Olympiacos enter the international break as Armando González’s Mexico call-up headlines thirteen departures following a crucial victory that keeps the club within striking distance of the summit.
The narrow 1-0 victory over Levadiakos meant that Olympiacos head into the international break grabbing all three points to stay level on points with 4th-placed OFI Crete, one away from AEK Athens, two from PAOK and a five-point distance with rivals Panathinaikos in the Super League Greece standings.
While Olympiacos failed to convert from the host of chances they created in Livadia, they did manage to edge through to the win courtesy of a Manolis Saliakas header from Remo Freuler's exquisite cross. The Red and Whites are gradually turning around a slow start to the season into something to be worth looking forward to, especially under the guidance of new head coach Imanol Alguacil. The loss to OFI and the painful draw against Volos dented the club's stride in challenging for the league leaders' position, but the camp remains optimistic about their ability to gain further ground following the break.
Alguacil would have wanted some more time to work with the Olympiacos players to better understand their specific strengths and weaknesses. However, the international break arrives at this juncture, as 13 first-team players are called up by their respective national teams.
Greek National Team head coach Ivan Jovanović has decided to call up the Levadiakos match-winner Saliakas and defender Panagiotis Retsos for his squad. Greece are set to face Serbia, Netherlands and Germany twice in the Nations League group stages during this break.
The most notable call-up is the one coming from Mexico for Armando 'La Hormiga' Gonzalez. Alguacil benched him in the last match for Roman Yaremchuk upfront, but gave him minutes later. Gonzalez has already made his mark in European competition by scoring his first goal against Jagiellonia Bialystok in Olympiacos' UEFA Europa League opener. Hormiga got only 14 minutes at the World Cup. However, his recent exploits with Thrylos should convince Rafael Márquez to give him a more influential role.
New signings Gustavo Puerta, Remo Freuler, David Carmo, Zinedin Smajlovic, Nair Tiknizyan, Marcus Holmgren Pedersen and Leon Bailey were called by their respective national teams.
Bailey travels to Jamaica for the break as he reportedly has recovered from a minor muscle injury from pre-season.
Bruno Onyemaechi will feature for Nigeria.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega stays in Piraeus as second-choice Balsa Popovic is called up by Montenegro for their clashes against Cyprus, Armenia and Latvia in the Nations League.
Alguacil and Olympiacos fans will be hoping that all of their players have a positive international break without any injuries that could severely affect the expectations following the return to club football.
