Mendilibar on Olympiacos, their journey to Athens and what winning a European trophy would mean

Experienced coach takes over a relegation-threatened side in the spring and guides them to safety before snaring a surprise European title – if José Luis Mendilibar's efforts at Sevilla last season sound like a movie plot, then how about the sequel at Olympiacos?

Trainer arrives at faltering Greek giants, again in the spring, breathes life into their domestic campaign and, against all odds, steers them to a first UEFA club competition showpiece in their storied history, more or less in their own back yard.

Once again, Mendilibar has defied expectations, and now the 63-year-old Spanish coach is plotting a fairy-tale ending against Fiorentina in the UEFA Europa Conference League final.

Here we are again. Twelve months on from leading Sevilla to the Europa League final, you have emulated that success with Olympiacos…

The whole scenario is very similar. Sevilla were in a relegation battle; we weren't here at Olympiacos, but expectations here are sky high and we weren't meeting them. We've been fighting. We couldn't win the league but we could win in Europe, like we did at Sevilla.

We must keep a level head, treat it like any other game. The week leading up to the game will be as normal as possible. I never like to do anything differently just because it's a big game. We've got to this point without that so why change now?

Has the magnitude of what you've achieved hit home yet?

I was speaking the other day to [Matías] Almeyda, coach of AEK, who said, "Well done for what you've done for the team, and more so for Greek football." I hadn't realised until then. But then I thought, "We've really achieved something here!"

The excitement is palpable. When we play at home, fans are there over an hour before kick-off. People cheer like mad on the streets too. Anyone who recognises you stops to say hi. They stop your car and they're crazy happy. I just hope they'll be just as happy after the final.

Olympiacos have already lifted one European trophy this season – the UEFA Youth League. Has that been a source of inspiration?

They believed when nobody else did. They played against Inter in the knockouts, against Bayern in the quarter-finals; people thought they were going to knock them out every time. Well, they didn't. Olympiacos won and they won well. Then, in the final, their opponents [AC Milan] were once again massive favourites, and they won that too!

Olympiacos have that hunger to win, and if the youngsters can do it, why can't we? We were underdogs against Ferencváros, Fenerbahçe and especially Aston Villa, and we found a way.

What would it mean to win a first European trophy for the Olympiacos first team?

It would be amazing. We'd go down in Olympiacos and Greek football history. We'll see. We know it'll be very tough against an Italian side who compete at the top, but you never know in finals; they're anyone's game.