Strict UEFA registration quotas leave Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar facing a Europa League selection crisis, as Mexican forward Armando 'La Hormiga' Gonzalez risks exclusion to balance a squad heavy on non-locally trained talent.
According to an update by journalist Kostas Nikolakopoulos via Thrylos 7 International, new signing Armando 'La Hormiga' Gonzalez could be left out of Olympiacos' European squad for the upcoming UEFA Europa League campaign.
UEFA's List A rules strictly enforce the ceiling of 17 non-locally trained players. The main squad (List A) can have a maximum of 25 players, so that homegrown players have the chance to shine on the European stage. However, sometimes clubs do tend to register squad members through List B, which requires the named player to be registered with the side's youth ranks for a minimum period of two consecutive years since their 15th birthday.
As things stand, Olympiacos' non-restricted list of 17 non-locals for the Europa League squad could look like this:
| Positions | Possible Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Stefan Ortega |
| Defenders | Marcus Pedersen, Nair Tiknizyan, Lorenzo Pirola, David Carmo and Zinedin Smajlovic |
| Midfielders | Santiago Hezze, Remo Freuler, Lorenzo Scipioni, Gustavo Puerta and Gustavo Sa. |
| Forwards | Gelson Martins, Jota Silva, Joel Roca, Leon Bailey, Ayoub El Kaabi and Armando Gonzalez |
The potential list contains Gonzalez as one of the 17 unrestricted non-locally trained players to feature in the European line-up. However, the club must sort out a few transfers to ultimately register the Mexican forward.
Goalkeeper Dimitrios Stournaras is association-trained so he will not be taking up a non-homegrown quota. Therefore, he can be listed alongside Ortega. UEFA allows an emergency goalkeeper change, therefore, Balša Popović can be left out.
Panagiotis Retsos and Manolis Saliakas are both club-trained, so their inclusion in the squad should not be a problem. If Panathinaikos youth graduate Kostas Apostolakis joins the club, he should also be able to get directly into the squad.
Filis and Kostas Fortounis are homegrown players in the midfield department, and the only problem lies in accommodating the forwards as they are all foreign.
Leaving Gonzalez out would prove to be a massive issue for Jose Luis Mendilibar, as Ayoub El Kaabi's fitness could be tested to the maximum limits during the initial eight league phase matchdays of the Europa League season. Club president Evangelos Marinakis has already set the target to reach the final of the tournament, and therefore, the Red and Whites will aim to finish in the top eight and avoid a Round of 16 playoff clash.
Defensive midfielder Dani Garcia is expected to be axed. The futures of Chiquinho and Bruno Onyemaechi hangs by a threat at the club, and they can be considered to be left out of the list at this stage.
While the list presented by Thrylos 7 International works mathematically for now, Mendilibar will have to prioritise matchday squad balance to avoid fatiguing any of his players. The potential list carries five wingers for two positions in a typical 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 setup. One of Joel Roca and Gustavo Sa immediately comes under the axe to give the defence more depth. This allocation sees only three foreign centre-backs (Pirola, Carmo and Smajlovic) registered for Europe, with Retsos as a homegrown option. This is an operational deficiency as Mendilibar will require an additional no-nonsense defence in his squad. This provides fuel to the debate over whether La Hormiga could be sacrificed for better central midfield and defensive depth.
