Valbuena leaves, and a different kind of week begins
Mathieu Valbuena is gone. The Frenchman posted his farewell to Olympiacos this week and is heading to Malta (1). Not the biggest name in the squad anymore, not a starter. But he was one of the few players in that dressing room who brought genuine European pedigree. When the Champions League qualifier arrives on August 4, that kind of experience will not be walking through the door.
The week was not about Valbuena, though. It was about a goalkeeper, a 3–2 defeat, and a creeping sense that this pre-season is not going as smoothly as Mendilibar would like.
Tzolakis, Ortega, and a €15 million gamble
The Kicker report landed hard: Konstantinos Tzolakis to Hull City for €15 million (3) (5). Greek outlets backed it up (7). Stefan Ortega, currently at Manchester City, is the name being lined up as the replacement (5) (7).
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Here is the problem. The NEC Nijmegen qualifier is nine days away. If Tzolakis goes now, Olympiacos walk into their most important match of the summer with a new goalkeeper who has not trained with the back four. Ortega is a fine shot-stopper, but you do not build a defensive understanding in a week. Mendilibar knows this. The "pole position" lineup published this week still had Tzolakis between the posts (2). That may change fast.
Two friendly defeats, one pattern
Olympiacos lost 3–2 to AZ Alkmaar, with Mexx Meerdink scoring twice and Weslley Patati adding the third (6) (9). It followed another friendly defeat to Antwerp earlier in the week (10). Five goals conceded across those two matches.
Dutch media were blunt: AZ showed NEC exactly how to beat this Olympiacos side (6). Press the back line. Target the spaces behind the full-backs. The goals were not flukes. They were structural.
NEC's camp is doing what you would expect. Striker Kaj Sierhuis told reporters his team is not the favorite (8). Coach Dick Schreuder, meanwhile, sounded genuinely irritated about his own squad situation: "Ik zal moeten, toch?", "I'll have to, won't I?" (4). The mind games are already running. One side lowering expectations, the other venting about its own depth. Neither looks fully ready.
What to watch
August 4. That is the date, and NEC Nijmegen is the opponent (2). Mendilibar has roughly nine days to decide whether his goalkeeper is staying or going, whether the defensive shape that conceded five in two friendlies can hold, and whether the attacking pieces, Taremi, El Kaabi, Jota, can click in time.
The likely starting XI published this week gives a clear sense of the plan: Bruno and Ortega at full-back, Pirola and Smailovic in the middle, Santiago Ese and Mouzakitis in midfield (2). That core will carry the burden. The question is whether the goalkeeper behind them is Tzolakis, Ortega, or someone not yet on the books.
NEC are beatable. AZ just proved Olympiacos are too. That is the week in a sentence.
