacos one of the more recent deals aimed at benefitting the tallest pillars of Marinakis’ footballing empire.
Clearly, this work has made the 57-year-old incredibly popular in Greece, and in a report by the Daily Mail, Olympiacos sporting director, Christian Karembeu, reflected this.
Karembeu said: “Nobody has built a club up like him, Nobody has done this. He has had 15 years with Olympiacos, and he implemented a vision to win.
“Of course the DNA, we had this culture already, but he has invested a lot, innovating all the time.
“We have new facilities, we always have the best quality and best conditions for the players. He’s committed, he’s passionate, he loves our teams, and he never gives up. That is what he wants to transmit to us. You never give up and you always believe.
“But also to win. As a successful entrepreneur, he also gave us this mentality. When I talk about transformation, I was a player here but we never travelled to win it all. Today, Olympiacos has a name and can achieve many goals abroad. We are a big club with values and always this is the culture for victory.”
A culture for victory is exactly what Forest will be hoping to build upon after the brilliance of this season, and fans should be excited given the role Marinakis played in one of Olympiacos’ greatest achievements last season.
Evangelos Marinakis’ signings helped Olypiacos lift the UEFA Europa Conference League
Becoming the first Greek club to win a European competition, Olympiacos lifted the Conference League in 2024 after a 1-0 win over Fiorentina.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored the winning goal in extra time after a cross by Santiago Hezze, with both players in their first season at the club after Marinakis had signed them in the summer.
In fact, eight of the starting XI for the final had been signed that season, including Carmo on loan before his Forest move and Hezze, who cost Marinakis £3.3m, according to Transfermarkt, which was a significant outlay for Greek football.
Given that Marinakis is already looking for a summer striker deal for Forest, Reds fans should be excited about the ambition he might show in the transfer market when further success is on the cards, especially given how he acted in similar scenarios with Olympiacos.
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