Olympiacos hire former Madrid star Míchel

Former Real Madrid CF midfielder Míchel has been named as the new coach of Olympiacos FC, succeeding Leonardo Jardim, who was relieved of his duties on 19 January, the same day Míchel was fired by Sevilla FC.

"My aim is to make Olympiacos a bit more international," said the 49-year-old Míchel. "They have had domestic and international success and I will do my best to improve the team. From what I have seen so far, it is a huge and wonderful club. I am not here for a short period of time. I am passionate about my work and I want to prove that I am here to win. I met former Olympiacos coach Ernesto Valverde a few weeks ago and he gave me some valuable information about my new job."

Míchel has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Piraeus side, who head for his home country to take on Levante UD in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 on 14 February. Capped 66 times by Spain, he won six Spanish titles as a Madrid player, and was a member of the side that picked up back-to-back UEFA Cups in 1984/85 and 1985/86. He coached Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and Getafe CF before taking charge at Sevilla in early 2012.

He arrives at Olympiacos with the club 13 points clear at the top of the Greek table, though they suffered their first league defeat of the season on Sunday, going down 3-2 at home against Atromitos FC under interim coach Antonis Nikopolidis.