Olympiacos lose amid coach confusion

It has been a problematical start to the campaign for Olympiacos, and things got worse for the Greek giant over the weekend as they lost 68-67 on the road in the A1. NEA Kifisia Athens downed their more illustrious opponents to pile more pressure on Olympiacos as confusion arises surrounding who will be the clubs’ new head coach.

After losing in the SuperCup to Panathinaikos, the Pireus club sacked Euroleague winning coach Giorgos Bartzokas and sought the services of current PAOK Thessaloniki tactician Solis Markopoulos. It was thought that Markopoulos had agreed terms on a three year deal with Olympiacos, but PAOK is scuppering the move and insisting that he will remain in Thessaloniki.

A patchy start to the season has saw the club win their opening A1 and Euroleague games, but the weekend loss to Kifisia Athens has put the pressure back on. It certainly does seem as though the red and whites are a little rudderless at the moment and need more direction from the side of the hardwood.

Next up for the team is Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in the Euroleague on Friday, followed by Kolossas in the A1 the following day. If Olympiacos cannot resolve the differences with PAOK, it seems likely that stand in coach Tomic Milan will take the reins once again.