THE SECOND RIVALDO WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL
In September 2022, Real Madrid legend Marcelo (Creamy’s record holder for most trophies won with 25; recently surpassed by Karim Benzema) found a new home after leaving Madrid. His new club was Olympiacos. An enthusiastic crowd of 25,000 gathered for the Brazilian’s presentation.
Rivaldo himself -the most star player in the history of the Greek championship, who spent four seasons at Olympiacos and AEK- blessed his compatriot to sign this contract: “Marcelo made the best decision to continue participating in tournaments at the end of his career. He has a lot of experience, he is a player who scores a lot, he creates… he does everything on the field! I am sure that the Olympiacos fans will be delighted with his performance”.
Unfortunately, the prediction did not come true. For six months, the defender managed to spend only 332 minutes on the field (half of them in the Greek Cup), last appearing on the field on January 11, scoring a goal for Atromitos, who scored as many as three goals. in two Cup games. Meanwhile, neither in the championship nor in the Europa League, Marcelo never left the base and did not spend more than half an hour in a game. The meager legacy of a superstar from the recent past, but he will no longer bring any more benefits to the team: the contract with Olympiacos was terminated on Saturday. Fans and journalists call this transition only a “fiasco”.
“Many thought that Marcelo would be the best rookie in the history of the Greek League. There were comparisons with Rivaldo. But it shows that he is out of shape … although he had very good moments in which you recognized Marcelo himself. He still has great attacking qualities that are superior to many attacking midfielders in the league, ”describes the Greek journalist Fanis Tsokanas his impressions of this union.
DID NOT MATCH ANOTHER ROYAL STAR
However, the reason for Marcelo’s absence from the field is not very clear. He missed a few games due to injuries, but there have been no details on injuries recently. First, Michel (another Real Madrid legend, although as a coach he is best remembered for his work in Seville and Marseille) put him on the bench, and then sent him to the stands without any comment.
The explanation is simple: other players were better prepared. Thus, in the first part of the season, the 25-year-old Moldovan defender Oleg Ryabchuk (5 assists in 33 games) established himself on the left flank of the defense, and in January the Club signed 21-year-old Ramón from Flamengo for 1.5 million euros. Potentially, Marcelo could get fit and win the competition, but for that he needed match practice and Michel was not in a position to risk the result. Olympiacos is having a weak season this season (now in third place, eight points behind the leaders when playing on the bench), so they are under a lot of pressure.
“… I feel good and I train with my teammates, but I don’t decide if I play or not. I am doing everything possible to get them to call me for the matches. And I’m not injured, “Marcelo tweeted after missing the call for a PAOK game last October. That is, he had problems with the coach for a long time, if not immediately.
At the same time, the player’s age and star status definitely have nothing to do with it. Michel has 38-year-old Mathieu Valbuena, 36-year-old Youssef El-Araby, 34-year-old Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 32-year-old Jan Mvila, 31-year-old James Rodríguez (another player who is not strange). to creamy flowers) and Cedric Bakambu is doing very well. He finds in them both motivation and the opportunity to stay in shape.
TO SAUDI ARABIA TO RONALDO?
Meanwhile, the local media explained Marcelo’s poor form as a lack of motivation and the desire to change his residence permit. Rumors sent him to MLS, Mexico, Brazil and the Middle East. There were foundations below. For example, the defender unsubscribed from the club’s official social media account, which did not please the Greek fans. It is unclear who initiated the breakup. In Greece they do not rule out that it could be a club, since paying a high salary to a footballer who hardly plays is quite expensive.
There are even rumors that Marcelo’s own signing was just a smoke screen to cool the ardor of fans, upset by the humiliating way Olympiacos flew past the Champions League, burning down Maccabi Haifa’s home in the first round with a score of 0: 4. However, this is just an opinion, and there is no certainty that the two facts are necessarily related.
One way or another, according to the Spanish media, for now the defender has returned to Madrid. It is not yet clear where he will continue his career, although he would personally wait for him at Al Nasr, where the Brazilian is likely to be summoned by his old (in all senses) teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The time he was with us was short, but enough to create a bond forever. He knows that in Greece, in Piraeus, he will always have friends!” Olympikos respectfully said goodbye to Marcelo, but it seems that this is nothing more than courtesy.
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