Mendilibar becomes Marinakis's 25th managerial casualty as Olympiacos axe Conference League winner

José Luis Mendilibar has been dismissed as Olympiacos manager, becoming the 25th coach to be sacked by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis across his three clubs — a tally that now spans Forest, Olympiacos, and Portuguese side Rio Ave.

The dismissal is a striking one on paper. Mendilibar, who led Olympiacos to Conference League glory in 2024, had not lost a single match inside 90 minutes this season. The Greek club sit third in the top flight, just two points behind early leaders Panetolikos — a position most clubs would consider respectable at this stage of the campaign.

The Greek shipping magnate’s tenure at Nottingham Forest, which began in 2017, has been similarly turbulent. Eight managers have come and gone at the City Ground, including Steve Cooper — who ended the club’s 23-year absence from the Premier League with promotion in 2022 — and Nuno Espírito Santo, who had delivered European football just months before being dismissed three games into last season following a public falling-out with Marinakis. Ange Postecoglou lasted just 39 days after replacing Nuno, while Sean Dyche’s stint ended in February 2026.

Other notable Forest departures include Martin O’Neill, a European Cup winner with the club as a player, who lasted only five months, and Aitor Karanka, whose exit was framed as a mutual separation with Forest sitting seventh in the Championship. Sabri Lamouchi endured the longest run of any Forest manager under Marinakis — 15 months — before four defeats from four games ended his tenure in October 2020.

Oliver Glasner remains in place at the City Ground despite a slow start to the current season, meaning Forest’s managerial seat is, for now, occupied. The same could not be said for Olympiacos, where Marinakis has once again demonstrated that results — or even the absence of defeats — offer no guarantee of job security.