About José Luis Mendilibar
José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Super League Greece club Olympiacos. He played no higher than Segunda División, making 290 appearances and scoring 34 goals mainly for Sestao. He also represented Logroñés in that league. Mendilibar managed for over 15 years in La Liga for Athletic Bilbao, Valladolid, Osasuna, Levante, Eibar, Alavés and Sevilla, winning the second division with Valladolid in 2006–07, the Europa League in 2023 with Sevilla and the Conference League in 2024 with Olympiacos. == Playing career == Mendilibar was born in Zaldibar, Basque Country. He enjoyed an average career as a player, never appearing for a club in La Liga and successively representing Bilbao Athletic, Logroñés, Sestao and Lemona. Mendilibar was a key player in midfield for Sestao during the side's Segunda División years – playing eight seasons with them in that level and appearing in nearly 300 competitive matches – narrowly missing out on promotion in 1986–87 under Javier Irureta. == Coaching career == === Early years === After retiring in 1994, Mendilibar worked in the youth categories of Athletic Bilbao before having spells as head coach at Aurrerá de Vitoria, Lanzarote and Eibar. His success with the latter in the second division, on a very limited budget, translated into a narrow miss on promotion in 2005. === Athletic Bilbao === Mendilibar returned to Athletic in June 2005.
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